The Latin alphabet was adapted to English in the 6th century by Christian monks. The Norman conquerors brought changes in pronunciation, adding suffixes, spelling practices, and analogies. When The Great Vowel Shift occurred in the 15th century, it altered the character of English spelling. This left the English language with […]
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The English got their alphabet when Christian monks arrived in the 6th century CE with their Latin alphabet to replace the native runes. Near the end of the 9th century CE, Charlemagne—king of the Franks and Holy Roman emperor—ordered a monk named Alcuin to devise a unified alphabet of letters […]
Dictionary Day was October 16th and celebrates the birthday of Noah Webster, considered to be the father of the American dictionary. The Meriam-Webster website says this day celebrates language, emphasizes the importance of learning, and encourages readers to use the dictionary to improve vocabulary. The word “dictionary” was invented by […]
Christian Monks adapted the Latin alphabet to English in the 6th century. The Normans brought more changes in pronunciation and sounds, along with suffixes, spelling practices, and analogies. The Great Vowel Shift occurred in the 15th century and altered the character of English spelling forever and increased spelling irregularities. In […]
Christian monks adapted the Latin alphabet to English in the 6th century. When the Normans arrived with their French influence,. they added to the pronunciation changes already happening. Suffixes appeared, sounds changed places, all leading to changes in spelling practices, exceptions and analogies. Christopher Robin jumped onto the tree stump […]
With the arrival of Christian Christian monks in the 6th century England, they wrote down the Anglo-Saxon language, adapting the Latin alphabet to English, adding extra letters for all the sounds. The arrival of the Normans, with their French influence, affected pronunciation and spelling practices. In his book, SPELL IT […]
In writing down the Anglo-Saxon language, Christian monks adapted the Latin alphabet to English, adding extra letters for all the sounds. The arrival of the Normans and their French scribes with their spelling conventions introduced many changes in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling. The French scribes opted to keep the spelling […]
National Grammar Day was first celebrated in 2008 by founder Martha Brockenbrough to promote awareness and understanding of proper grammar. The day’s motto is: “It’s not only a date, it’s an imperative: March forth on March 4 to speak well, write well, and help others do the same!” The way […]
Any language can incorporate foreign words and most have. Simple contact between cultures is all it takes. John McWhorter in The Power of Babel, says “intercultural contact is the very heart of human history, and thus the six thousand human languages are replete with the results of it.” And, he […]
There was no discrete dividing line between Old English, according to John McWhorter in The Power of Babel, which as spoken would have taken days to recognize as related to what we speak, and “English” as we know it. As it happened, Shakespeare wrote in a period (1500s becoming 1600s) […]