American English Spelling
Detailed Table of Contents
On this page
ANALYSIS
TACTICS
- Chapter 3. Sequences and Distributions
- Chapter 4. String Patterns and Rules
- Chapter 5. Suffix Rules
- Chapter 6. VCV in Disyllables
- Chapter 7. The Third Syllable Rule
PROCEDURES
- Chapter 8. Silent Final e and Its Deletion Rule
- Chapter 9. The Twinning Rule
- Chapter 10. Assimilated Prefixes
CORRESPONDENCES
- Chapter 11. The Sounds and Letters of English
- Chapter 12. Short a, /a/
- Chapter 13. Short e, /e/
- Chapter 14. Short i, /i/
- Chapter 15. The Short o's, /ä/ and /
/
- Chapter 16. High Short u, /
/
- Chapter 17. Low Short u, /u/
- Chapter 18. Long a, /a/
- Chapter 19. Long e, /e/
- Chapter 20. Long i, /i/
- Chapter 21. Long o, /o/
- Chapter 22. The Simple Long u, /u/
- Chapter 23. The Complex Long u, /yu/
- Chapter 24. The Diphthongs, /
- Chapter 25. Vowels before /r/
- Chapter 26. The Front Stops: /b/, /p/, /d/, and /t/
- Chapter 27. The Velar Stops, /g/ and /k/
- Chapter 28. The Simple Fricatives /v/, /f/, /th/, /th/, and /h/
- Chapter 29. The Simple Fricatives /z/ and /s/
- Chapter 30. The Palatal Sibilants: /sh/, /ch/, /j/, and /zh/
- Chapter 31. The Nasals: /m/, /n/, and /
/
- Chapter 32. The Liquids, /l/ and /r/
- Chapter 33. The Semivowels, /w/ and /y/
- Chapter 34. Conclusion
Preface xxv
Notes on Usage
ANALYSIS 1
Chapter 1. Spelling as System 1
1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 The Systematicity of American Spelling 4
1.2.1 Performance and Code 4
1.2.2 Self-regulation and Self-reorganization 5
1.3 Spelling Rules 9
1.4 Unity, Variety, and Analogy 10
1.5 Demands and Contentions 12
1.5.1 The Phonetic Demand 13
1.5.2 The Semantic Demand 14
1.5.3 The Etymological Demand 17
1.5.4 Standardization and the Growing Visual Bias 21
1.5.4.1 Spelling Pronunciations 22
1.5.4.2 The Public Uses of Writing 24
1.6 The Principle of Preferred Regularity 25
1.7 Well-formed and Ill-formed Spellings 26
1.8 Accepted, Unaccepted, and Unrecorded Spellings 27
1.9 Goals of This Description 29
1.9.1 Minimum and Maximum Simplicities 29
1.9.2 System-centered versus Use-centered Descriptions 30
Chapter 2. The Explication of Written Words 12
2.1 The Theory of Explication 32
2.2 The Explication of Elements 33
2.2.1 Elements and Morphemes 33
2.2.2 Prefixes, Bases, and Suffixes 33
2.2.3 Meaning and Content 35
2.2.4 Stems 35
2.2.5 Free and Bound Elements 36
2.2.6 Primes 36
2.2.7 Terminative and Nonterminative Elements 37
2.3 The Explication of Sets 39
2.3.1 The Set [+sume, sumpt+] 39
2.3.2 The Set [tend, tense, tent] 41
2.3.3 The Set [verse, vert] 42
2.3.4 Immediate and Mediate Explicata 44
2.3.5 Sets and Connate Groups 45
2.3.6 Nonterminative Suffixes 46
2.4 The Explication of Particles 47
2.4.1 The Linking Particles 47
2.4.2 The Initial Particle 48
2.5 Explication versus Other Lexical Analyses 49
2.5.1 Explication versus Etymological Analysis 50
2.5.2 Explication versus Generative Analysis 51
2.6 On Orthographic Concepts 52
2.6.1 Silent Letters 54
2.7 Problems and Questions 55
2.7.1 The Explication of Form and Content 55
2.7.2 Element and Particle Boundaries 56
2.7:3 The Rule of Syllabicity 59
2.7.3.1 Lexical Simplification 61
2.7.4 Merging 61
2.7.4.1 Subelemental Patterning 62
2.7.5 Two Examples of Explication 63
2.7.5.1 The Set [gym, gymn+, gymnasi+] 63
