Publishers Weekly
02/24/2025
“Anyone who has the misfortune to write in English” has struggled with its spelling, quips humorist Henry (Eating Salad Drunk) in this amusing overview of historical attempts to bring order to the madness. He explains that “simplified spelling” advocates have popped up repeatedly since the 12th century, when a monk named Ormin got bothered by written English’s inability to distinguish between short and long vowels—a problem finally solved in the 16th century with the addition of a silent e at the end of long-vowel words, but which Ormin tried to solve by doubling the consonants that follow short vowels: after becomes “affterr,” living becomes “livvinng.” (“Simpler? No. Practical? Not particularly,” Henry notes.) Other simplified spellers range from John Cheke, royal tutor to Henry VIII’s children, who became fixated on removing “silent Latin letters” (“the superfluous B’s and C’s in words like doubt and indict,” which, readers will be annoyed to learn, had themselves been shoehorned into the language by medieval scholars who had tried to simplify English by making it look more like Latin), to Melvill Dewey, the 19th-century founder of the Spelling Reform Association, who wrote that “we hav the most unsyentifik, unskolarli, illojikal & wasteful speling ani languaj ever ataind.” Henry’s wry survey amounts to a compendium of obsessives—smart people who became “fanatically” preoccupied with “writing laf instead of laugh.” It’s a delight. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
…A rich and engaging history of the attempts, from the 16th century to the present day, to bring written English into line with the way we speak. There’s an enjoyable wryness to the way Henry presents his linguistic idealists, headstrong in the face of public indifference or ridicule. [Henry] has a nose for the memorable detail.” — New York Times Book Review
“…[A] smart, lighthearted chronicle of the simplified spelling. It’s fitting that our guide through this history is a humorist.” — Wall Street Journal
"A witty work of linguistic history." — Washington Post
"Amusing and enlightening…Henry’s book gave me a new perspective, cheering for the simplification crowd.” — The Guardian
"Reed it and lurn a thing or too." — New York magazine
"…[An] amusing overview of historical attempts to bring order to the madness... It's a delight." — Publishers Weekly
"A well-researched and entertaining work that will likely become a new favorite among linguists." — Kirkus Reviews
“In a tour-de-force that spans from Noah Webster to Mark Twain to Froot Loops to Twitter, Henry unpacks the mysteries of why English is such a joy to read and speak…but such a nightmare to spell. Enough is Enuf is a brilliant, thoughtful, often hilarious, and always highly entertaining masterclass on the nuances and pitfalls of our language. This book is required reading for anyone who loves—or hates—English spelling.” — Lithub
“…[A] rich and complex history. It is full of sometimes brilliant, often eccentric, yet ultimately well-intentioned people. And though few are aware of this history, it teaches some important lessons about the nature of language, the technologies we’ve created to capture it, and the passion people hold for how they chose to share their voices with others across time.” — Big Think
“Henry comically shows laugh out loud scenarios… an educational resource to see how complicated the English language is and how difficult it is to change it to make it any better. Those of us who do crossword puzzles will enjoy.” — Midwest Book Review
"Gabe Henry is a witty and wise tour guide for this exploration of orthography." — Peter Sokolowski, Editor-at-Large for Merriam-Webster
"This buk iz jenuine fun." — Maria Bamford, New York Times bestselling author of Sure, I'll Join Your Cult and creator of Netflix's Lady Dynamite.
"Is English spelling a problem? (*Enthusiastic head nodding*) Shud wee doo suhmthing uhbawt it? (*Slowly backs away*) Henry gives us a hilarious history of this oft-repeated cycle of human striving and disappointment. He reveals a surprising cast of characters ranging from the unknown to the very well known, and from sincere and thoughtful to utterly deluded." — Arika Okrent, author of Highly Irregular and In the Land of Invented Languages
"Henry's clever commentary transforms this story of language into pure comedic gold. Enough is Enuf is a must-read for anyone who’s ever marveled at the oddities of English. This is a word nerd’s dream come true." — Ophira Eisenberg, host of NPR's Ask Me Another and iHeartRadio's Parenting is a Joke
“Gabe Henry has taken what sounds at first blush like a dry subject—English spelling—and written an incredibly fun, charming, hilarious book. And bonus: It made me feel better about getting bounced out of my school spelling bee before reaching the semi-finals. Vindication at last!” — Emily Flake, staff cartoonist for The New Yorker
"In a tour-de-force that spans from Noah Webster to Mark Twain to Froot Loops to Twitter, Henry unpacks the mysteries of why English is such a joy to read and speak...but such a nightmare to spell. Enough is Enuf is a brilliant, thoughtful, often hilarious, and always highly entertaining masterclass on the nuances and pitfalls of our language. This book is required reading for anyone who loves—or hates—English spelling." — Jonathan Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness and What We've Become
Kirkus Reviews
2025-02-15
A history of attempts to simplify the spelling of the English language.
In this tongue-in-cheek history, Henry declares, “Learning to spell in English can be a harrowing experience”—a relatable sentiment for most. He notes, “According to a study in theBritish Journal of Psychology, children take 2-3 times longer to grasp English spelling compared to more phonetic orthographies like German and Spanish.” Henry mocks the rhymes, rules, and almost endless exceptions that English language learners are subjected to in an attempt to master its spelling conventions. The author also focuses on the factors that have contributed to these complexities, as well as historical attempts to simplify them. From Anglo-Saxons to the printing press, Henry contends, numerous influences contributed to anchoring spelling to “a pronunciation spoken sometime between Chaucer and Shakespeare.” Calls for reform began in Britain as early at the 12th century but slowed during the mid-1600s, as England found a new target. “American English became a lightning rod for British cultural resentment—and over the next century, it stirred linguists to a level of rage that silent letters never could.” However, calls for reform continued across the pond. Among the American members of the spelling reform movement discussed are Noah Webster, who argued for the country having an independent language from Britain; Theodore Roosevelt, whose suggestions became a “symbol of overreach, a warning against the perils of unchecked zeal in reform”; and Mark Twain, who proclaimed that he did not “see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words.” Regarding more modern influences, Henry discusses the popularity of phonetic spelling in the music industry, as exemplified by U2, Prince, and Def Leppard, as well as the birth of “twenty-first century textspeak.”
A well-researched and entertaining work that will likely become a new favorite among linguists.
