# Why English language spellings are such a mess



## Brian G Turner (May 1, 2019)

I found this short video fascinating - not just because of the different linguistic influences, but also scribal and printing decisions, that have developed the confusing range of spellings in the English language:


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## Abernovo (May 1, 2019)

Smashin'! Hopefully, you'll get the relevance of that pun, Brian. 

A lot of it I knew. I read Chaucer in Middle English, and could see the similarities between it and Middle (and modern) Scots, as well as German. I'd heard about the introduction of gh in ghost, but not realised the role that Flemish printers played in standardising English.


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