2.7.5.2 The Set [ly+, lyse, +lyte] 64
2.8 Summary 66
TACTICS 67
Chapter 3. Sequences and Distributions 69
3.1 Tactics and Tactical Patterns 69
3.2 Consonant Sequence Rules 71
3.2.1 Digraphs, Clusters, and Concatenations 71
3.2.1.1 Digraphs 71
3.2.1.2 Clusters 72
3.2.1.3 Concatenations 73
3.2.2 The Mixed Voicing Rule 73
3.2.2.1 Voicing in Clusters 74
3.2.2.2 Voicing in Concatenations 75
3.2.3 The Initial Doublet Rule 76
3.2.4 Final Doublet Constraints 76
3.2.5 The Triplet Rule 77
3.2.6 Doublets within Larger Clusters and Concatenations 77
3.2.6.1 Holdouts 79
3.3 Vowel Sequence Rules 81
3.3.1 The Vowel Doublet Rule 81
3.4 Distribution Rules 82
3.4.1 The Final s Rule 82
3.4.1.1 Holdouts 82
3.4.2 The Final z Rule 83
3.4.3 The Tactics of y and i 84
3.4.3.1 The y-to-i Rule 86
3.4.3.2 Holdouts 86
3.5 The Short Word Rule 87
3.5.1 Holdouts 89
3.6 Summary 89
Chapter 4. String Patterns and Rules 90
4.1 On the Term String 90
4.2 The Minor Strings 91
4.2.1 The V.V Rule 91
4.2.2 The VC# Rule 93
4.2.3 The Ve# Rule 94
4.3 The Major Strings 96
4.3.1 The VCC/VCV Contrast 96
4.3.2 A Short History of the VCC/VCV Contrast 97
4.3.2.1 The Development of Silent Final e 99
4.3.2.2 Latin "Position" and VCV/VCC 99
4.3.3 The VCC Pattern 100
4.3.3.1 Holdouts 101
4.3.4 The VCV Pattern 107
4.3.4.1 The VCV Pattern in Monosyllables 107
4.3.4.2 Consonant Digraphs in VCV Strings 108
Chapter 5. Suffix Rules 112
5.1 Introduction to the Shortening Rules 112
5.2 The Suffix -ity Rule 112
5.2.1 Introduction to the Rule 112
5.2.2 Holdouts 114
5.2.2.1 Long u114
5.2.2.2 V.V 115
5.2.3 The Final Rule 115
5.3 The Suffix -ic Rule 115
5.3.1 Introduction to the Rule 115
5.3.2 Holdouts 116
5.3.3 The Final Rule 118
5.4 The Suffix -ion Rule 118
5.4.1 Introduction to the Rule 118
5.4.2 Holdouts 119
5.4.3 The Final Rule 119
5.5 The Suffix -it Rule 120
5.6 The Suffix -id Rule 120
5.6.1 Holdouts 120
5.6.2 A Second -id 121
5.6.3 The Final Rule 121
5.7 The Suffix -ish2 Rule 121
5.7.1 Holdout 122
5.7.2 The Final Rule 122
5.8 The Suffix -ule Rule 122
Chapter 6. VCV in Disyllables 123
6.1 Introduction 123
6.2 Iambs and Trochees 123
6.3 Regular VCV Trochees 124
6.3.1 Summary 126
6.4 The Nonregular VCV Trochees 127
6.4.1 The Stress Frontshift Rule 127
6.4.2 The Consonant v in VCV Strings 128
6.4.3 Further VCV Holdouts 129
6.4.3.1 Holdouts to the Stress Frontshift Rule 129
6.5 Summary 130
Chapter 7. The Third Syllable Rule 131
7.1 Instances of the Rule 131
7.1.1 The Old English Third Syllable Rule 133
7.2 Preemptors of the Third Syllable Rule 134
7.2.1 Long u 134
7.2.2 V.V 135
7.2.3 The Strong VCVV String 135
7.3 A Special Instance of the Third Syllable Rule 138
7.4 The Third Syllable Rule and Conservative Analogy 139
7.5 Some Tentative Conclusions 141
PROCEDURES 143
Chapter 8. Silent Final e and Its Deletion Rule 145
8.1 The Functions of Silent Final e 145
8.1.1 Marking Long Vowels 145
8.1.2 Marking Soft c and Soft g 146
8.1.3 Marking Voiced th 147
8.1.4 Insulating Nonterminative Letters 147
8.1.5 Silent Final e and the Short Word Rule 148
8.1.6 Fossil e's 148
8.1.6.1 French Fossil e's 148
8.1.6.2 Native Fossil e's 149
8.1.7 Some Special Cases 149
8.1.7.1 The Ending le 149
8.1.7.2 The Suffix -ate and De-stressing 151
8.1.7.3 The Suffix -ile 152
8.1.7.4 The Suffix -ine 152
8.1.7.5 The Suffix -ure 153
