There are some linguists who have described English spelling as “the world’s most awesome mess.” Actually, 80 to 85 percent of English spelling is completely predictable. But the unpredictable spellings are truly marvelous.
Of all the mysteries in English spelling, one of the most prominent is “colonel.” There is no “r” in the spelling, and yet we pronounce it with an “r.” So what happened here?
What happened was that in the 16th century, we borrowed coronel from French. Around the same time, we also borrowed colonello from Italian. For at least 50 years, both of those pronunciations and spellings were in circulation.
By about 1650, the spelling from French, coronel, had dropped out, but the pronunciation clearly had not. We had standardized the Italian spelling, with the French pronunciation.
So that explains one of the language’s mysteries, and in fact many English spellings can be explained by knowing the history of English. But some just cannot be explained. I can tell you, for instance, that we have no idea where the “u” in “forty” went.
What do you think? Do you have a favorite weird spelling? Do you know the back-story of an unusual word? Share your ideas in the comments section.
This video originally appeared in LSA Today.
Peter Diehr - 2009
I always wondered about tough and stuff, not to mention weigh.
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bart plantenga - 1977
but isn’t colonel simply a word rooted in the french? as is lieutenant. but listen to bomb, tomb and comb among countless other examples.
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Arthur Lerner - BA 1969, MA 1971
My favorite spelling is made up to demonstrate the irregularity of English spelling. G. B. Shaw opened an essay with a single word, “ghoti,” and invited the reader to identify what it was.
His answer was “fish,” with the gh as in enough, the o as in women, and ti as in function. He wrote it as part of his campaign to simplify English spelling.
I have also marveled at homonyms. Not knowing many other languages, I can’t say that no other language has them, but it seems not. Yet English has hundreds of pairs, a large number of threesomes (e.g. scent, sent, cent), and several foursomes (e.g. right, rite, wright, write).
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Eric Merten - 1991
How about “baseline” vs. “Vaseline”?
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Thomas Petiet - 1961
I would like to know what mental gymnastic caused the spelling “tendinitis” when it should logically be “tendonitis.” Also, “weird” looks weird and should be spelled “wierd.” Despite these examples, I would hate to see the language dumbed down, as with the egregious common error of using “less” when they mean “fewer.” When you flip to the opposite side, it couldn’t be many clear.
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Martin Werner - 1985
Dear Anne, I found your explanation of the pronunciation of the word “colonel” very interesting! Here is another perspective on that phonetic oddity: The presence of the “R” in “colonel” in American diction is linked to the fact that that particular vowel (similar to the German Umlaut “Ö”) NEVER occurs without a heard “R” right behind it, in fact, blended in with it. Ask any American to pronounce the word “Bösendorfer” (the famous brand of grand pianos). You will get either “Bozendorfer” (as in BOSE speakers) or Börrzendorfer. BUT: there ain’t no “R” in Bösendorfer! In other words, we are looking at an intriguing phenomenon in the way Americans perceive and speak that particular vowel: it is always and inseparably mixed together with the consonant “R”.
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Amy Olszewski - 2001
I spent 4 years in England as a kid, which made spelling a lot of fun when my family moved back to the US. I think my favorite different spelling was icy. I had been used to “icey,” and I remember when I first saw the road signs saying “Bridge may be ICY,” I wondered, why is it icky (OK, so I was 8)? Oh, and even though it’s not English, try saying my last name 😉
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J Malak - 1977
Glasier — american pronounciation: Glay-cier
English (British)… Glass-E-er
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Chris Lumpkin - 1998
Spelling is why I am a slow texter, since I must spell and punctuate all my messages correctly. Sending out a phonetically spelled text message violates my excellent U of M English experience and training. I cannot stomach it! English is a wonderfully weird and creative mess. Let’s keep it that way!
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Victoria Matishen - 1964
It was 1955. I was representing my class in the middle school spelling bee. The word was “colonel”. I blanked out and said ” k e r n e l” knowling that was wrong but hoping for sympathy. I never forgot.
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