Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Spelling |
SpellingNoun1. Forming words with letters according to the principles underlying accepted usage. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "spelling" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
English spelling, although largely phonemic, has more complicated rules than many other spelling systems for languages written in alphabetic scripts, and contains inconsistencies that necessitate rote learning of the pronunciations of many words. There are two major reasons for this.The first is that the admirably consistent orthography of Old English was swept away by the Norman Conquest, and English itself was eclipsed by French for three centuries, eventually emerging with its spelling much influenced by French. English had also borrowed large numbers of words from French, which for reasons of prestige and familiarity kept their French spellings. Like most other languages with alphabetic scripts, English continues to preserve foreign spellings for loanwords, even when they employ completely exotic conventions, like the 'cz' in 'Czech'.
The second major reason is the group of linguistic changes during the period after the Conquest, including the Great Vowel Shift. For example, these changes changed 'igh' in 'night' from a pure vowel followed by a velar fricative to a diphthong; and changed 'stone' from two syllables to one. These changes for the most part did not detract from the rule-governed nature of the spelling system; but in some cases they introduced confusing inconsistencies, like the well-known example of the many pronunciations of 'ough' (rough, through, though, thorough, trough, plough, etc.). Most of these changes happened before the arrival of printing in England; but the printing press, which it might have been hoped would provide the impetus for a realignment of spelling with pronunciation, merely froze the current system and introduced further inconsistencies, partly because of the use of typesetters trained abroad, particularly in the Low Countries.
A third major reason is the English language itself. English contains 24 separate consonant phonemes and, depending on dialect, anywhere from fourteen to twenty vowels and diphthongs. English uses no diacritical marks, and makes do with the twenty-six inadequate letters of the Latin alphabet. A one to one correspondence between character and sound is not possible using that unadorned alphabet in English, which requires the use of a large number of digraphs such as th and sh.
There were also minor problems like the introduction of false etymological spellings (the 'b' in 'debt' is an attempt to link it to the Latin 'debitum', the 's' in 'island' is a misplaced attempt to link it to Latin insula instead of the correct Norse igland, and the 'p' in 'ptarmigan' has no etymological justification whatsoever). Other orthographies have not been immune to these maladies. Swedish, for example, once suffered from a fashion for 'decorative spelling'.
The English spelling system can be taught to children easily using the regularities that it does possess. Although it is undoubtedly easier to learn the spelling system of Swedish, Serbian or Swahili more quickly - all these languages have more regular and simpler systems than that of English - a literate native speaker of English generally has no difficulty with a word he or she has not seen before. However, studies have shown that dyslexia occurs more often among speakers of languages such as English whose orthography differs heavily from the phonology than speakers of languages such as Finnish or Italian where the letter-sound correspondence is more regular (see: PISA report).
Loanwords are often changed in pronunciation as a result of pressure from the spelling. A good example of this is 'ski', adopted from Norwegian (in the mid-18th century; but not common before 1900) and pronounced 'shee' till the increasing popularity of the sport after the middle of the 20th century helped the 'sk' pronunciation replace it.
Proposals for spelling reform have failed for several reasons. The spelling system is really not as bad as its critics have claimed, and causes few problems; a radical reform would be offensive to the eye and cut us off from the past; and minor reforms are hardly worth the trouble. American English spelling diverged slightly from that of British English, partly as a conscious attempt at rationalisation, partly to distance the newly-independent United States from Great Britain, but the changes are so small as to make hardly any difference, and merely make work for proof readers and sellers of spell-checking software.
The spelling of English continues to evolve. Loanwords have introduced a new quasi-Italian system of pronouncing vowels - for loanwords from any language, not just Italian - and so we have 'hindu' and no longer 'Hindoo'; and under this influence the name 'Maria' no longer rhymes with 'fire' but with 'here' in RP and other non-rhotic dialects. (This influence probably started with the introduction of many actual Italian words into English during the renaissance, in fields including music - andante, viola, forte, etc.) Advertisers introduce spellings like 'smokey' (for 'smokey bacon flavoured crisps') which they fancy is somehow smokier than 'smoky'; and 'rucsac' rather than 'rucksack', to conjure up a technical atmosphere. Since the 1970s and possibly earlier, affectionate versions of women's names that sound the same as men's names have been spelt differently: Nikki and Nicky, Toni and Tony, Jo and Joe.