8.1.7.6 The Suffix -ite 154
8.2 Silent Final eDeletion 154
8.2.1 Holdouts 156
8.3 Silent Final e Deletion in Ve# Strings 157
8.4 Suffixes Starting with Consonants 158
8.5 The Logic of Silent Final e Deletion 159
Chapter 9. The Twinning Rule 161
9.1 Introduction to Twinning 161
9.2 Instances of the Rule 162
9.3 An Extended Example: +fer Words 168
9.4 Apparent Nonregular Twinnings 170
9.4.1 Nonterminative Bound Bases 170
9.4.2 Suffix Rules 172
9.4.3 Stress-waver 173
9.5 Holdouts to the Twinning Rule 174
9.5.1 Nonregular Twinnings 174
9.5.2 Nonregular Nontwinnings 174
9.6 The Final Form of the Twinning Rule 175
Chapter 10. Assimilated Prefixes 177
10.1 Introduction to Assimilation 177
10.2 The Prefix com- 178
10.2.1 The Assimilations 178
10.2.2, The Productive Prefix co- 179
10.2.3 Holdouts 180
10.3 The Prefix ex- 181
10.3.1 The Assimilations 181
10.3.2 Holdouts 182
10.3.3 Some "Converted" ex-'s 182
10.4 The Prefix sub- 183
10.4.1 The Assimilations 183
10.4.2 Simple Addition in Recent sub- Words 185
10.4.3 Two Unusual sub-'s 186
10.5 The Prefixes in-1 and in-2 186
10.5.1 The Coform en- 187
10.6 The Prefix ad- 188
10.6.1 The Influence of the FulI Assimilation of ad- 191
10.6.2 Some Only Apparent ad-'s 192
10.6.3 Lost ad-'s 193
10.6.4 Summary 193
10.7 The Prefix dis- 193
10.7.1 Lost and Apparent dis-'s 194
10.8 The Prefix ob- 195
10.9 The Prefix ab- 196
10.10 The Prefix syn- 197
CORRESPONDENCES 199
Chapter 11. The Sounds and Letters of English 101
11.1 The Sounds 201
11.1.1 Phones, Phonemes, Morphophones 201
11.1.2 English Morphophones 203
11.2 The Letters 207
11.2.1 The English Alphabet 207
11.2.1.1 The Roman Influence 207
11.2.1.2 The Runic Influence 209
11.2.2 Consonant Digraphs 209
11.3 Vowels and Consonants 210
Chapter 12. Short a, /a/ 113
12.1 Historical Sources 213
12.2 The Major Spelling of /a/ 214
12.2.1 /a/ = a 214
12.3 Holdouts to the /a/ = a Correspondence 215
Chapter 13. Short e, /e/ 117
13.1 Introduction 217
13.2 Historical Sources 217
13.3 The Major Spellings of /e/ 217
13.3.1 /e/ = e 217
13.3.2 /e/ = ea 219
13.4 The Minor Spellings of /e/ 220
13.4.1 /e/ = ai, ay 220
13.4.2 /e/ = ie, ei 220
13.4.3 /e/ = u 221
13.4.4 /e/ = eo 221
Chapter 14. Short i, /i/ 122
14.1 Historical Sources 222
14.2 Stressed and Unstressed /i/ 222
14.3 The Major Spellings of /i/ 223
14.3.1 /i/ = i 223
14.3.2 /i/ = y 226
14.4 The Minor Spellings of /i/ 228
14.4.1 /i/ = e 228
14.4.2 /i/ = o 228
14.4.3 /i/ = u 228
14.4.4 /i/ = ee, ea 229
14.4.5 /i/ = ei, ie 229
Chapter 15. The Short o's, /ä/ and // 231
15.1 Introduction 231
15.2 The Spellings of /ä/ 231
15.2.1 The Major Spellings of /ä/ 232
15.2.1.1 /ä/ = a 232
15.2.1.2 /ä/ = o 233
15.2.2 The Minor Spellings of /ä/ 235
15.2.2.1 /ä/ = ow 235
15.2.2.2 /ä/ = ah 235
15.2.2.3 /ä/ = e 235
15.3 The Spellings of // 236
15.3.1 The Major Spellings of // 236
15.3.1.1 // = aw 236
15.3.1.2 // = au 237
15.3.2 The Minor Spellings of // 238
15.3.2.1 // = o 238
15.3.2.2 // = a 239
15.3.2.3 // = ou 239
15.3.2.4 // = oa 240
Chapter 16. High Short u, / 141
16.1 Introduction 241
16.2 Historical Sources 241
16.3 The Major Spellings of // 242
16.3.1 // = oo 242
16.3.2 // = u 242
16.4 The Minor Spellings of // 243
16.4.1 // = ou 243
16.4.2 // = o 243
16.5 The Spellings of // Summarized 243
Chapter 17. Low Short u, /u/ 144
