Spellbound The Improbable Story of English Spelling

Following the continued success of a wave of spelling and punctuation titles published in the past eighteen months, James Essinger''s ''Spellbound'' is an engagingly written, unique and comprehensive account of why the English language is riddled with words that are difficult to spell.With a close look at the origins and history of the English language, the book tells the intriguing story of how the spelling of words has evolved over the centuries, from runes to Anglo-Saxon, Middle English to the early dictionaries, and up to the mobile phone text messaging of today.''Spellbound'' reveals answers to the mystery of why many words are, on the face of it, spelled in such an irrational, chaotic and illogical manner. Explaining why we should care about spelling, the book is an entertaining and practical guide to effective communication, as well as an original historical study of one of the most curious linguistic phenomena in the world.