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French scribes to indicate the sound [s] (in words like mice and
grace), rather than to spell the [k] sound (as English scribes had
done).
As discussed above, the printing press was introduced to
England during the Great Vowel Shift. Books were printed
using old spellings, despite the fact that the pronunciation of
words was changing rapidly. By the time anyone noticed,
spellings were fixed at the older pronunciation.
English has borrowed from a variety of languages and in
some cases writers have adopted the foreign spelling as well as
the word itself.
Political groups have lobbied for spelling reform since at
least the middle of the 16th century, so far with little success.
Apparently, the benefits of a consistent spelling system are far
outweighed by the high cost of retraining everyone.
3. English History Summary
A Chronological Table of English History
Date Events Language Influence
Before 500 Pre-English
A.D.
~4000 B.C. Proto-Indo- Ablaut
European
~2000 B.C. – Continental Grimm's Law
500 A.D. Germanic Latin borrowings
500 – Old English
1100 A.D.
500 Angles and Saxons Celtic borrowings
invade England
600 Christianity Latin borrowings
introduced to
England
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