When we’re in kindergarten, or perhaps even preschool, we start learning about the sounds the letters of the alphabet make. Vowels are big and open, “S” has a hissing sound, and “D,” “B,” “T,” and other consonants have firm, confident sounds. Then we start to put those letters together to make words, using the principles of phonetics. But as we learn to read, we inevitably come across words that don’t fit standard phonetic rules. For example, the “B” is silent in “doubt,” and “through,” “though,” “tough,” and “thought” don’t rhyme, despite their similar spellings.
Why do some English words have spellings and pronunciations that seem at odds? Answering that linguistic question requires a history lesson, or several history lessons: on the impacts of the Norman Conquest, the invention of the printing press, the Great Vowel Shift, a spelling fad to Latinize English words, and the multitude of loanwords English adopted from other languages.
In 1066, forces of Normandy, a province of northern France, overthrew the government of England, led by William the Conqueror. As a result of the Norman Conquest, thousands of French words entered the English lexicon, mainly focused on law, government, nobility, and culture.
French spelling is inconsistent with English spelling, and so many of the words from that time period are spelled in ways that don’t match the phonetic rules we’re used to.
Here are some examples of English words with French influence: court, parliament, castle, servant, fashion, attorney, council, bailiff, chancellor, soldier, dungeon, siege, sergeant, guard, poultry, veal, biscuit, fashion, mirror, castle, clothes, and cuisine.
In the mid-15th century, Johannes Gutenberg invented the mechanical movable type printing press, enabling the mass production of books, increasing literacy, and revolutionizing information sharing in Europe. William Caxton then introduced the printing press to England in 1476.
As a result of the invention of the printing press, printers, rather than scribes, determined the spelling of words, and they sought to standardize these spellings.
Around this same time and for two centuries thereafter, the pronunciation of English words changed in what is known as the Great Vowel Shift.
That shift, with vowels pronounced higher in the mouth, likely occurred as a result of a mixing of regional dialects, the rising middle class in London, and increased contact with French and Latin. Even though spoken English evolved, the spelling of words after the invention of the printing press did not.
As a consequence, the pronunciation of English words became unmoored from their spelling. That’s why, for example, reading aloud Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (published from 1387 to 1400) sounds so foreign to our ears. The main difference between Chaucer’s language (Middle English) and our modern English is the pronunciation of the “long” vowels. For example, in Middle English, “sheep” sounded like our word “shape,” “read” sounded like “raid,” and “loaf” sounded like “lawf.”
By the end of the Great Vowel Shift, those words were pronounced the way we pronounce them now, yet the spelling of the words remained frozen in time. The Great Vowel Shift is a primary reason for the mismatch between modern English spelling and pronunciation.
There were so many disjunctions between English spelling and pronunciation that in the 16th century attempts were made to reform English spellings. For example, in 1569, linguist John Hart devised a new phonetic alphabet to remedy what he considered a fatal flaw in our language system. His philosophy was that “we write as we speak” and “the writing shuld have so mani Letters, as the pronunciation neadeth of voices, and no more, or lesse.” (It didn’t catch on.)
In a more successful spelling revolution, American lexicographer Noah Webster published The American Spelling Book in 1783, followed by the American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828, which established notable differences between British and American English spelling. Webster’s primary aim was to standardize spelling in accordance with pronunciation, and as a result, he created a uniquely American set of vocabulary. Changes include omitting the “u” in “ou” words such as “colour/color” and “honour/honor,” and turning words such as “travelled” and “defence” into “traveled” and “defense.”
In the 15th century, some printers added letters to words to reflect their Latin roots. To this day, those letters remain silent. Here’s a sampling, capitalizing the added letter and referencing the Latin root (in which the added letter would have been pronounced): deBt (debitum), douBt (dubitare), musCle (musculus), iSland (insula), receiPt (receptus), saLmon (salmo), reiGn (regnum), columN (columna), solemN (sollemnis), autumN (autumnus), soLder (solidare), and indiCt (indictare).
Printers did the same with Greek-based words. Some examples: asthma (in English originally asma) from the Greek asthma;diarrhea (in English originally diaria) from the Greek diarrhoia; and phlegm (in English originally fleme) from the Greek phlegma.
About 80% of the English lexicon consists of loanwords from over 350 other languages. As a result, the spellings of many of those words don’t match their pronunciation. For maximum effect, read these words aloud, contrasting the phonetics with the spelling:
From French: bouillon, vinaigrette, protégé, ballet, bouquet, boutique, silhouette, etiquette, faux pas, hors d’oeuvres, and rendezvous.
From German: dachshund, pinochle, kindergarten, doppelganger, zeitgeist, kitsch, poltergeist, sauerkraut, Rottweiler, wiener, leitmotif, and schadenfreude.
From Spanish: burrito, mosquito, guerrilla, vigilante, coyote, daiquiri, guacamole, marijuana, merengue, mojito, peccadillo, piñata, quesadilla, tequila, and tortilla.
From Native American languages: caribou, moccasin, raccoon, succotash, toboggan, papoose, jicama, llama, quinoa, buccaneer, canoe, and piranha.
From Asian languages: emoji, tycoon, kudzu, bonsai, karate, shiitake, chow mein, ketchup, and kumquat.
The English language is a melting pot of influences, seen clearly through spelling. It can be tricky to remember all the rules and exceptions, but when you dig into the etymology of every outlier word, you uncover a piece of history.
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