17.1 The Major Spellings of /u/ 244
17.1.1 /u/ = u 244
17.1.2 /u/ = o 245
17.2 The Minor Spellings of /u/ 247
17.2.1 /u/ = oo 247
17.2.2 /u/ = ou 247
Chapter 18. Long a, /a 149
18.1 Historical Sources 249
18.1.1 Middle English Long a 249
18.1.2 Two Middle English Diphthongs 250
18.1.3 From Middle to American English 250
18.2 The Major Spellings of /a/ 251
18.2.1 /a/ = a 251
18.2.2 /a/ = ai, ay 252
18.2.3 Summary 254
18.3 The Minor Spellings of /a/ 254
18.3.1 /a/ = ei, ey 254
18.3.2 /a/ = eigh, aigh 255
18.3.3 /a/ = ea 256
18.3.4 /a/ = et 256
18.3.5 /a/ = e, ee 256
18.3.6 /a/ = ae, ao, au 257
Chapter 19. Long e, /e/ 158
19.1 Historical Sources 258
19:2 The Major Spellings of /e/ 260
19.2.1 /e/ = e 260
19.2.2 /e/ = y 262
19.2.3 /e/ = i 262
19.2.4 /e/ = ea, ee 264
19.3 The Minor Spellings of /e/ 267
19.3.1 /e/ = ie, ei 267
19.3.2 /e/ = ey 268
19.3.3 /e/ = ae, oe 268
19.3.4 /e/ = eo 270
19.3.5 /e/ = agh, ah 270
19.3.6 /e/ = ay 270
Chapter 20. Long i, /i/ 171
20.1 Historical Sources 271
20.2 The Major Spellings of /i/ 272
20.2.1 /i/ = i 272
20.2.2 /i/ = y 276
20.3 The Minor Spellings of /i/ 278
20.3.1 /i/ = ie 278
20.3.2 /i/ = ei 278
20.3.3 /i/ = eigh 278
20.3.4 /i/ = ai 279
20.3.5 /i/ = ay 279
20.3.6 /i/ = ey 279
20.3.7 /i/ = uy 279
20.3.8 /i/ = oy 279
Chapter 21. Long o, /o/ 180
21.1 Historical Sources 280
21.2 The Major Spellings of /o/ 281
21.2.1 /o/ = o 281
21.2.2 /o/ = oa 284
21.2.3 /o/ = ow 284
21.3 The Minor Spellings of /o/ 285
21.3.1 /o/ = ou, ough 285
21.3.2 /o/ = eau, au 286
21.3.3 /o/ = oo, oh, ew, eo 286
21.4 The Spellings of /o/ Summarized 287
Chapter 22. The Simple Long u, /u/ 188
22.1 Introduction 288
22.2 Historical Sources 288
22.3 The Major Spellings of /u/ 289
22.3.1 /u/ = oo 289
22.3.2 /u/ = u 290
22.3.2.1 The Correspondence /u/ = u and the Third Syllable Rule 291
22.3.3 The Major Spellings of /u/ Summarized 291
22.4 The Minor Spellings of /u/ 291
22.4.1 /u/ = o 291
22.4.2 /u/ = oe 293
22.4.3 /u/ = ou 293
22.4.4 /u/ = ew 295
22.4.5 /u/ = eu 295
22.4.6 /u/ = ui 296
22.4.7 /u/ = uo, uh, w 296
Chapter 23. The Complex Long u, /yu/ 197
23.1 The Distribution of /yu/ and /u/ 297
23.1.1 Initial /yu/ 297
23.1.2 /yu/ after Labials and Velars 297
23.1.3 /yu/ after Liquids 298
23.1.4 /yu/ after Fricatives 298
23.1.5 /yu/ and /u/ after Dentals 299
23.2 The Spellings of /yu/ 299
23.2.1 /yu/ = u 299
23.2.2 /yu/ = ew 299
23.2.3 /yu/ = eu 300
23.2.4 Other Spellings of /yu/ 300
Chapter 24. The Diphthongs, /i/ and /a/ 301
24.1 On Diphthongs 301
24.2 The Spellings of /i/ 301
24.2.1 The Major Spellings of /i/ 302
24.2.1.1 /i/ = oy in Final Position 302
24.2.1.2 Initial and Medial /i/ = oi 302
24.2.1.3 Holdouts, Apparent and Real 302
24.2.2 The Minor Spellings of /i/ 303
24.3 The Spellings of /a/ 303
24.3.1 The Major Spellings of /a/ 303
24.3.1.1 /a/ = ow in Final Position 304
24.3.1.2 /a/ = ow before Vowels 304
24.3.1.3 /a/ = ow before l and Final n 305
24.3.1.4 /a/ before /d/ and /z/ 305
24.3.1.5 /a/ = ou 305
24.3.2 The Minor Spellings of /a/ 306
Chapter 25. Vowels before /r/ 107
25.1 /r/ Coloring 307
25.2 The /âr/ Field 308
25.2.1 The Major Spellings of /âr/ 308
25.2.1.1 /âr/ = arV#, arVV 308
25.2.1.2 /âr/ = arVC, arr 309
25.2.1.3 /âr/ = err; erVC 310
25.2.1.4 The Major Spellings of /âr/ Summarized 310
25.2.2 The Minor Spellings of /âr/ 310
