Early Modern

English: Spelling
(1500 – 1700)
 William Caxton
(c. 1415~1422 – c.1492)
 English merchant, diplomat, writer.
 First English person to work as a printer.
 First person to introduce a printing press into
England in 1476.
 First English retailer of books (his London
contemporaries were all Dutch, German or
French).
 Printing Press
 Standardisation of the English language
(that is, homogenising regional dialects).
 Expansion of English vocabulary.
 Ever-widening gap between the spoken and the
written word.
 Became the indispensable disseminator of the
written word
 The Orthography of
Early Modern English
 Distinction between <i> and <j> not made
until 17th century.
 Still no distinction between <u> and <v> until
mid 17th century.
 Alternative spelling s for words containing /s/
and /z/ as -ise/-ize in criticise – criticize
 Etymological respelling
Spelling pronunciations
 Influenced by classical Latin and Greek.
 Insertion of <h> after <t> in a number of
foreign words. throne > OF trone > L. thronus
ultimately borrowed from Greek.
 Borrowed French words with initial silent <h>
came to be pronounced with /h/. Except hour,
honour, heir and herb (in Am. Eng.)
 Insertion of unhistorical <l>.
e.g. fault > OF faute > L. fallita
 Etymological respelling
No effect on pronunciation
 Insertion of unetymological <b>, <c>. <p>
 doubt > ME doute > OF dute > L. dubitare
 debt > ME dette > OF dete > debitum
 indict > ME endite > OF enditer > L. indictāre
 receipt > ME receite > OF recete > L. recepta
 Insertion of <s> in island, isle, aisle
 isle > ME ile > OF ile > L. insula
 island > ME iland > OE īgland
 aisle > ME ele > OF ele > L. āla