123. Decalog(ue)

Seth, Emily, and Kyle decide that, this holiday season, they want to keep it simple. Well, not in terms of episode length. But don’t let that scare you off! Our hosts are dashing through some fascinating language history, laughing all the way!

Seth starts us off with a word of uncertain spelling. The competition between decalogue and decalog launches Kyle and Emily into a journey through phonics and alphabets, the birth of European printing, and the champion of American English Noah Webster.

Why is Gutenberg’s printing press to blame for the strangeness of English spelling? Why were Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, and Theodore Roosevelt such bad spellers? And can we just simplify all these confusing words to match their pronunciation? All will be answered in this Chump Holiday Special!