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

About the Author

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

Reviews

"A book which anyone interested in writing systems, especially English writing, should own... I have two copies of it now and I am sure that they will quickly become... dog-eared and annotated." - Mark Aronoff, Language "One of the most comprehensive books on the subject that you will find... a work intended for the serious student/scholar of American English, its spelling, and its formation." - American Reference Books Annual "One needs to be reminded that English orthography does, in the main, make sense; there is an underlying structure to which most words adhere. In American English Spelling, D. W. Cummings updates Jespersen and other grammarians, elucidating the rules of English orthography in meticulous detail... It can be browsed with much profit, or used as a reference to answer specific questions." - Word Ways: The Journal of Recreational Linguistics"