Latin spelling in English
What each Latin convention writes, with examples, and which ones give a word away on sight.
Where these spellings come from
Words taken straight from Latin, mostly from the Renaissance on, keep Latin's letters: tion, ous, the sc of science, ae and oe. Scholars also respelled older words to look Latin, which is where the b of debt and doubt comes from.
Spellings to recognize on sight
Each of these is a Latin way of writing a sound, and each can be spotted in a word by looking at it. They are also where a speller working by ear writes the plain letters instead.
- tion for the shun sound · nation, station
- ous for the us sound · famous, nervous
- silent c after s before e or i · science, fascinate
- ae for the e sound · minutiae, formulae
Spellings shared with other layers
These are Latin habits too, but the same letters turn up in words from other layers or read more than one way, so they are a hint rather than a sign.
- oe for the e sound · subpoena
Background
How this layer fits beside the others, and where the boundaries between them blur, is on where English spelling comes from.
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References
- Carney (1994). A Survey of English Spelling
- Venezky (1999). The American Way of Spelling: The Structure and Origins of American English Orthography
- Crystal (2012). Spell It Out: The Singular Story of English Spelling