English spelling

The original medieval spelling of Portuguese was mostly phonetic, but, from the Renaissance on, many authors who admired classical culture began to use an etymological orthography. In the early 20th century, however, spelling reforms in Portugal and Brazil reverted the orthography to phonetic principles. Subsequent reforms have aimed mainly at three objectives, with variable success: to eliminate the few traces of redundant etymological spelling that remained, to reduce the number of words marked with diacritics, and to bring the Brazilian spelling standard a ...

See also:

Spelling reform, Spelling reform - English spelling reform, Spelling reform - List of leading English spelling reform proposals, Spelling reform - Successes in spelling complication, Spelling reform - Successes in spelling simplification, Spelling reform - French spelling reform, Spelling reform - German spelling reform of 1996, Spelling reform - Indonesian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Norwegian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Portuguese spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Russian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Spanish language spelling reforms

Read more here: » Spelling reform: Encyclopedia II - Spelling reform - Portuguese spelling reforms

Main article: German spelling reform of 1996. Even though German spelling has already been much more consistent than English or French spelling, German speaking countries signed an agreement for spelling reforms in 1996, planned to be gradually introduced beginning in 1998 and fully used in 2005. The so-called Rechtschreibreform is still subject to dispute, and polls consistently show a majority against the new rules. In Summer of ...

See also:

Spelling reform, Spelling reform - English spelling reform, Spelling reform - List of leading English spelling reform proposals, Spelling reform - Successes in spelling complication, Spelling reform - Successes in spelling simplification, Spelling reform - French spelling reform, Spelling reform - German spelling reform of 1996, Spelling reform - Indonesian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Norwegian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Portuguese spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Russian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Spanish language spelling reforms

Read more here: » Spelling reform: Encyclopedia II - Spelling reform - German spelling reform of 1996

Main article: Reforms of French orthography. In 1990, a substantial reform ordered by the French prime minister changed the spelling of about 2000 words as well as some grammar rules. With much delay, the new recommended orthography received official support in France, Belgium and Quebec in 2004, but it has not been widely adopted. Some major French-language dictionaries have incorporated some of the changes. ...

See also:

Spelling reform, Spelling reform - English spelling reform, Spelling reform - List of leading English spelling reform proposals, Spelling reform - Successes in spelling complication, Spelling reform - Successes in spelling simplification, Spelling reform - French spelling reform, Spelling reform - German spelling reform of 1996, Spelling reform - Indonesian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Norwegian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Portuguese spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Russian spelling reforms, Spelling reform - Spanish language spelling reforms

Read more here: » Spelling reform: Encyclopedia II - Spelling reform - French spelling reform

For the 300 years following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Norman kings and the high nobility spoke only a variety of French called Anglo-Norman. English continued to be the language of the common people. While the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle continued until AD 1154, most other literature from this period was in Old French or Latin. A large number of Norman words were assimilated into Old English, with some words doubling for Old English words (for instance, ox/beef, sheep/mutton). The Norman influence reinforced the continual evol ...

See also:

History of the English language, History of the English language - Proto-English, History of the English language - Old English, History of the English language - Middle English, History of the English language - Early Modern English, History of the English language - Historic English text samples, History of the English language - Old English, History of the English language - Middle English, History of the English language - Early Modern English, History of the English language - Modern English

Read more here: » History of the English language: Encyclopedia II - History of the English language - Middle English

From the late 15th century, the language changed further into what is described as Modern English; the change is often dated from the Great Vowel Shift. English has continued to assimilate foreign words, especially Latin and Greek, even to the present time. As a result of this history of assimilation, English today is commonly believed to have the largest vocabulary of any language in the world. As there are many words from different languages the risk of mispronunciation is high. Vestiges of the older forms of English remain in a ...

See also:

History of the English language, History of the English language - Proto-English, History of the English language - Old English, History of the English language - Middle English, History of the English language - Early Modern English, History of the English language - Historic English text samples, History of the English language - Old English, History of the English language - Middle English, History of the English language - Early Modern English, History of the English language - Modern English

Read more here: » History of the English language: Encyclopedia II - History of the English language - Early Modern English

The Germanic tribes who would later give rise to the English language (the Angles, Saxons, Frisians, Jutes and perhaps even the Franks) traded and fought with the Latin-speaking Roman Empire. Many Latin words for common objects therefore entered the vocabulary of these Germanic people even before the tribes reached Britain: camp, cheese, cook, dragon, fork, giant, gem, inch, kettle, kitchen, linen, mile, mill, mint (coin), noon, oilSee also:

History of the English language, History of the English language - Proto-English, History of the English language - Old English, History of the English language - Middle English, History of the English language - Early Modern English, History of the English language - Historic English text samples, History of the English language - Old English, History of the English language - Middle English, History of the English language - Early Modern English, History of the English language - Modern English

Read more here: » History of the English language: Encyclopedia II - History of the English language - Proto-English

The regular spelling system of Old English was swept away by the Norman Conquest, and English itself was eclipsed by French for three centuries, eventually emerging with its spelling much influenced by French. English had also borrowed large numbers of words from French, which for reasons of prestige and familiarity kept their French spellings. The spelling of Middle English, such as in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, is very irregular and inconsistent, with th ...

See also:

English spelling, English spelling - History of the English spelling system, English spelling - Irregularities in the English spelling system, English spelling - The state of English spelling

Read more here: » English spelling: Encyclopedia II - English spelling - History of the English spelling system