Why English Spelling Is Difficult?

Why English Spelling Is Difficult?


Why English spelling is difficult? The simple answer is – because it is difficult. What is reason at all? Research shows that only half of all English speakers become confident spellers even after 11 years at school. But Italian children can spell accurately after just 2 years at school. Why is that? In Italian, the sound of word and way you spell it are very close, and you pretty much write down what you hear. Also, you can usually tell how to pronounce a word by looking at it. In English, it is another story. English spelling patterns have so many exceptions. Also the consonant doubling is the biggest English spelling problem.


In English, there are 90 basic spelling patterns for its 43 speech sounds but 84 of them have exceptions. In addition to mastering the basic spelling rules, learners of English have to memorize:
a) All the words which do not follow the basic rules
b) How the basi...