Overview

In this study of the English language as it is spelled in America, D. W. Cummings demonstrates that behind the apparent disorder of spelling in American English lies a self-regulating and self-reorganizing system that is responsive to four kinds of imperative: phonetic, semantic, etymological, and systemic. Cummings offers a systematic theory of orthography and applies this theory to the American English vocabulary with numerous examples. Cummings also describes the explication of written words into their elements, particles, and processes, and he sets out the tactical and procedural rules that control the distribution and sequencing of vowels and consonants. In the largest section of the book, he provides an exhaustive description of the major and minor correspondences between the sounds of American English words and their spellings. An essential reference work, American English Spelling moves beyond questions of how words are spelled to an understanding of why they are spelled as they are.

Full Product Details

Author:   D. W. Cummings
Publisher:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Imprint:   Johns Hopkins University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 4.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.992kg
ISBN:  

9780801834431

ISBN 10:   0801834430
Pages:   592
Publication Date:   26 June 1988
Recommended Age:   From 17
Audience:   College/higher education ,  General/trade ,  Undergraduate ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

Detailed Table of Contents Preface Notes on Usage Part I: Analysis Chapter 1. Spelling as System Chapter 2. The Explication of Written Words Part II: Tactics Chapter 3. Sequences and Distributions Chapter 4. String Patterns and Rules Chapter 5. Suffix Rules Chapter 6. VCV in Disyllables Chapter 7. The Third Syllable Rules Part III: Procedures Chapter 8. Silent Final e and Its Deletion Rule Chapter 9. The Twinning Rules Chapter 10. Assimilated Prefixes Part IV: Correspondences Chapter 11. The Sounds and Letters of English Chapter 12. Short a, /a/ Chapter 13. Short e, /e/ Chapter 14. Short i, /i/ Chapter 15. The Short o's, /ä/ and /ó/ Chapter 16. High Short u, /ú/ Chapter 17. Low Short u, /u/ Chapter 18. Long a, /a/ Chapter 19. Long e, /e/ Chapter 20. Long i, /i/ Chapter 21. Long o, /o/ Chapter 22. The Simple Long u, /u/ Chapter 23. The Complex Long u, /yu/ Chapter 24. The Diphthongs, /òi/ and /aú/ Chapter 25. Vowels before /r/ Chapter 26. The Front Stops: /b/, /p/, /d/, and /t/ Chapter 27. The Velar Stops, /g/ and /k/ Chapter 28. The Simple Fricatives /v/, /f/, /th/, /th/, and /h/ Chapter 29. The Simple Fricatives /z/ and /s/ Chapter 30. The Palatal Sibilants: /sh/, /ch/, /j/, and /zh/ Chapter 31. The Nasals: /m/, /n/, and /n/ Chapter 32. The Liquids, /l/ and /r/ Chapter 33. The Semivowels, /w/ and /y/ Chapter 34. Conclusion Bibliography Index of Words General Index

Reviews

Until now we have had no work like this. In prose that is a pleasure to read, Cummings reveals order in a seemingly chaotic domain, an accomplishment that is surely the essence of humanistic and scientific scholarship. --Charles Read

"""Until now we have had no work like this. In prose that is a pleasure to read, Cummings reveals order in a seemingly chaotic domain, an accomplishment that is surely the essence of humanistic and scientific scholarship.""--Charles Read"

Author Information

D. W. Cummings is emeritus professor of English at Central Washington University. He can be contacted through his website, www.dwcummings.com.

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