Spell It Out: The singular story of English spelling

What led to the inclusion of the letter 'h' in the word "ghost"? According to William Caxton, the inventor of the printing press, and his Flemish employees, the lack of a dictionary or style guide in 15th century Bruges is to blame. When typesetting, they simply spelled words based on how they sounded to their foreign ears, and those spellings stuck.

 While 75% of English spelling follows consistent rules, the remaining 25% can be complicated. In Spell It Out, linguistics expert David Crystal reveals the origins of these perplexing words and why they have become common in our language, tracing their history from sixth century monks to the influence of French, Latin, the Industrial Revolution, and the internet. By understanding the background and principles, Crystal helps readers make sense of these irregular spellings.