Orthography

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/orthography

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the linguistic system?A codified set of rules governing spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and word boundaries
2. What is the sociolinguistic function?Promotes linguistic unity, national identity, and facilitates mass literacy
3. Why is orthography important for learning?It gives a stable way to write words, helping people read and write easily, and it lets teachers share knowledge across different places.
4. How can orthography change over time?People sometimes change spelling to show national identity or because technology and politics influence it, like Noah Webster making American spelling different from British.

Codification: The process of establishing and formalizing rules and standards for a language.
Linguistic Fossil: A feature of language that has become obsolete in common use but is preserved in writing.
Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism: Prescriptivism dictates how language should be used, while descriptivism describes how it is used.