25.3 The /ôr/ Field 311
25.3.1 The Major Spellings of /ôr/ 311
25.3.1.1 /ôr/ = orr; orVC 311
25.3.1.2 /ôr/ = or#, orC 312
25.3.1.3 /ôr/ = warC, war# 313
25.3.1.4 /ôr/ = orVV, orV# 313
25.3.1.5 /ôr/ = arC, ar# 314
25.3.1.6 The Major Spellings of /ôr/ Summarized 314
25.3.2 The Minor Spellings of /ôr/ 114
25.4 The /êr/ Field 315
25.4.1 The Major Spellings of /êr/ 316
25.4.1.1 /êr/ = erVV, erV# 316
25.4.1.2 /êr/ = irr; irVC, irVV .316
25.4.2 The Minor Spellings of /êr/ 317
25.4.2.1 /êr/ = eer 317
25.4.2.2 /êr/ = ear 317
25.4.2.3 /êr/ = ier 318
25.4.2.4 Other Minor Spellings of /êr/ 318
25.5 The Spellings of /ir/ 318
25.5.1 The Major Spellings of /ir/ 319
25.5.1.1 /ir/ = irV#, irV 319
25.5.2 The Minor Spellings of /ir/ 319
25.6 The Spellings of /r/ and /yr/ 320
25.6.1 The Major Spellings of /r/ and /yr/ 320
25.6.1.1 /r/ = urV 320
25.6.1.2 /yr/ = urV 320
25.6.2 The Minor Spellings /r/ and /yr/ 321
25.7 The /ur/ Convergence 321
25.7.1 Historical Sources 321
25.7.2 The Major Spellings /ur/ 323
25.7.2.1 /wur/ = wor 323
25.7.2.2 /ur/ = erC, er# 323
25.7.2.3 /ur/= irC, ir# 324
25.7.2.4 /ur/ = urC, ur# 324
25.7.2.5 The Major Spellings of /ur/ Summarized 325
25.7.3 The Minor Spellings of /ur/ 325
Chapter 26. The Front Stops: /b/, /p/, /d/, and /t/ 127
26.1 Introduction 327
26.2 The Spellings of /b/ 328
26.2.1 Overview 328
26.2.2 The Minor Spelling of /b/ 328
26.2.3 The Major Spellings of /b/ 328
26.2.3.1 The Major Spellings of /b/ Summarized 328
26.2.3.2 /b/ = b at Simple Boundaries 330
26.2.3.3 /b/ = b in Shortened VCV Strings 330
26.2.3.4 /b/ = b in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 331
26.2.3.5 /b/ = b after Vowel Digraphs 331
26.2.3.6 /b/ = b after Long Vowels 331
26.2.3.7 /b/ = bb at Complex Boundaries 332
26.2.3.8 /b/ = bb after Short Vowels 332
26.2.3.9 /b/ = bb between Short Vowels and le 333
26.2.3.10 /b/ = b after Reduced Vowels 333
26.3 The Spellings of /p/ 333
26.3.1 Overview 333
26.3.2 The Minor Spellings of /p/ 334
26.3.3 The Major Spellings of /p/ 335
26.3.3.1 /p/ = p at Simple Boundaries 335
26.3.3.2 /p/ = p in Shortened VCV Strings 335
26.3.3.3 /p/ = p in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 336
26.3.3.4 /p/ = p after Vowel Digraphs 336
26.3.3.5 /p/ = p after Long Vowels 336
26.3.3.6 /p/ = pp at Complex Boundaries 336
26.3.3.7 /p/ = pp after Short Vowels 337
26.3.3.8 /p/ = pp between Short Vowels and le 331
26.3.3.9 /p/ = p after Reduced Vowels 337
26.4 The Spellings of /d/ 337
26.4.1 Overview 337
26.4.1.1 The Flapped d 338
26.4.2 The Minor Spellings of /d/ 338
26.4.3 The Major Spellings of /d/ 339
26.4.3.1 /d/ = d at Simple Boundaries 339
26.4.3.2 /d/ = d in Shortened VCV Strings 340
26.4.3.3 /d/ = d in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 340
26.4.3.4 /d/ = d after Vowel Digraphs 340
26.4.3.5 /d/ = d after Long Vowels 341
26.4.3.6 /d/ = dd at Complex Boundaries 341
26.4.3.7 /d/ = dd after Short Vowels 341
26.4.3.8 /d/ = dd between Short Vowels and le 342
26.4.3.9 /d/ = d after Reduced Vowels 342
26.5 The Spellings of /t/ 342
26.5.1 Overview 342
26.5.2 The Minor Spellings of /t/ 343
26.5.3 The Major Spellings of /t/ 346
26.5.3.1 /t/ = t at Simple Boundaries 346
26.5.3.2 /t/ = t in Shortened VCV Strings 347
26.5.3.3 /t/ = t in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 348