The spelling of the English language annually gains publicity during May because of the popularity of a Spelling bee organized at the national level in the USA as a competition for students that are under 16 years of age.
See also English language, English plural, Misspelling, Strange words in English language, Longest words in English, Shavian alphabet
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "English orthography."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Letter | Spelling, orthograph; phonography, phonetic spelling; anagrammatism, metagrammatism. cipher, monogram, anagram; doubleacrostic. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Yeah, and I could watch Tori Spelling play Medea (Caroline in the City; writing credit: Angela Carneiro) From now on we'll be spelling everything with letters (The Simpsons; writing credit: Artur Brauner; Paul Hengge) I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad, and it's depressing (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) I grew up in Bel Air, Warner! Across the street from Aaron Spelling. I think most people would agree that's a lot better than some stinky old Vanderbilt (Legally Blonde; writing credit: Karen McCullah Lutz) I cannot believe it, they get Tori Spelling to play Syd, and they cast Joe Blow nobody to play me. At least you get David Schwimmer (Scream 2; writing credit: Kevin Williamson) | |
Lyrics | Queen Spelling Bee she nailed me (The Scorpion Lament; performing artist: The Roches) | |
Clever | Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 a piece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Improve Your Spelling (1948) A Mistake in Spelling (1912) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books | |||
Music |
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High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | At sea on 27 August 1951, shortly before deploying for Korean War duty. Crewmen are in formation on her flight deck, spelling out "The Flying =A= is on the way". Credit: NAVY. |  | Photographed on 22 May 1953, as she was en route to Naval Air Station San Diego, California, following a deployment to Korean waters. Note crew paraded on the flight deck spelling out the word "HOME" and an arrow pointing over her bow. Aircraft on deck include 19 Grumman AF "Guardian" anti-submarine planes and a solitary Vought F4U "Corsair" fighter (parked amidships on the starboard side). Credit: NAVY. |
 | Passes the wreck of USS Arizona (BB-39) in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Memorial Day, 31 May 1958. Bennington's crew is in formation on the flight deck, spelling out a tribute to the Arizona's crewmen who were lost in the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Note the outline of Arizona's hull and the flow of oil from her fuel tanks. Credit: NAVY. |  | With her crew "spelling out "Hello San Diego", while en route to San Diego on 9 February 1963. She returned to San Diego, her home port, on 11 February, following a Western Pacific cruise that had begun seven months earlier, on 12 July 1962. Aircraft on her flight deck include three E-1, eleven F-8, six F-3, thirteen A-4 and nine A-1 types. Credit: NAVY. |
 | In harbor, 20 January 1956, with crewmen paraded on her flight deck spelling out the ship's nickname: "HAPPY VALLEY". Credit: NAVY. |  | Passes under the Oakland Bay Bridge as she arrives at San Francisco, California, upon her return from the Korean War zone, circa 9 June 1951. Crewmen on the flight deck are spelling out "CVG 2" in honor of her air group. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Off Nice, France, on 24 October 1951, with crewmen in formation on the flight deck spelling out "Vive La France". Credit: NAVY. |  | Underway in the Gulf of Mexico, 29 January 1953, with her crew spelling out "Mardi Gras 1953" on her flight deck. Note that all her guns have been removed. She was then serving as training carrier, operating out of Pensacola, Florida, a duty she performed from January 1951 until June 1955. Credit: NAVY. |
 | Mountaineers "spelling" themselves in front of store, Pikeville, Tennessee. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | President Coolidge, standing, full-length, with the seven finalists in the national spelling bee. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "I am kool" by Kd Kelly Commentary: "These kids today. in my day, we thought of more interesting things to say, and we were gosh darn sure to check our spelling. hmmph. ." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | They were like poetry but they were only sentences to learn the spelling from |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Many females with Fragile X syndrome are learning disabled in math, but perform exceptionally well in reading and spelling. (references) | |
