how to spell: tip 7 - take an interest in words

Spelling tip number 7 - take an interest in words. Enjoy the quirkiness of English spelling, the rules and exceptions, and know why words are spelt the way they are, and you won't get frustrated with spelling and you'll learn, remember and understand spellings

In this video we're looking at some fun facts about spelling and why there are so many words that mean the same thing or slightly different.

Lots of words to do with the nose begin with the letter pattern 'sn' - snout, sniff, snub, snot, snore, snort, snozzle, snooty, sneeze.

Plumber has a silent b in there because it comes from the Roman/ Latin word plumbum meaning lead piping used by plumbers.

knock, knee, knuckle, gnaw, gnat are all Viking (Old Norse) words, the 'k' and 'g' were pronounced but not now.

NO English words end in 'v' or 'u'. There's always an 'e' on the end: give; have; love; eve; twelve; glue; rescue; blue; true.

But we have a few exceptions which are either abbreviations, slang, ancient words, or words borrowed from other languages.
For example: rev and flu are abbreviations - rev - revolution or reverend, flu - influenza.
Menu - a borrowed word from French
chav and spiv - slang
'you' is a very old Anglo-Saxon/ Old English word.

NO English words end in 'j'. The sound is made by -dge or -ge: bridge; badge; hedge; marriage; bandage; age. But we have some foreign words like haj, raj

Let's look at why we have so many words that mean the same thing or slightly different.
English developed from the tribes that invaded us: the Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and finally the French.

English developed from the Angles, Saxons and Vikings and was a phonetic language but then the French came along in 1066 and changed the spellings and introduced loads of new words.

There are many words the French gave us. For example deceased but in Anglo-Saxon English is dead

Do you know the 'down-to-earth' Anglo-Saxon words of these formal French words?
French Anglo-Saxon/Old English
deceased -- dead
obtain -- get
perspiration -- sweat
odour -- smell
desire -- want
conceal -- hide
infant -- child
commence - begin

Writers like George Orwell were big fans of using Anglo- Saxon words in writing and not the 'big' overblown French ones.


We can see the influence of Anglo-Saxon, French and Latin on our vocabulary and choice of words we can use nowadays:

Anglo-Saxon from French from Latin
ask question interrogate
fire flame conflagration
wealth riches opulence
kingly royal regal

Notice how the Latin is quite formal and specific, the French more elegant and a bit formal, and the Anglo-Saxon is informal and down-to- earth.


So my top spelling tip number 7 is take an interest in words, enjoy the quirkiness of spelling, and know why words are spelt the way they are and you won't get frustrated with spelling and you'll learn, remember and understand spelling

If you're interested in words and the origins of English then Check out my ebook Why English Spelling is so Weird and Wonderful
pop over to my website www.howtospell.co.uk and check it out there and check out the free lessons and games too
Thanks for watching and see you in spelling tip number 8