Why English creates so many words spelled the same. Why we say 'ye olde' instead of 'the old.'

About this episode

This episode explores the reasons behind the peculiarities of English spelling and the historical context of certain words.

1180. Why does "Ye Olde Shoppe" look old-fashioned? This week, we look at the vanished letters of English — thorn, eth, and yogh — and at why English has so many words that are spelled the same but have different meanings, such as "compact" (an agreement) and "compact" (to press together).  The homographs segment was written by Samantha Enslen who runs Dragonfly Editorial. You can find her at dragonflyeditorial.com . The Old English segment was written by Karen Lunde who writes the newsletter I'll Go First. Find her on igofirst.org . 🔗  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 . 🔗  Find an edited   transcript . 🔗  Get   Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer:  Castria Communications Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast…

People in this episode

Host: Mignon Fogarty

Topics covered

• English language
• homographs
• Old English
• language evolution
• spelling

Keywords

• Ye Olde
• homographs
• thorn
• eth
• yogh
• compact
• English language

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dragonfly Editorial, I'll Go First, Quick and Dirty Tips, Castria Communications, Acast

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