In addition to poor handwriting, dysgraphia is characterized by wrong or odd spelling, and production of words that are not correct (i.e., using "boy" for "child"). (references) | ||
Generally, children with the disorder exhibit poor handwriting and spelling skills, and difficulty with math functions, including adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. (references) | ||
Economic History | China | On January 1, 1979, the Chinese Government officially adopted the pinyin system for spelling Chinese names and places in Roman letters. (references) |
Saudi Arabia | In September 1993, King Fahd issued additional reform decrees, appointing the members of the national Consultative Council and spelling out procedures for the new council's operations. (references) | |
Minorities | Lithuania | Members of the Polish Parliament criticized the Government in 2000 over alleged discrimination against the Polish minority (e.g., in school exams and the spelling of names). (references) |
Trade | Denmark | Certain words from other languages, which are very similar to Danish in spelling, may be used. (references) |
Denmark | As a general rule, consumer products must be labeled in Danish or in a language that differs from Danish only slightly in spelling. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | ORTHOGRAPHY, n. The science of spelling by the eye instead of the ear. Advocated with more heat than light by the outmates of every asylum for the insane. They have had to concede a few things since the time of Chaucer, but are none the less hot in defence of those to be conceded hereafter. A spelling reformer indicted For fudge was before the court cicted. The judge said: "Enough -- His candle we'll snough, And his sepulchre shall not be whicted." |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Spelling" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 76.81% of the time. "Spelling" is used about 663 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 76.81% | 509 | 11,896 |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 23.04% | 153 | 25,427 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.15% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 663 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "spelling": old spelling ♦ phonetic spelling ♦ romanic spelling ♦ spelling bee ♦ spelling book ♦ spelling checker ♦ spelling contest ♦ spelling flame ♦ spelling match ♦ spelling mistake ♦ unusual spelling ♦ with spelling mistakes. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "spelling": Spelling-bee, spelling-bees, spelling-books, spelling-checkers, spelling-corrector, spelling-out, spelling-reformer, spelling-to-sound. | |
Ending with "spelling": finger-spelling, mis-spelling. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
spelling | 1,652 | tori spelling pic | 41 |
tori spelling | 876 | spelling activity | 40 |
spelling game | 329 | spelling bee words | 34 |
spelling bee | 313 | spelling tutor | 34 |
spelling words | 177 | word spelling | 31 |
national spelling bee | 167 | improve spelling | 31 |
spelling test | 146 | finger spelling | 31 |
tori spelling nude | 117 | spelling checker | 31 |
check spelling | 114 | phonics spelling | 27 |
name spelling | 99 | tori spelling picture | 27 |
dictionary spelling | 97 | spelling lesson | 27 |
spelling rule | 86 | tori spelling naked | 24 |
aaron spelling | 79 | free game spelling | 24 |
spelling worksheets | 74 | lesson plan spelling | 23 |
spelling list | 73 | free spelling worksheets | 23 |
spelling help | 60 | spelling word list | 22 |
spelling software | 56 | correct spelling | 22 |
spelling and grammar | 49 | first grade spelling words | 21 |
teaching spelling | 44 | phonetic spelling | 21 |
spelling quiz | 41 | 4th grade spelling words | 20 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "spelling"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | drejtshqiptim, drejtshkrim (orthography). (various references) | |
Arabic | هجاء (lampoon, satire), تهجية, تهجئة. (various references) | |
Basque | ortografia (orthography). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | ортография, правопис (orthography). (various references) | |
Chinese | 拼写 (Spelled, spelt), 拼字 , 斯佩林 . (various references) | |
Czech | pravopis (orthography, spell). (various references) | |
Danish | stavning. (various references) | |
Dutch | spellen (spell). (various references) | |
Farsi | هجی , املاء (Dictation). (various references) | |
Finnish | tavaus, oikeinkirjoitus. (various references) | |
