LING 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Readwrite
8 Jan 2016
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However - often one letter may have combo of sounds! (ex: x = e-k-s) Some letters can have no sound (psychology, know, etc) - silent letters! A cluster of letters can have many sounds (through, though, rough, plough, laugh, etc) 15th cent printing froze writing, but pronunciation evolved. 26 letters isn"t enough to represent 40 sounds! Ex: indite -> indict / dette -> debt (from debere) / receit --> receipt / oure --> hour. Added e for long vowel (ex: sal vs sale) 16th cent - samuel johnson - standard spelling to reflect morphology. /t/, /d/, /ed/ ==> all ed! (ex: walked) Many spelling reform attempts after - but none caught on. Major break in continuity b/w old and new! Transition = long & diff & expensive!! (reprints!) If spelled like said --> diverse accents = diff spellings! Lexicographer - makes dictionarybut they don"t decide on new words --> we do! Blend words (ex: electrocute = electric + execute)
