33: Why spelling is hard — but also hard to change (Patreon)

Why  does “gh” make different sounds in “though” “through” “laugh” “light”  and “ghost”? Why is there a silent “k” at the beginning of words like  “know” and “knight”? And which other languages also have interesting  historical artefacts in their spelling systems? Spelling systems are  kind of like homes -- the longer you’ve lived in them, the more random  boxes with leftover stuff you start accumulating. 

In this episode  of Lingthusiasm, your hosts Lauren  Gawne and Gretchen McCulloch get enthusiastic about spelling, and  celebrate the reasons that it’s sometimes so tricky. We then dive into  quirks from some of our favourite spelling systems, including English,  French, Spanish, Tibetan, and Arabic. 

Because Internet,  Gretchen’s book about internet linguistics, is coming out next month,  and if you like the fun linguistics we do for Lingthusiasm, you’ll  definitely like this book! You can preorder it here in hardcover, ebook, or audiobook (read by Gretchen herself) -- preorders  are really important because they signal to the publisher that people  are excited about linguistics, so they should print lots of copies! We  really appreciate your preorders (and you can look forward to a special  Q&A episode with behind the scenes info on Because Internet once  it’s out!) 

For all the links mentioned in this episode: https://lingthusiasm.com/post/185735719586/lingthusiasm-episode-33-why-spelling-is-hard