French | orthographie, orthographe, épellation (spell), épeler (spell), épelant. (various references) | |
German | schreibweise (notation, style), Rechtschreibung (orthography), Orthographie (orthography). (various references) | |
Greek | ορθογραφία (dictation, orthography). (various references) | |
Hebrew | איות (lettering), אבגוד, כתיב (transcription, writing). (various references) | |
Hungarian | helyesírás (orthography). (various references) | |
Indonesian | pengejaan, ejaan (orthography). (various references) | |
Italian | ortografia (orthography), compitazione. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 綴り字 , 綴り (binding, orthography, patching), 綴字 , 綴 (binding, orthography, patching), スペックル干渉計 (cum, semen, sparing, special purpose, speckle interferometer, spell, spelunker, spencer jacket, sperm, spoke, spokesman, spokesperson, spokeswoman, sport, sports car, sports center, sports club, sports drink, sports event, sports fair, sports programmer, sports shoes, sports test, sports trainer, sportscaster, sportsman, sportsmanship, sportswear, sportswoman, sportswriter, superiority complex). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | つづりじ, つづり (binding, orthography, patching), スペリング (sparing), ていじ (citation, exhibit, exhibition, in order, letter "T", presentation, regular time, stated period, successively, suggest). (various references) | |
Korean | 철자법. (various references) | |
Manx | lettraghey (spell). (various references) | |
Occitan | ortogràfia (orthography). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | ellingspay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | soletração, ortografia (orthography), grafia. (various references) | |
Romanian | silabisire (syllabication, syllabification), scriere corectã, ortografiere, ortografie (orthography), ortografic (graphic, graphical, orthographic, orthographical, orthographically). (various references) | |
Russian | орфография (orthography, spellings), правописание (orthography). (various references) | |
Scottish | coibhneas (kindness, proper spelling of caoimhneas). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | sricanje, spelovanje, pravopis (orthography), ortografija (orthography). (various references) | |
Spanish | ortografía (orthography). (various references) | |
Swedish | rättskrivning (orthography, ortography), bokstaverande. (various references) | |
Turkish | yazım (orthographic, orthographical, orthography), yazılış, imlâ (dictation, orthographic, orthographical, orthography), heceleme. (various references) | |
Turkmen | orfografiяa (r) (orthography). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | вимовляння слова по літерах, правопис (orthography), перепочинок (respite, truce). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự viết vần, sự viết theo chính tả, sự đánh vần, chính tả. (various references) | |
Welsh | sillafiaeth, sillafiad. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "spelling": spellings. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "spelling": dispelling, misspelling, outspelling, respelling. (additional references) | |
Words containing "spelling": misspellings, respellings. (additional references) | |
| |
"Spelling" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Sellindge, sellinmg, spaling, spalling, spatling, spellen, spelleng. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "spelling" (pronounced spe"ling) |
| 6 | s p e" l i ng | dispelling, expelling, misspelling. |
| 5 | -p e" l i ng | compelling, propelling, rappelling, repelling. |
| 4 | -e" l i ng | Belling, dwelling, excelling, felling, foretelling, helling, Melling, outselling, quelling, rebelling, reselling, retelling, selling, shelling, smelling, Snelling, swelling, telling, welling, yelling. |
| 3 | -l i ng | annealing, appalling, appealing, ailing, ambling, angling, assailing, assembling, babbling, backpedaling, baffling, bailing, baling, balling, bankrolling, barreling, battling, beguiling, belittling, bicycling, billing, blackmailing, boggling, boiling, Bolling, bottling, bowling, brawling, bristling, broiling, bubbling, buckling, bugling, bumbling, bundling, bungling, burgling, burling, bustling, cackling, cajoling, calling, canceling, cancelling, Carling, ceiling, channeling, chilling, chortling, chronicling, chuckling, circling, coddling, commingling, compiling, concealing, consoling, controlling, cooling, corralling, counseling, countervailing, coupling, cowling, crackling, cradling, crawling, crippling, crumbling, cuddling, culling, curling, curtailing, cycling, dabbling, dangling, darling, dawdling, dazzling, dealing, decoupling, derailing, detailing, Dialing, disabling, disgruntling, dismantling, dissembling, distilling, doling, doubling, dribbling, drilling, drizzling, drooling, duckling, dueling, dulling, dumpling, dwindling, earthling, emailing, embezzling, empaneling, enabling, encircling, enrolling, entailing, entangling, entitling, equaling, extolling, failing, falling, feeling, fiddling, filing, filling, fizzling, flailing, fledgling, foaling, foiling, fondling, fooling, forestalling, fouling, foundling, freewheeling, fueling, fuelling, fulfilling, fumbling, funneling, galling, gambling, giggling, gobbling, grappling, Grayling, grilling, groundling, groveling, growling, grueling, grumbling, gurgling, guzzling, haggling, hailing, handling, hassling, hauling, healing, heckling, hilling, hobbling, holing, howling, huddling, humbling, hurdling, hurling, hurtling, hustling, idling, imperiling, inhaling, initialing, inkling, installing, instilling, intermingling, jailing, jiggling, jostling, juggling, Keeling, killing, kindling, kneeling, labeling, leveling, lolling, Lulling, mailing, mangling, Marling, marshaling, meddling, middling, milling, mingling, mishandling, mislabeling, modeling, mothballing, mottling, muddling, mulling, mumbling, muscling, nailing, needling, nestling, nibbling, nonruling, oiling, overbilling, overhauling, overkilling, overruling, overselling, paddling, paneling, panhandling, paralleling, parboiling, parceling, paroling, patrolling, pearling, pedaling, peddling, peeling, pickling, piddling, piling, Pilling, Pindling, poling, polling, pooling, prevailing, profiling, prowling, pulling, pummeling, puzzling, quadrupling, quarreling, quibbling, quilling, Quisling, railing, rambling, rankling, rattling, raveling, recalling, reconciling, recycling, redoubling, reeling, refueling, regaling, rekindling, remodeling, repealing, rescheduling, resembling, reshuffling, retailing, retooling, revealing, reveling, ridiculing, Riesling, rifling, rilling, rippling, rivaling, roiling, rolling, rototilling, ruffling, ruling, rumbling, rustling, saddling, sailing, sampling, Sandling, sapling, scaling, scheduling, Schilling, schooling, scowling, scrambling, scribbling, scuttling, sealing, seedling, Seeling, settling, shilling, shoveling, shriveling, shuffling, shuttling, sibling, signaling, signalling, singling, sizzling, skilling, smiling, smuggling, snarling, snowballing, sparkling, Sparling, spilling, spiraling, spiralling, spoiling, sprawling, sprinkling, squabbling, squealing, stalling, stapling, starling, startling, stealing, stenciling, sterling, stifling, stockpiling, stonewalling, storytelling, straddling, strangling, strickling, stripling, strolling, struggling, stumbling, styling, suckling, surveilling, swashbuckling, swilling, swindling, swirling, swiveling, tabling, tackling, tailing, tangling, thrilling, throttling, Tilling, tingling, tinkling, toddling, toggling, toiling, tolling, tooling, toppling, totaling, totalling, toweling, trailing, trampling, traveling, travelling, trembling, trickling, trifling, trilling, tripling, trolling, troubling, tumbling, tunneling, twiddling, twinkling, twirling, unappealing, unavailing, unbundling, underling, underselling, unfailing, unfeeling, unfurling, unraveling, unsettling, unsmiling, untangling, unveiling, unwilling, veiling, waffling, waggling, wailing, walling, warbling, weakling, whaling, wheeling, whirling, whistling, whittling, wholesaling, wiggling, wiling, willing, wobbling, wrangling, wrestling, wrinkling, yearling, yodeling. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "e-g-i-l-l-n-p-s" | |
-1 letter: selling. | |
-2 letters: genips, ingles, pensil, single, spinel, spline. | |
-3 letters: genip, gills, glens, ingle, lenis, liens, lines, lings, lisle, nills, peins, penis, piles, pills, pines, pings, plies, segni, sengi, singe, sling, slipe, snell, snipe, speil, spell, spiel, spile, spill, spine. | |
-4 letters: egis, ells, engs, gels, gens, gien, gies, gill, gins, gips, glen, ills, isle, legs. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-g-i-l-l-n-p-s" | |
+1 letter: spellings. | |
+2 letters: dispelling, panellings, pellagrins, pleasingly, preselling, respelling, upswelling, upwellings, wellspring. | |
+3 letters: escalloping, lightplanes, misspelling, outspelling, palletising, pelletising, pencillings, respellings, spancelling, wellsprings. | |
+4 letters: gallinippers, glockenspiel, misspellings, palynologies, pedestalling, sleepwalking, speedballing, spellbinding. | |
+5 letters: fellowshiping, glockenspiels, planetologies, planetologist. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Usage Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Derivations 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
