Spelling Hang-Ups

Other than multiple ways to spell sounds, there are several other hang-ups that cause people to struggle in learning to spell. Here is a basic outline of topics which are fleshed out fully with robust word lists in the book.

SILENT LETTERS

• B as in LAMB
• C as in INDICT
• D as in HANDSOME
• E as in TIME
• G as in GNOME
• GH as in EIGHT
• H as in HOUR
• K as in KNIGHT
• L as in WALK
• M as in MNEMONIC
• N as in HYMN
• O as in PEOPLE
• P as in PSALM
• R as in FEBRUARY
• S as in ISLAND
• T as in BALLET
• U as in GUIDE
• UE as in UNIQUE
• W as in WRECK

VOWEL HANG-UPS

• Single Vowels at the End of Words
• Vowel Teams with GH
• EI vs. IE
• When Y is a Vowel

CAPITALIZATION

• First letter of first word in a sentence
• First person subject pronoun
• Proper nouns (including names with two capital letters like LeBlanc)
• Words derived from proper nouns
• Abbreviations of territory or state names
• Titles, headings and headlines
• Acronymns
• Days of the week, months, holidays (not seasons)
• Beginning of lines of poetry
• Parts of letters and dialogue
• Creative emphasis
• Reverence

ACCENT MARKS

• Apostrophe ( ‘ )
• Hyphen ( – )
• Period ( . )
• Acute accent ( ´ )
• Grave accent ( ` )
• Circumflex accent ( ˆ )
• Umlaut ( ¨ )
• Tilde ( ~ )
• Ampersand ( & )

COMPOUND WORDS

• Closed compound words such as HEADACHE
• Hyphenated compound words such as LONG-TERM
• Open compound words such as ICE CREAM
• Words mistaken for compound words such as COUNTERACT

PREFIX HANG-UPS

• Seven ways to express negation: UN-, DE-, DIS-, NON-, A-/AN-, AB-, IN-
• Ten forms of the prefix AD-
• EN- and IN-
• More prefixes that change to assimilate: CON-, DIS-, EX-, OB-, SUB- …

SUFFIX HANG-UPS

• Plurals
• Dual-purpose suffixes
• Past tense and past participles
• Three kinds of -Y
• -IFY vs. -EFY
• Five kinds of -EN
• Agent suffixes
• -ER, -AR, -OR (-OUR)
• -ERY, -ORY, -ARY
• Spelling [əl] (-LE, -EL, -AL, -IL, -ILE)
• -IC vs. -AC
• -ICLE, -ACLE, -ICAL, -ACAL
• -ATE
• -ION
• -ANT vs. -ENT
• -ABLE vs. -IBLE

BRITISH, AMERICAN & CANADIAN SPELLING

• Pronouncing the British R
• -ER vs. -RE
• -OR vs. -OUR
• Doubling L before vowel suffixes
• Pronouncing silent H
• -OG vs. -OGUE
• -ISE vs. -IZE
• -ENSE vs. -ENCE
• A vs. AE
• E vs. OE
• Other spelling differences in random words

Click here for a printable chart of British, American & Canadian spelling differences.

WORDS ADOPTED FROM FOREIGN LANGUAGES

• FRENCH: QU is pronounced [k] as in antique. ET, É and EE are pronounced [e] as in café, ballet and matinee. CH is pronounced [ʃ] as in chef. Soft G is pronounced [ʒ] as in mirage, H is silent as in honor. EAU is pronounced [o] as in plateau.
• SPANISH: LL is pronounced [j] as in tortilla. J is pronounced [h] as in jalapeño. Ñ is pronounced [nj] as in piñata. H is silent as in hombre. QU is pronounce [k] as in quesadilla. Vowels are pure: A [ɑ], E [e], I [i], O [o] and U [u].
• GERMAN: SCH is pronounced [ʃ] as in schnitzel. Z is pronounced [s] after T as in pretzel. Many of the words in which EI is pronounced [ɑⁱ] are German: edelweiss, gesundheit and Rottweiler.
• ITALIAN: ZZ is pronounced [ts] as in pizza. GN is pronounced [nj] as in lasagna. C is pronounced [t͡ʃ] as in cello. CC is pronounced [k] as in stucco. SC is pronounced [ʃ] as in crescendo. SCH is pronounced [sk] as in bruschetta.
• YIDDISH: SCH is pronounced [ʃ] as in schmooze. Z is pronounced [s] after T as in schmutz. CH is pronounced [x] (velar fricative) as in chutzpah.

HOMONYMS & OTHER EASILY CONFUSED WORDS

Find over 400 sets of homonyms and easily confused words organized by grade level in the book.

OBSOLETE LETTERS

•  “Ethel” – a combination of O and E. Now spelled E or OE.
•  “Yogh” – like the velar fricative sound in Bach. This is now the GH found in eight (now silent) and tough.
• “Ash” – a combination of A and E. Now spelled E or AE.
•  “Wynn” – a consonant W sound as in west.
• “Thorn” – a voiceless interdental fricative as in þink (think) or wiþ (with). Now spelled TH.
• “Eth” – a voiced interdental fricative as in ðis (this) or feaðer (feather). Now spelled TH.
• “Long S” – a variant of lower case s. It was used at the beginning or middle of words, while only s was used at the end as in ſuper (super) or firſt (first). In a double S, the long S came before the regular s as in congreſs (congress). Now spelled S.

Try reading this story excerpt from The Parable of the Field Mouse, rendered here with obsolete letters: