How was English Spelling developed?

How was English Spelling developed? This question might be spinning around your mind. While reading our educational textbook, Essential Linguistics, this question was answered in chapter five . Here is a brief timeline on the development of English Spelling.

It all started during the Old English era that dates from about 450 to 1100.  According to the book the “Roman alphabet was introduced to the Anglo-Saxons by the Irish missionaries(102).”  During this period the letters j, k, v, or w were not used and used q and z rarely.  There were other important differences as well, for example:

- the /s/ was spelled sc

-/k/ and /c/ were spelled with the letter c

- /i/ was spelled with either i or y

-the letters u and v were interchangeable

- the k was pronounced (.e.g. knee)

- f represented both /f/ and /v/

Then with the Norman conquest over England in 1066 they “brought great changes to the language and signaled the beginning of the Middle English Period, which dates from about 1100 to 1500 (103).” During this era many words were added from the French and Latin. Most importantly the Norman changed the spelling of English words, for example:

-they replaced cw with qu

- many words spelled with o were spelled with u in that period

-h was replaced with gh to represent two sounds

-u and v were interchangeable

-changed hw to wh

-used v for f

-used k and ch for the sounds spelled with c in Old English

Currently, we are in Modern English era which started in the 1500s. A major change occurred during the 1500s and it was referred to as the Great Vowel Shift. According to the textbook “a complex series of changes occurred in the pronunciation of the vowels” during this period, for example:

-the long vowels were pronounced at a higher point in the mouth

-high vowels became diphthongs and moved to a lower position

The pronunciation might have changed during the Modern English time period but the spelling stayed the same.

There were other changes made to the spelling system, for example,

-the introduction of the h in ghost

- Greek and Latin words entered English spelling

- words’ spelling  were changed to resemble their roots

-the pronunciation of d, th or f were shortened

-the e become silent e

-consonant sounds were simplified

-combinations pronounced as blends were reduced to single sounds

-b was no longer pronounced in bomb

-the n became silent in mn

-the l was pronounced in lk combinations

This was a brief summary of the English Spelling development. Please comment and thank you. 

The book also talked about how spelling does not make sense, so here is a small video.

By:G.M 
 Source: Freeman, D. E. and Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential Linguistics: What You Need to Know to Teach. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.