English Spelling

After reading chapter thirteen I have become extremely thankful for the spelling system that we have today. I had absolutely no idea the history that English carries. Especially when it comes to Old English, Middle and Modern. These past two weeks with the histories of each period of English have been really fascinating. Overall, making me appreciate this more. Starting with the Old English period, I found that with the scripts from the Roman Empire, and the Romans invading the Celtics which became the British was something I had no idea about. The Romans were the ones who introduced Latin writing and the Latin alphabet. After the Romans had disappeared, the Germanics then arrived. Being largely illiterate, when the Germanics did speak, it was clear that it was from the Latin alphabet. Time had passed and the Middle English spelling came into play and the impact of the French came in and certain letters were added. Fast forwarding to Modern English, many things changed and the Great Vowel Shift greatly affected this system. I feel as though without knowing about the importance of our spelling history, it is almost as if you are missing something. There are many questions in today's life that I sit there and ponder and this was one of them. Our spelling system has a deep rooted history that many are unaware of. Without the help of certain people like Johanes Gutenburg or Melville Dewey, our spelling system would not be possible. It has changed drastically with the help of our French friends, but while reading chapter 13 it really made me gain a sense appreciation to our spelling system.