Spell it out
Subtitle: the curious, enthralling and extraordinary story of English spelling
By: David Crystal
Edition: First U.S. edition.
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 328
ISBN-13: 9781250003478
Subjects: English language; Orthography and spelling; History
Description: Presents a history of English spelling through chapters that cover such topics as the introduction of the Roman alphabet, each letter's origins, and the development of long and short vowels.
Notes: Previously published by Profile Books, London, 2012.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Table of contents: title: The nature of the problem: Pooh and his friends on spelling --; title: The beginning --; title: The size of the problem --; title: Building the alphabet: letter origins --; title: The basic weaknesses: hope for us all --; title: Keeping things long: more than letters --; title: Keeping things short: spelling as tragedy --; title: The first exceptions --; title: Seeing the link: forensic spelling --; title: Know your Latin and French: spelling as reputation --; title: New letters for the old --; title: Old letters in new words: Tarzan learns to read --; title: Old sounds in new positions: spelling as stratagem --; title: New sounds in old places --; title: More exceptions: avoiding the vulgar --; title: Showing the difference: Charles Dickens and his characters reflect upon spelling --; title: Noting the similarity: silent letters --; title: New sounds in old letters --; title: A printer's practice: Mark Twain on spelling --; title: The urge to reform: George Bernard Shaw on spelling --; title: Remembering Latin --; title: More etymologies: a word I always mispell --; title: Famous spellings --; title: Spelling 'rules': Mrs Malaprop on reading and spelling --; title: The role of personalities --; title: Another personality --; title: Printers and publishers: spelling wars --; title: Changing practices: Roger McGough on spelling --; title: The internet: lower case only --; title: Showing identity --; title: Unpredictability: Ogden Nash on names --; title: Exotic vowels: disenvowelling --; title: Exotic consonants: the spread of education --; title: Spelling noises: unspellable noises --; title: Abbreviating --; title: Learning the system: George Crabbe on learning --; title: The future of English spelling.; title: A teaching appendix:; title: Avoiding isloation ;; title: Towards a linguistics of spelling.