Spelling

Spelling is the writing of a word or words with all necessary letters and diacritics present in the correct order. It is one of the elements of orthography.

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Approved spelling is one of the features of a standard language, and official languages usually have a standard spelling. Minority languages and regional languages sometimes lack a unified spelling, a characteristic which was shared by many national languages until recently.

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Divergence from the standard spelling is often perceived as illiteracy, or as lower class, or can detract from the validity of the arguments so presented.

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Since traditional language teaching methods emphasized written language over spoken language, a second-language speaker can have a better spelling ability than a native in spite of having a poorer command of the language.

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Different spelling standards can lead to the perception of the variants as different languages (see "American language"). Conversely a common spelling over different accents helps to perceive the variants as one common language (see "Chinese language").

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English is a phonetic language. However, words can be difficult to spell because English has words with two types of spelling, normal English spellings, and spellings based on Latin. Other foreign words also complicate matters. However, spelling can be improved by studying phonics. There are complete phonics programs available online for free. You can find free downloadable books and mp3 files at Don Potter's Education Page and free quicktime movies at The Phonics Page.

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Improving spelling abilities is also the goal of spelling bees. Information about improving spelling in preperation for the Scripps National Spelling Bee can be found at Carolyn's Corner

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Spelling and reading abilities are correlated. Spelling success leads to reading success. In the days of the one room schoolhouse, students were taught to spell before they could read and were not allowed to read words they had not yet learned to spell. (See this 1851 article about spelling instruction.)

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Writing: Writing may refer to two activities: the inscribing of characters on a medium, with the intention of forming words and other constructs that represent language or record information, and the creation of material to be conveyed through written language. (There are some exceptions; for example, the us...

Word: Word may mean:...

Letter: A letter is a written message from one party to another. Letters are usually intended to be received by someone far away. Before widespread availability of typewriters and computers, letters were always written by hand. Nowadays, letters are only widely used by companies who send out letters to larg...

Spelling related Images and Photos (experimental)

Tori Spelling	Actress Tori Spelling	Actress Tori Spelling and Her Brother Actor Randy Spelling	Producer Aaron Spelling
Actress Joan Collins and Producer Aaron Spelling at Costume Designers Guilds Awards