title: Spell it out by: Crystal, David published: 2012 read: preview

If you’ve ever asked yourself questions like “Why do the words “their”, “there” and “they’re” sound alike, but mean very different things?” or “How can we tell the difference between “charge” the verb and “charge” the noun?” David Crystal’s Spell It Out will spell it all out for you.

The book explores the history and evolution of English spelling. The book is divided into 37 chapters, each of which focuses on a different aspect of spelling, such as the origins of the alphabet, the influence of other languages, and the impact of technology on spelling. Crystal also delves into the psychology of spelling, examining why some people are better spellers than others and why we often judge people’s intelligence based on their spelling ability.

On the word “ghost”:

“Why is there an h here? And in ghastly, aghast and the whole family of related words –– ghostly, ghostliness, ghastliness, ghostbusters and so on? It wasn’t there when the word first came into English. In Anglo-Saxon England we find it used in the form gast, with a long ‘ah’ vowel…But there was no h in the Anglo-Saxon spelling: the Holy Ghost was a Hali Gast. Nor was there an h in the word in Chaucer’s time…Then along came Caxton [William Caxton, the first printer and publisher of books in England], who sets up his printing-shop. But who was to carry out the painstaking task of typesetting the new books, letter by letter? There was nobody capable of doing it in England. Caxton had learned his trade on the European mainland…so he looked to the Continent for help. We know the name of one of his assistants, Wynkyn de Worde. He and the other compositors…all spoke Flemish.”

Isn’t it beautiful? Just like all other Crystal books I know, it’s entertaining and inspiring, thus definitely worth reading.