Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling

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Kristen M, March 2, 2010 (view all comments by Kristen M)
This book is equally interesting for those who love spelling and those who hate it. It includes a brief history of printing, dictionaries and spell-check. We hear about those who have campaigned for phonetic spellings and those who wanted to remove evil French and Greek influences from the language. There is even a discussion of the modern effect of text messaging on the language. This book is not very long so nothing is too in-depth, just right for a general history for anyone mildly interested in this topic.

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Alishabethadams, March 24, 2009 (view all comments by Alishabethadams)
When I started reading Wolman's book, I was surprised to find myself feeling excited, emotional, inspired, and sometimes even angry, over the stories he was sharing.

This book helped me understand some folks' enthusiasm for spell check or text messaging--and others' resistance to them--and made me see them in the context of centuries of language change. Wolman introduces his readers to a number of personalities (dead and alive) who sort of act as guides and make the book relatable. Learning about orthography from multiple characters in different places and times really made it click for me: spelling is a living thing, as much about the human voice as the written word.

I also appreciated Wolman's ability to remain open and curious throughout his journey. He's upfront about his own perspective, but he really just offers the reader a starting point for thinking about the future of words and spelling. It was a fantastic introduction to orthography, leaving me appropriately awed and curious. And I'll never look at a spelling mistake the same again.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780061369254

Subtitle:

From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling

Author:

Wolman, David

Author:

by David Wolman

Author:

by David Wolman

Publisher:

Smithsonian

Subject:

General

Subject:

English language

Subject:

History

Subject:

Phonetics & Phonics

Subject:

Spelling

Subject:

English language -- Orthography and spelling.

Subject:

Linguistics - Phonetics & Phonology

Subject:

General Language Arts & Disciplines

Subject:

Education-Phonics

Copyright:

2008

Edition Description:

Hardcover

Publication Date:

20081007

Binding:

Hardback

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Pages:

224

Dimensions:

9 x 6 x 0.81 in 14.56 oz