Today Sam will plow through the city’s rough boroughs in search of artisanal cookie dough, even though he ought to stay home to nurse his cough. What’s wrong with that picture? Seven words containing ...

Gareth Rees answers a question from Iain Wood in Belgium about the use of apostrophes in some names. 'When you say Christmas it sounds like /krismas/ and when you say Christchurch for example, it ...

Learning a language is often tricky, particularly when it comes to spelling new words. "The Spell As You Pronounce Universal Project" (SAYPU) wants everyone to spell words the way they are pronounced ...

My 11-year-old student sighs. How can the same letters make so many different sounds? We are looking at the letter combination “ough”, which can be read in seven different ways: “through”, “thorough”, ...

Understanding the difference between British and American English can save ESL learners from confusion. These two styles may seem similar, but small changes in spelling, vocabulary, and pronunciation ...

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is under way outside Washington, D.C., and over the next few days, 275 kids from ages 8 to 15 will put their spelling skills to the test. "These kids are spending ...

English, whatever its merits as a language, is a bitch to spell. There are so many rules, and so many exceptions, and yet in the end you have to learn a lot of words on a case-by-case basis. If future ...

See what words this 8th grader spelled correctly to secure his spot in the next round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee ...

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. In his new book ...