Spelling

Spelling is the combination of alphabetic letters to form a written word. It is a linguistic process of correct writing with the necessary letters and diacritics present in a comprehensible, usually standardized order. While a part of a language's orthography, not all languages have purely phonemic alphabets. Standardized spelling is a prescriptive element.

Spellings originated as transcriptions of the sounds of spoken language according to the alphabetic principle. They remain largely reflective of the sounds, although fully phonemic spelling is an ideal that most languages' orthographies only approximate, some more closely than others. This is true for various reasons, including that pronunciation changes over time in all languages, yet spellings as visual norms may resist change. In addition, words from other languages may be adopted without being adapted to the spelling system, and different meanings of a word or homophones may be deliberately spelled in different ways to differentiate them visually.

Six Rules for Spelling

I have a crusty old copy of a book called Instant Spelling Dictionary, now in its third edition but first published in 1964, that I still use frequently. I adapted the six basic spelling rules that appear below from that dictionary. Even without memorizing the rules, you can improve your spelling simply by reviewing them and scanning the examples and exceptions until the fundamental concepts begin to sink in. When in doubt, always look up the word. And do not forget that desktop dictionaries work just as well as electronic ones.

Rule 1

In words ending with a silent e, you usually drop the e when you add a suffix that begins with a vowel:

• survive + al = survival
• divide + ing = dividing
• fortune + ate = fortunate

Here are a few common exceptions:

manageable	singeing	mileage
advantageous	dyeing	acreage
peaceable	canoeing	lineage

Rule 2

In words ending with a silent e, you usually retain the e before a suffix than begins with a consonant.

• arrange + ment = arrangement
• forgive + ness = forgiveness
• safe + ty = safety

Here are a few common exceptions:

• ninth (from nine)
• argument (from argue)
• wisdom (from wise)
• wholly (from whole)

Rule 3

In words of two or more syllables that are accented on the final syllable and end in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, you double the final consonant before a suffix beginning with a vowel.

• refer + ing = referring
• regret + able = regrettable

However, if the accent is not on the last syllable, the final consonant is not doubled.

• benefit + ed = benefited
• audit + ed = audited

Rule 4

In words of one syllable ending in a single consonant that is preceded by a single vowel, you double the final consonant before a suffix that begins with a vowel. (It sounds more complex than it is; just look at the examples.)

• big + est = biggest
• hot + er = hotter
• bag + age = baggage

Rule 5

In words ending in y preceded by a consonant, you usually change the y to i before any suffix that does not begin with an i.

• beauty + ful = beautiful
• accompany + ment = accompaniment
• accompany + ing = accompanying (suffix begins with i)

If the final y is preceded by a vowel, however, the rule does not apply.

• journeys
• obeying
• essays
• buys
• repaying
• attorneys

Rule 6

Use i before e except when the two letters follow c and have an e sound, or when they have an a sound as in neighbor and weigh.

i before e (e sound)	e before i (a sound)
shield	vein
believe	weight
grieve	veil
mischievous	neighbor

• weird
• either
• seize
• foreign
• ancient
• forfeit
• height

Everyday Words that are Commonly Misspelled

If you find yourself over-relying on spell checkers or misspelling the same word for the seventeenth time this year, it would be to your advantage to improve your spelling. One shortcut to doing this is to consult the list of words in the PDF document below that are frequently used and misspelled.

Download

Many smart writers even put a mark next to a word whenever they have to look it up, thereby helping themselves identify those fiendish words that give them the most trouble. To improve your spelling, you must commit the words you frequently misspell to memory, and physically looking them up until you do so is an effective path to spelling perfection.