1 / 17

The trouble with spelling

The trouble with spelling. Why it is not always easy. Why the problem?. English is made up of words from many different languages Pronunciation has changed over the years – spelling hasn’t eg . Sword, climb Not enough letters for all the sounds

eara
Download Presentation

The trouble with spelling

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. The trouble with spelling Why it is not always easy

  2. Why the problem? • English is made up of words from many different languages • Pronunciation has changed over the years – spelling hasn’t eg. Sword, climb • Not enough letters for all the sounds • American and British versions of same words

  3. There is hope • Many English words are phonetic • There are some basic rules • If the words don’t follow rules – they fit into families of sounds

  4. Why is English complicated? • Very old Language (2000 Years) • Mixed up with four or more languages together • Made up of phonetic words Eg. cat sat but • Non-phonetic words Eg. Caught know thorough women Write the above words phonetically

  5. Make up a sentence using as many of the common words as you can.

  6. History of English spelling • Celts in the British Isles spoke Gaelic • 55BC Julius Caesar conquered Celts. For 4 centuries it was a Roman colony – speaking Latin. (London was called Londinium) • Wrote in Latin using Greek Alphabet

  7. Old English • The next invaders were from Germany. They spoke Anglo Saxon or Englisc. • It is now called Old English • Verbs like Ich am (I am) He is (he is) Thu arth (you are) • Nouns like mon (man) wif (wife) lond (land) • London called Lundenburg (London town)

  8. Here come the Vikings • 4 centuries later, Britons were speaking German, with Celtic or Roman thrown in. • Vikings invaded with their own language – words such as knife, axle, gate, egg, skirt.

  9. The last invasion • In 1066 it was the turn of the French. • London was now called Londres • Some French words became common such as tournament, castle, parliament, justice. • This was called Middle English

  10. Modern English • By the 15th century there were also Spanish words (potato, tobacco), Indian words (pyjama) and Greek words (comedy, grammar, logic) • So complicated, people started simplifying pronunciation. So it became easier to say but harder to spell. • Printing started before it could be simplified.

  11. Today • We have over 500,000 words now from all over the world. Try to think of 5 words which are relatively new in our language.

  12. The alphabet • Began with the Egyptians and their hieroglyphics (holy pictures) • Take a sound that we speak • Find a word that starts with that letter • Draw a picture of that word • Make up words out of pictures What were the drawbacks? Why did it only last 3000 years?

  13. The Greeks • Came up with a set of sound symbols called the alphabet (named after the first two letters – alpha (a) and beta (b) • This idea was huge and was copied by the Romans who added some more symbols.

  14. Why the alphabet isn’t enough • The 26 symbols don’t fit all other languages. • In English we have at least 20 vowel sounds and 30 consonant sounds. • Too many sounds in too few letters • Eg. ‘a’ in cat ‘a’ in father ‘a’ in mate ‘a’ in sofa

  15. Don’t worry • The Chinese came up with their own system (about the same time as the Egyptions). • It has 2500 symbols to use! • It makes our 26 letters seem easy. D-d y-- kn-w? Th- -nc--ntGr--kswr-t- -s-ng -nly c-p-t-l l-tt-rs. Wh-t’s m-r-, th-y wr-t- l-ft t- r-ght -nd r-ght t- l-ft, th- w-y - f--ld -s –r-- pl—gh-d. Th- str-ct l-ft t- r-ght r-l- c-m- m-ch l-t-r.

  16. So .... • That is why English is such a confusing language to spell. However, there are rules to learn and words to practice to make sure we do the best we can!

More Related