ABSTRACT
English spelling is difficult because so many words are not spelt as they sound. The reason for this is the way that the English language has developed, borrowing words from many other languages. For example, two words which come from other languages and that are difficult to spell are yacht, which comes from Dutch, and meringue, which was originally French. There are a number of rules which can be helpful with spelling, but there are almost always some exceptions to the rule. A prefix is a group of letters which are added to the front of a word and which change its meaning. For example, the prefix sub means 'under' so submarine means under the sea. A suffix is a group of letters which are added to the end of a word, which change its form or its meaning. A homonym is one of a group of words with the same spelling but a different meaning.