26.5.3.4 /t/ = t after Vowel Digraphs 348
26.5.3.5 /t/ = t after Long Vowels 348
26.5.3.6 /t/ = tt at Complex Boundaries 349
26.5.3.7 /t/ = tt after Short Vowels 349
26.5.3.8 /t/ = tt between Short Vowels and le 349
26.5.3.9 /t/ = t after Reduced Vowels 349
Chapter 27. The Velar Stops, /g/ and /k/ 150
27.1 Introduction 350
27.2 The Spellings of /g/ 350
27.2.1 Overview 350
27.2.2 Hard and Soft g, gu, and gg 350
27.23 The Minor Spellings of /g/ 351
27.2.4 The Major Spellings of /g/ 352
27.2.4.1 /g/ = g at Simple Boundaries 352
27.2.4.2 /g/ = g in Shortened VCV Strings 353
27.2.4.3 /g/ = g in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 353
27.2.4.4 /g/ = g after Vowel Digraphs 354
27.2.4.5 /g/ = g after Long Vowels 354
27.2.4.6 /g/ = gg at Complex Boundaries 354
27.2.4.7 /g/ = gg after Short Vowels 354
27.2.4.8 /g/ = gg between Short Vowels and le 355
27.2.4.9 /g/ = g after Reduced Vowels 355
27.3 The Spellings of /k/ 355
27.3.1 Historical Sources 355
27.3.2 The Minor Spellings of /k/ 356
27.3.2.1 /k/ = cc 356
27.3.2.2 /k/ = kk 356
27.3.2.3 /k/ = ch, cch 356
27.3.2.4 /k/ = q, qu 358
27.3.2.5 /k/ = cq, cqu 360
27.3.2.6 /k/ = x 360
27.3.2.7 /k/ = lk 360
27.3.2.8 /k/ = kh 361
27.3.2.9 /k/ = sc 361
27.3.2.10 /k/ = gh, kg 361
27.3.3 The Major Spellings of /k/ 361
27.3.3.1 The Major Spellings of /k/ Summarized 361
27.3.3.2 /k/ = k before e, i, and y, but c before a, o, and u 362
27.3.3.3 The Regular Settings for /k/ = k 362
27.3.3.4 The Regular Settings for /k/ = c 364
27.3.3.5 /k/ = c in Shortened VCV Strings 365
27.3.3.6 /k/ = c after Reduced Vowels 366
27.3.3.7 /k/ = c in the Cluster /kt/ 366
27.3.3.8 The Spellings c and k in Other Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 366
27.3.3.9 The Spelling ck Summarized 368
27.3.3.10 /k/ = ck after Short Vowels 368
27.3.3.11 Word-final /k/ = ck after a Stressed Short Vowel 369
27.3.3.12 Sometimes Word-final /k/ = ck after Reduced Vowels 369
27.3.3.13 /k/ = ck and the k-Insertion Rule 370
27.3.3.14 The Cluster /ks/ 370
Chapter 28. The Simple Fricatives /v/, /f/, /th/, /th/, and /h/ 173
28.1 The Spellings of /v/ 373
28.1.1 Historical Sources 373
28.1.2 The Minor Spellings of /v/ 375
28.1.2.1 /v/ = vv 375
28.1.2.2 /v/ = lv 376
28.1.2.3 /v/ = f 376
28.1.3 The Major Spelling of /v/ 376
28.1.4 The Spellings of /v/ Summarized 377
28.2 The Spellings of /f/ 377
28.2.1 Historical Sources 377
28.2.2 The Minor Spellings of /f/ 378
28.2.2.1 /f/ = ph 378
28.2.2.2 /f/ = pph 378
28.2.2.3 /f/ = gh 379
28.2.2.4 /f/ = lf 380
28.2.2.5 /f/ =ft 380
28.2.3 The Major Spellings of /f/ 380
28.2.3.1 The Major Spellings of /f/ Summarized 380
28.2.3.2 /f/ = ff in Word-final Position 381
28.2.3.3 /f/ = f at Simple Boundaries 381
28.2.3.4 /f/ = f in Shortened VCV Strings 382
28.2.3.5 /f/ = f in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 382
28.2.3.6 /f/ = f after Vowel Digraphs 382
28.2.3.7 /f/ = f after Long Vowels 382
28.2.3.8 /f/ = ff at Complex Boundaries 383
28.2.3.9 /f/ = ff after Short Vowels 383
28.2.3.10 /f/ = ff between Short Vowels and le 384
28.2.3.11 /f/ = f after Reduced Vowels 384
28.3 Spelling /th/ and /th/ 384
28.3.1 Historical Sources 384
28.3.2 The Minor Spellings 385
28.3.3 The Major Spelling 385
28.3.3.1 /th/ = th 385
28.3.3.2 /th/ = th 385
28.4 The Spellings of /h/ 386
