The hidden logic of English spelling, with Colin Gorrie

About this episode

The episode explores the hidden logic behind English spelling with insights from linguist Colin Gorrie.

1185. Today, we look at why English spelling is secretly optimized for readers. Colin Gorrie, linguist and creator of the Dead Language Society newsletter, shared the real history of silent letters, why medieval scribes weren't bothered by inconsistent spelling, and how the printing press and social ambition drove standardization. We also look at the surprisingly dramatic origin of "went" — a past tense stolen from an entirely different verb. Dead Language Society newsletter 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in  Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my  LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the  newsletter . 🔗  Take  our advertising survey . 🔗  Get the edited  transcript here . 🔗  Get  Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme…

People in this episode

Host: Mignon Fogarty

Guest: Colin Gorrie

Topics covered

• English spelling
• linguistics
• silent letters
• medieval scribes
• standardization
• language history

Keywords

• English spelling
• linguistics
• silent letters
• medieval scribes
• language history
• standardization
• went

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dead Language Society, Quick and Dirty Tips, Acast

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