orthography

Everyday

1. Orthography is the system of spelling and writing a language: which letters stand for which sounds, and rules for capital letters, hyphens and punctuation. tree →
2. Orthography is correct spelling. tree →

In the lessons

In English and language lessons, English orthography is famous for being tricky: «though, through, tough, cough» are spelled alike but sound different. Other languages, like Finnish, Spanish or Ukrainian, have more regular orthographies. UK and US orthography differ («colour/color»). Phrases: «English orthography», «spelling and orthography».

Examples

• English orthography has many silent letters, like the «k» in «knee». tree →
• Spanish orthography is more regular than English. tree →
• The orthography of Ukrainian uses the Cyrillic alphabet. tree →
• Noah Webster changed American orthography, writing «color» instead of «colour». tree →
• Learning orthography means learning the spelling rules. tree →
• Old books show a different orthography, like «olde shoppe». tree →

Note

Uncountable in general use; «orthographies» for different systems. Adjective «orthographic». From Greek «ortho» (correct) + «graph» (writing). Not the same as «orthodontist» (a teeth-straightening dentist).

In Jewish tradition

In English and language lessons, English orthography is famous for being tricky: «though, through, tough, cough» are spelled alike but sound different. Other languages, like Finnish, Spanish or Ukrainian, have more regular orthographies. UK and US orthography differ («colour/color»). Phrases: «English orthography», «spelling and orthography».

Examples

• For the Hebrew orthography which has been and is still taught, is not Hebrew but Arabic. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• Finding that my views on Hebrew orthography harmonized Avith those of the Sefer Yetzirah, I made an exhaustive study of it. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →
• The reason why they have remained so long an unsolved problem is partly due to a lack of knowledge of Hebrew orthography, on which the Sefer Yetzirah is based. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) tree →

Note

Uncountable in general use; «orthographies» for different systems. Adjective «orthographic». From Greek «ortho» (correct) + «graph» (writing). Not the same as «orthodontist» (a teeth-straightening dentist).