28.4.1 /h/ = h 386
28.4.2 /h/ = wh 387
28.4.3 /hw/ = wh 388
28.4.4 The Spellings of /h/ Summarized 389
28.4.5 Silent h 389
Chapter 29. The Simple Fricatives /z/ and /s/ 191
29.1 The Spellings of /z/ 391
29.1.1 Historical Sources 391
29.1.2 The Minor Spellings of /z/ 391
29.1.3 The Major Spellings of /z/ 391
29.1.3.1 z versus zz 392
29.1.3.2 s versus ss 394
29.1.3.3 zz versus ss 396
29.1.3.4 z versus s 396
29.2 The Spellings of /s/ 397
29.2.1 Historical Sources 397
29.2.2 The Minor Spellings of /s/ 397
29.2.2.1 /s/ = sc 397
29.2.2.2 /s/ = ps 399
29.2.2.3 Other Minor Spellings of /s/ 399
29.2.3 The Major Spellings of /s/ 400
29.2.3.1 /s/ = ss in Word-final Position after Short Vowels 401
29.2.3.2 /s/ = s at Other Simple Boundaries 401
29.2.3.3 /s/ = s in Shortened VCV Strings 402
29.2.3.4 /s/ = s in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 402
29.2.3.5 /s/ = s after Vowel Digraphs 402
29.2.3.6 /s/ = s after Long Vowels 403
29.2.3.7 /s/ = ss at Complex Boundaries 403
29.2.3.8 /s/ = ss in VCC Strings 404
29.2.3.9 /s/ = ss between Short Vowels and le 404
29.2.3.10 /s/ = s after Reduced Vowels 404
29.2.4 /s/ = c 405
29.2.4.1 /s/ = c in Element-initial Position 405
29.2.4.2 /s/ = c.in Element-medial Position 405
29.2.4.3 /s/ = c in Element-final Position 406
29.2.4.4 /s/ = c in Consonant Clusters 406
Chapter 30. The Palatal Sibilants: /sh/, /ch/, /j/, and /zh/ 107
30.1 Introduction 407
30.2 The Spellings of /sh/ 407
30.2.1 The Minor Simple Spellings of /sh/: ch and sch 407
30.2.2 The Major Simple Spelling of /sh/: sh 408
30.2.3 The Palatalized Spellings of /sh/ 409
30.2.3.1 /sh/ = t 410
30.2.3.2 /sh/ = s 410
30.2.3.3 /sh/ = ss 411
30.2.3.4 /sh/ = sc 411
30.2.3.5 /sh/ = c 412
30.3 The Spellings of /ch/ 412
30.3.1 The Minor Simple Spellings of /ch/ 412
30.3.2 The Major Simple Spellings of /ch/: ch and tch 412
30.3.2.1 /ch/ = tch Regularly in Word-final Position 413
30.3.2.2 /ch/ = ch at Other Simple Boundaries 414
30.3.2.3 /ch/ = ch in Shortened VCV Strings 414
30.3.2.4 /ch/ = ch in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 414
30.3.2.5 /ch/ = ch after Vowel Digraphs 415
30.3.2.6 /ch/ = tch in VCC Strings 415
30.3.2.7 /ch/ = ch after Reduced Vowels 415
30.3.3 The Palatalized Spelling of /ch/: t 415
30.4 The Spellings of /j/ 417
30.4.1 Historical Sources 417
30.4.2 The Minor Simple Spellings of /j/: dj and gg 418
30.4.3 The Major Simple Spellings of /j/ 418
30.4.3.1 /j/ = dg in Word-final Position 418
30.4.3.2 /j/ = g at Other Simple Boundaries 419
30.4.3.3 /j/ = g in Shortened VCV Strings 419
30.4.3.4 /j/ = g in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 419
30.4.3.5 /j/ = g after Vowel Digraphs 420
30.4.3.6 /j/ = g after Long Vowels 420
30.4.3.7 /j/ = dg in VCC Strings 420
30.4.3.8 /j/ = g after Reduced Vowels 420
30.4.3.9 The Correspondence /j/ = j 420
30.4.4 The Palatalized Correspondence /j/ = d 421
30.5 The Spellings of /zh/ 421
30.5.1 Historical Sources 421
30.5.2 The Simple Spellings of /zh/ 422
30.5.2.1 /zh/ = g 422
30.5.2.2 /zh/ = j 422
30.5.3 The Palatalized Spellings of /zh/: s, z, and t 422
Chapter 31. The Nasals: /m/, /n/, and // 123
31.1 Introduction 423
31.2 The Spellings of /m/ 423
31.2.1 The Minor Spellings of /m/ 423
31.2.1.1 /m/ = mb 423
31.2.1.2 /m/ = lm 424
31.2.1.3 /m/ = mn 425
31.2.1.4 /m/ = gm 425
