Episode 184: Spelling Says a Lot (Part 1)
From The History of English Podcast by Kevin Stroud
July 15, 2025 · 1h 21m
About this episode
This episode examines the standardization of English spelling in the 1500s and the subsequent phonetic changes in pronunciation by the early 1600s.
Over the course of the 1500s, English spelling started to become standardized, but the pronunciation of the language continued to change. By the early 1600s, English scholars noticed that spellings no longer reflected the way words were pronounced, and they recommended phonetic reforms. In this episode, we examine how English spelling reformers described the pronunciation of English in the early 1600s, and we also explore how Modern English spellings reflect the phonetic history of words. TRANSCRIPT: EPISODE 184
People in this episode
Host: Kevin Stroud
Topics covered
- English spelling
- standardization
- phonetic reform
- pronunciation changes
- Modern English
- historical linguistics
Keywords
- English spelling
- standardization
- phonetic reform
- pronunciation
- Modern English
- linguistics
- history
More episodes of The History of English Podcast
- Episode 189: Stressed Out · April 30, 2026 · 1h 23m
- Episode 188: Old England and New England · February 27, 2026 · 1h 24m
- Episode 187: Islands and Sea · December 31, 2025 · 1h 13m
- Episode 186: A Dutch Treat · October 31, 2025 · 1h 26m
- Episode 185: Spelling Says a Lot (Part 2) · September 1, 2025 · 1h 18m
- Episode 183: The Fabric of Our Lives · May 13, 2025 · 1h 17m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The History of English Podcast podcast page.