Noah's Arc

CH 5: English Spelling System

           Spelling is an ever changing system within the English language, with three main historical periods, Old English, Middle English and Modern English. Noah Webster is a crucial character and influential figure for the English language and spelling system, widely renowned for his “American Spelling Book,” he did us all a favor by taking the initiative of trying to make sense of it all. He simplified and made it distinct from the British English language and spelling system, adding more to our unique language system and national personality. His system built a base that was so profoundly efficient that it is impossible to make any changes to it, such as the way words are spelled.

What is more interesting I found, is that one of the reasons it is impossible to make any changes is because of the simple relationship between reading and writing. Any changes made to make writing easier, would make reading that much harder, and vice versa. This is mainly because the reformers in the language system favor writing, because people read more than they write, and in order to read the task of spelling must be simplified for writing purposes—by making words correspond to sounds.

-Eric Valdez