31.2.1.5 Other Minor Spellings of /m/ 426
31.2.2 The Major Spellings of /m/ 426
31.2.2.1 /m/ = m at Simple Boundaries 426
31.2.2.2 /m/ = m in Shortened VCV Strings 427
31.2.2.3 /m/ = m in Consonant Clusters and Concatenations 427
31.2.2.4 /m/ = m after Vowel Digraphs and Long Vowels 428
31.2.2.5 /m/ = mm at Complex Boundaries 428
31.2.2.6 /m/ = mm in VCC Strings 429
31.2.2.7 /m/ = m after Reduced Vowels 429
31.3 The Spellings of /n/ 429
31.3.1 The Minor Spellings of /n/ 430
31.3.1.1 /n/ = kn 430
31.3.1.2 /n/ = gn 430
31.3.1.3 /n/ = pn 431
31.3.1.4 Other Minor Spellings of /n/ 431
31.3.2 The Major Spellings of /n/ 432
31.3.2.1 /n/ = n at Simple Boundaries 432
31.3.2.2 /n/ = n in Shortened VCV Strings 432
31.3.2.3 /n/ = n in Consonant Clusters 433
31.3.2.4 /n/ = n after Long Vowels and Vowel Digraphs 433
31.3.2.5 /n/ = nn at Complex Boundaries 433
31.3.2.6 /n/ = nn in VCC Strings 434
31.3.2.7 /n/ = n after Reduced Vowels 434
31.4 The Spellings of //, "eng" 435
31.4.1 Historical Sources 435
31.4.2 // = n 436
31.4.2.1 // = n before /k/ = k 436
31.4.2.2 // = n before /k/ = c 436
31.4.2.3 // = n before /g/ = g 436
31.4.2.4 // = n before /k/ = ch 436
31.4.2.5 // = n before x 436
31.4.2.6 // = n before qu 437
31.4.3 // = ng 437
31.4.4 Two Complications to the // Rule 438
Chapter 32. The Liquids, /l/ and /r/ 139
32.1 Introduction 439
32.2. The Spellings of /l/ 439
32.2.1 The Minor Spellings of /l/ 439
32.2.1.1 /l/ = sl 439
32.2.1.2 /l/ = ln 440
32.2.2 The Major Spellings of /l/ 440
32.2.2.1 American Variants and the Emerging Pattern 440
32.2.2.2 The Spellings l versus ll Summarized 441
32.2.2.3 /l/ = l in Initial Position; 442
32.2.2.4 /l/ = ll in Word-final Position 442
32.2.2.5 /l/ = l in Word-final Position 444
32.2.2.6 /l/ = l in Shortened VCV Strings 444
32.2.2.7 /l/ = l in Consonant Clusters 445
32.2.2.8 /l/ = l after long Vowels and Vowel Digraphs 445
32.2.2.9 /l/ = ll at Complex Boundaries 446
32.2.2.10 /l/ = ll in VCC Strings 447
32.2.2.11 /l/ = l after Reduced Vowels 447
32.3 The Spellings of /r/ 447
32.3.1 The Minor Spellings of /r/ 448
32.3.1.1 /r/ = wr 448
32.3.1.2 /r/ = rh, rrh 448
32.3.1.3 Other Minor Spellings of /r/ 449
32.3.2 The Major Spellings of /r/ 450
32.3.2.1 Variant Spellings with r and rr 450
32.3.2.2 The Spellings r versus rr Summarized 450
32.3.2.3 /r/ = r in Initial Position 451
32.3.2.4 /r/ = r in Word-final Position 451
32.3.2.5 /r/ = r in Shortened VCV Strings 451
32.3.2.6 /r/ = r in Consonant Clusters 452
32.3.2.7 /r/ = r after Long Vowels and Vowel Digraphs 453
32.3.2.8 /r/ = rr at Complex Boundaries 453
32.3.2.9 /r/ = rr in VCC Strings 454
32.3.2.10 /r/ = r after Reduced Vowels 454
Chapter 33. The Semivowels, /w/ and /y/ 156
33.1 Introduction 456
33.2 The Spellings of /w/ 456
33.2.1 The Minor Spellings of /w/ 456
33.2.2 The Major Spellings of /w/ 457
33.2.2.1 /w/ = u 457
33.2.2.2 /w/ = w 458
33.3 The Spellings of /y/ 459
33.3.1 The Consonantal /y/ 459
33.3.2 The Glide /y/ 459
Chapter 34. Conclusion 461
Bibliography 465
Index of Words 475
General Index 539
American English Spelling: An Informal Description, pp. xxv-xxix, vii-xxiv, 539-555. © 1988 [Copyright Holder]. Reproduced with permission of The Johns Hopkins
University Press (http://www.jhupbooks.com).
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