Why do we check in at the check-in but check out at the checkout? | English compounds and their spelling
Description
Christina and Dominic tackle the tangled world of compound words – from the monster nouns of German to the cake-based contradictions of English (listen and see!).
- Why are some German words so incredibly long?
- Why do some English compounds get hyphens, others spaces, and some nothing at all?
- Is English spelling total chaos, or is there a method to the madness?
From Mark Twain’s complaints about German to a surprisingly elegant rule of thumb for English spelling, this episode sheds light on the quirkier aspects of written language.
Full episode transcript available here:
https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/phil/english/sections/edling/sciencecommunication/podcast-transcripts.php#Episode10
Video tutorial “How to spell English compounds in 3 simple steps” [3:36 min]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTg1cyDwHbQ&t=2s
CompSpell website with online spelling tool and information about the simple compound spelling strategy: www.compounds.gwi.uni-muenchen.de
Mentioned in this episode:
Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer (2018): English compounds and their spelling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
United States
