English orthography

English orthography is the conventional system for writing English, including spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. Its spellings often preserve historical forms and distinctions that pronunciation no longer reveals.

English alphabet: The set of 26 letters used to write modern English. Its letters are the basic symbols of English spelling.
English spelling patterns: Recurring combinations of letters that guide spelling and pronunciation in English. Patterns such as final silent e shape how many English words are read and written.
Middle English: The form of English spoken and written roughly from the late eleventh to the late fifteenth century. Many modern spellings descend from conventions established in this earlier stage.
American English: The varieties of English used in the United States, including their distinct vocabulary, pronunciation, and conventions. American spellings such as color differ from many British forms.
English-language spelling bee: A competition in which participants spell spoken words aloud. Spelling bees make English orthographic complexity a testable public skill.
Grapheme: A written unit that distinguishes meaning or represents a sound in a writing system. English spellings use single letters and letter groups as graphemes.
Phonics: A method of teaching reading that connects written letters with speech sounds. Phonics teaches the sound correspondences that form one part of English spelling.
Great Vowel Shift: A major series of long-vowel changes in English between the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Pronunciation changed substantially while many spellings remained comparatively stable.
British English: The varieties of English used in Great Britain, including their distinct vocabulary, pronunciation, and conventions. British spellings such as colour contrast with common American forms.
English-language dictionaries: Reference works that record English words, meanings, pronunciations, and usage. Dictionaries document conventional spellings and often adjudicate disputed forms.

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