Welcome to another week of Dear Duolingo, an advice column just for learners. Catch up on past installments here.
Hallou, dier lernurs! Oops—that looks wrong, doesn’t it? That’s because English follows certain spelling conventions. Let me try this again:
Hello, dear learners! Have you ever wondered why we generally agree on how to spell words and when all of this started? No? Well, today’s the day! Let’s take a look.
Our question this week:
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve had to learn spelling rules. Today, we’ll uncover why that is and how far back those rules go for certain languages.
In this post:
Why do languages have standardized spelling?
Can you imagine that there was a time when languages didn’t have spelling rules? Yes, that’s right! For much of history, people could more or less write words (if they could write at all!) however they wanted—as long as their meaning was clear to readers.
Compared to how long humans have been writing, standardized spelling is a relatively new invention—we've been writing for several thousands of years, but standardization is only a few hundred years old! The timeline is different for every language, but broadly speaking, it was by the 18th century that the idea of a single, shared standard language for everyone really began to take hold in certain countries. There had been earlier attempts at standardization, but they were limited to certain social groups (such as scholars) and genres (like religious texts).
This trend coincided with a political development of the 18th century: the rise of nationalism—especially in Europe. People began identifying with their new nation instead of just the local ruler, and those in power pushed for the use of a single, unified language for their new nation.
However, the language that became the “standard” was often the one used by those in power. This is especially true for written language because throughout much of history, education and literacy were available only to the wealthiest.
In many countries, there are still discussions and tensions around national language policies—particularly in places where there are many language communities:
- Canada: English vs. French
- New Zealand: English vs. Māori
- Nigeria: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, among others, vs. English
- Spain: Catalan and Basque, among others, vs. Spanish
Keep in mind that a particular variety doesn’t become the standard because it’s “neutral,” “the most accessible,” or “a natural choice.” Rather, language standards typically reflect power relationships within a nation state.
When did different languages become standardized?
Many languages have long, complex histories of standardization, and some countries established official language authorities to regulate spelling and grammar. While we know when these institutions were founded, their creation wasn’t the actual starting point. They were preceded by many earlier efforts that simply didn’t stick.
Italian – 16th century
In 1583, the Accademia della Crusca was founded in Florence. About three decades later, in 1612, it published the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca—often considered the first modern language dictionary. However, the vocabulary in this early dictionary mostly consisted of words drawn from the works of famous Tuscan writers such as Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio. As a result, the dictionary was aimed at writers and other intellectuals to set the norm for their written use of the language.
French – 17th century
Around 50 years later than Italy, France founded its language academy: the Académie française, established in 1635. Inspired by Italy’s Vocabolario, it published the first edition of the Dictionnaire de l’Académie française in 1694. Unlike its Italian counterpart, the French dictionary didn’t rely on older literary texts. Instead, it aimed to describe contemporary usage and show how French words could be used.
Today’s French is very different from the French spoken when the Académie was founded and when its first dictionary appeared—which is only natural, since language is always changing. The role of France’s academy has also evolved, and today a central interest of the academy and even of the government is proposing new French words to use instead of loanwords.
Spanish – 18th century
Efforts to standardize Castilian—the variety that became standard Spanish—date back to the 13th century. But it wasn’t until 1713 that Spain’s Real Academia Española was founded in Madrid. By that time, Castilian had spread across Spain, and the new academy made it its mission to establish a unified standard.
Between 1726 and 1739, the Spanish academy published its first dictionary, the Diccionario de autoridades. Its goal was to capture what it perceived as the “purest” form of Castilian, drawing heavily on the language of classical authors—much like the Italian academy had done. In 1780 it issued a shorter, more practical dictionary, the Diccionario de la lengua castellana, which has since evolved into today’s Diccionario de la lengua española.
English – ~18th century
English-speaking countries have never had an officially recognized academy like those in Italy, France, or Spain. As a result, the standardization of English was shaped by dictionary authors, printers, and educators.
By the mid-17th century, printers of English texts had largely settled on certain spelling and grammar conventions. About a century later, in 1755, the English writer Samuel Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language, which became highly influential in solidifying spelling norms in Britain.
In the U.S., Noah Webster published The American Spelling Book in 1783 and the American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828. Both works formally recognized U.S.-specific vocabulary and spelling norms, such as verbs ending in “-ize” rather than “-ise” (like in “criticize”) and dropping the “u” from the suffix “-our” (like in “color”).
By the way—did you know that Canadian English is a mix of U.S. and U.K. spelling rules? However, the first dictionary fully devoted to Canadian English only appeared in the middle of the 20th century.
German – 18th-19th century
Like English, German wasn’t standardized with the help of a specially appointed language academy, even though there had been attempts at doing so. The standardization process that German underwent was especially complex, and it wasn’t until the 19th century that more uniform spelling rules spread across the entire German language area.
In 1880, Konrad Duden published the first edition of the Duden—the dictionary that would serve as the basis for binding spelling rules from the beginning of the 20th century up until today.
Irish – 20th century
Compared to other languages, standardization of Irish happened relatively late. In the 18th century, British rule began in Ireland and continued for around 300 years. During that time, usage of Irish declined massively, and it wasn’t until the early 20th century that Irish was taught in schools and universities.
In 1958, An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, a handbook put together by a branch of the Irish government, was published. It was intended to provide a grammar and spelling standard for official government writings, but ended up also spreading to other domains, such as education.
Standard language is made up of more than just rules
Learning spelling rules can feel tedious at times, but knowing when and why they were instituted can tell you a whole lot about a language’s history!
For more answers to your language and learning questions, get in touch with us by emailing dearduolingo@duolingo.com.