Furthermore: Where the Headlines Take You

Um, How Do You Spell That?

I'm not completely horrid at spelling, but it's never been intuitive for me. In my line of work, it can be a real challenge to be a poor speller! But I manage, and I think working as a reference librarian has actually improved my ability to spell correctly at least some of the time – mostly because when I spell something right, like the name of an author, a book title, or a historical event, I can find information about it!  There's nothing like positive reinforcement.  The young superspellers in last week's Scripps National Spelling Bee are working at a far higher level than I can ever aspire to, but like them, I love words. So here's a small collection of some of my favorite books and films about words, spelling, and the English language.

There are lots of books about the history of English generally, but Righting the Mother Tongue, by David Wolman focuses specifically on the history of spelling the English language. Readers will visit with the inventor of spell checking software, learn about the history of spelling reform, explore the impact the internet has had on spelling, and much more. Wolman lives right here in the Rose City, and the last chapter recounts his experiences competing in a spelling bee for adults in an unnamed Portland bar – a nice local touch!

If you're interested in spelling, and you enjoy stories with a "triumph over adversity" sort of narrative, you need to check out the film Akeelah and the Bee. Eleven year old Akeelah is a smart girl (and a great speller!) from a low-income South LA neighborhood. She's smart, but hasn't been challenged much in school – until her principal gets her to sign up for the school spelling bee to make up for her many absences from class. She wins easily, and the experience gives her the drive to try to make her way to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. But there are so many obstacles! Akeelah's mom is worried that the other spellers won't accept Akeelah, and tries to keep her from competing. Dr. Joseph Larrabee, an English professor who confirms that Akeelah has the potential to be a champion speller, doesn't want to coach her at first, because she comes off as rude to him. And after her first few successes, Akeelah starts to feel a lot of pressure to do her neighborhood proud by always winning.

Where would spellers be without dictionaries to back them up? Defining the World explains how Dr. Samuel Johnson created the first comprehensive English dictionary in the mid-1700s. The explosion of the publishing industry and the rise of literacy in 18th century Britain created opportunities for a myriad of arguments about which spellings, word definitions, and grammatical conventions were correct. Many smaller dictionaries of English already existed, of course, but Johnson's task was to create one that would be complete and authoritative. Despite his humorous definitions and inventive etymological techniques (shaky by modern standards), Johnson's dictionary was a great success, and remained the most respected comprehensive dictionary in Britain until the publication of the first volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary more than 100 years later. Henry Hitchings's fascinating account of Dr. Johnson's dictionary project is arranged, charmingly, in a series of alphabetically titled chapters, from "Adventurous" to "Zootomy."

And lastly, but not leastly, word aficionados should make sure to take a peek at The La-La Theory, a series of short zines about language by Katie Haegele. #1 Fun With Words (pictured at right), explores the humorous side of language, discusses the evolution of English, and introduces readers to several fun word games. #2 A Fancy Word for Widow, like you might expect, is all about the word "widow," with synonyms, quotations, etymology, and much more. #5 Blizzards, Blindfolds, Squatters and Cartoonists, and Other Words That Were Born in 1880, is devoted to words that have their origins in the year 1880.  Fabulous!