Unit 35: A brief history of English spellings
Page 6 of 7
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Proper nouns (names of specific people, places and things) can need extra care: |
1. Names of people:
First names can be spelled in different ways. It can be worth checking! For example:
 Sean Shaun Shawn Antony Anthony Graham Graeme Steven Stephen Lee Leigh Geoffrey Jeffrey |
 Jackie Jacky Jacqui Sara Sarah Ann Anne Annabel Annabelle Gillian Jillian Eleanor Elinor |
Surnames can also be a problem, especially when the spelling and/or pronunciation has changed over time so that they no longer match. Take these two:
These names are pronounced Fanshaw and Chumley – how would you expect to spell these?
There are NO rules for names. People can spell their names (or names of shops or businesses) any way they like.
2. Names of places:
Next time you are on a long car journey, pay attention to the place names you pass. They are fascinating things. Often, they can be traced back to the different invasions outlined earlier. Sometimes, the pronunciation seems to bear no relation to the spelling!
| Many British towns grew up around castles or forts and traces of this fact can be found in the spelling of their names. Some of these can be traced to the Roman invasion, others take the Old English or Germanic route: |  |
| -caster | -cester | -chester | -castle |
| -burgh | -borough | -brough | -bury | -berry |
For example:
Leicester, pronounced /Lester/.
Edinburgh, Middlesbrough, Scarborough, all with the ending
pronounced /brƏ/.
In Scotland, place names provide evidence of the old Celtic language. The Welsh have their own living language which has kept many old Celtic words:
| For example: | aber = mouth of a river > Aberystwyth |
| llan = church > Llangollen | |
| cwm = valley > Cwmbran |
Wales boasts the longest place name – a small village in Anglesey:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch
It means “St Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the fierce whirlpool of St Tysilio of the red cave”. So there you go!
There are no rules governing the spelling of place names so check carefully and enjoy the wonderful diversity.
3. Brand names:
Brand names too may be influenced by foreign spellings. Sometimes, they break spelling rules to attract attention to the product or to create puns in the title and in doing so they (perhaps unwittingly) revert back to the original spellings!
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They just need the normal care you would take with proper nouns, such as checking to see whether any foreign language has affected the spelling.
| Kwik-Save | superstore |  |
| Whispa | chocolate bar | |
| Whiskas | cat food | |
| K'nex | construction toy | |
| Kleenex | tissues | |
| Hi-lites | hairdresser | |
| Eazi-Ryda | taxicabs | |
| Kleenoff | oven cleaner | |
| SupaSnaps | photo shop |
Some stores even make deliberate mistakes with homophones:
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Suite Dreams | furniture store |
| Meet Here | butcher | |
| Best Cellars | wine shop | |
| Dress Cents | clothing | |
| Paws Here | pet shop | |
| Toad on the Road | breakdown truck | |
| Pete's Plaice | fish shop | |
| Hair We Are | hairdresser |
| As you can see above, the letter k is often used in these attention-grabbing spellings, instead of c, ck or even q. Think back to the times of old English, when quick was spelled cwic. The French rulers changed it to quick - now we see it all around us spelled as kwik. |  |
Go to the next page:
What does the future hold for English spelling?
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