Introduction

It is widely believed that English spelling is an arbitrary mish-mash, devoid of principles. However, according to David Crystal, a leading academic authority on the English language, it has been estimated that

only about 3% of commonly used English words have spellings which are so divorced from principle that they must simply be learned;

the spellings of over 80% of words are regular (in the sense of conforming to established patterns); and

whether the spelling of the remaining 15% or so of words can be said to be regular is open to discussion.

However, everyday users of language (as distinct from those skilled in the science of linguistics) may understandably remain unconvinced. Take, for example, what is probably the best known ‘rule’ of English spelling: I before e except after c. While this ‘rule’ undoubtedly helps you with the correct spelling of words like believe, relieve, conceive, deceive, and receive, it equally clearly has no application to words such as ancient, conscience, efficient, science and society, not to mention eight, either, foreign and heir. Of course, linguistics (like law) is a complex subject, and specialists in spelling will formulate and qualify their rules in such a way that they can identify regularity of spelling in many cases where it is not apparent to the untrained eye. All of which means that readers who find English spelling confusing are in a difficult position.