>I love language and etymology - one of the reasons English spelling is so
>weird is it reflects the etymology of the word ie where the word came from.
>English spelling only really started to be standardised with the introduction
>of the printing press to England by William Caxton and I believe spelling was
>based on the pronounciation of words within a triangle made by London, Oxford
>and Cambridge which was where the first printing press was set up.
My son told me once that the word "weird" is a really weird word because it doesn't follow the "'i' before 'e' except after 'c'" rule.
Penelope Piip originally from Sydney, Australia, now a resident of Groton, MA, USA.
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