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6.3 Orthography, Affixing Rules, and Etymology

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ALTA Competency Exam for Multisensory Structured Language Education CALT

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 Current Exam Facts 1.2 Eligibility and Therapy-Level Training 1.3 Registration, Prometric, and Study Plan

2 Language Development: Oral and Written Continuum

2.1 Oral-to-Written Language Continuum 2.2 Receptive and Expressive Oral Language 2.3 Receptive and Expressive Written Language

3 Language Development: Phonological Processing & Research

3.1 Atypical Literacy Development and Remediation 3.2 Phonological Processing Components 3.3 Research on Language Development

4 Structural Linguistics: Phonology

4.1 Continuum of Phonological Skills 4.2 Phonemes, Graphemes, and Morphemes 4.3 Articulatory Gestures

5 Structural Linguistics: Alphabetic Principle & Syllables

5.1 Alphabetic Principle and Sight-Word Recognition 5.2 Six Syllable Types 5.3 Syllable Division Patterns

6 Structural Linguistics: Accent, Morphology & Orthography

6.1 Accent Placement and Sound-Symbol Influences 6.2 Morphology: Roots and Affixes 6.3 Orthography, Affixing Rules, and Etymology

7 Structural Linguistics: Syntax, Semantics & Comprehension

7.1 Syntax, Sentence Structure, and Punctuation 7.2 Semantics and Pragmatics 7.3 Comprehension Strategies and Text Structures

8 Structural Linguistics: Written Language & Research

8.1 Handwriting and the Writing Process 8.2 Research on Structural Linguistics

9 Dyslexia: Definition, Brain & Neurology

9.1 Defining Dyslexia and Instructional Impact 9.2 Brain Anatomy and the Reading Network 9.3 Neurological Aspects of Learning Disabilities

10 Dyslexia: Related Issues, Comorbidity & History

10.1 Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Issues 10.2 Comorbid Disorders 10.3 Historical Pioneers in Dyslexia

11 Dyslexia: Research & Executive Function

11.1 Research on Dyslexia and Related Disorders 11.2 Executive Function and Dyslexia

12 Psychoeducational Assessment: Foundations

12.1 Assessment Terminology and Purposes 12.2 Essential Components of a Dyslexia Evaluation 12.3 Formal and Informal Assessment Instruments

13 Psychoeducational Assessment: Interpretation & Error Analysis

13.1 Interpreting Standard Scores, Percentiles, and Stanines 13.2 Using Results to Guide Services 13.3 Error Analysis of Work Samples 13.4 Psychoeducational Research

14 MSL Strategies: Multisensory, Systematic & Analytic

14.1 Simultaneous VAKT Multisensory Strategies 14.2 Systematic and Cumulative Instruction 14.3 Synthetic vs Analytic Instruction

15 MSL Strategies: Direct Instruction, Automaticity & Diagnosis

15.1 Direct vs Indirect Instruction 15.2 Automaticity in Literacy Development 15.3 Diagnostic Teaching

16 MSL Strategies: Program Principles & Theoretical Models

16.1 MSLE Program Content and Principles 16.2 Metacognition and Learning Environments 16.3 Simple View of Reading 16.4 Scarborough's Reading Rope

17 Federal Laws: IDEA, Section 504 & ADA

17.1 Federal Disability Law Landscape 17.2 Federal Eligibility Guidelines 17.3 Documentation Decisions and Accommodations 17.4 Historical Development of Disability Law

18 Professional Ethics: ALTA Code of Ethics

18.1 ALTA Code of Ethics Overview 18.2 Confidentiality, Competence, and Credentials 18.3 Ethical Standards with Parents and Colleagues

19 Professional Communication

19.1 Professional Student Reports 19.2 Strengths- and Needs-Based Language 19.3 Communicating with Parents, Students, and Colleagues

6.3 Orthography, Affixing Rules, and Etymology

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

English orthography is a deep but structured system combining sound-symbol patterns, morpheme constancy, affixing rules, and historical layers.

Core affixing rules include consonant doubling (1-1-1), dropping silent e before vowel suffixes, and changing y to i in specified conditions.

Assimilated prefixes (in- → im-/il-/ir-; con- → com-/col-/cor-; ad- → ac-/af-/ag-, and related sets) keep meaning while adapting spelling to the base.

Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Greek layers predict many grapheme choices and explain high-frequency irregulars without abandoning structured teaching.

CALT-aligned spelling lessons apply rules and etymology explicitly, cumulatively, and with student explanation—not pure visual memorization.

Last updated: July 2026

Orthography is the conventional spelling system of a language. Domain strands 2.D.1 and 2.D.4–2.D.5 require CALT candidates to teach English spelling as a structured code shaped by affixing rules and etymology —especially the Anglo-Saxon, Latin/Romance, and Greek layers. Students with dyslexia need these layers made visible; otherwise “irregular” words feel arbitrary and therapy stalls at endless visual memorization.

Orthography as a Structured System

English orthography is deep, not chaotic. Reliable patterns include phoneme–grapheme correspondences, syllable types, morpheme constancy, and historical layers. MSLE spelling instruction is therefore speech-to-print and meaning-to-print , not copy-the-list. Therapists ask: What sounds are represented? What morphemes are present? Which language of origin predicts the letter pattern? Which affixing rule applies when a suffix is added?

Orthographic knowledge grows through:

  • Explicit teaching of reliable generalizations
  • Immediate guided practice with corrective feedback
  • Cumulative review of previously learned patterns
  • Application in dictated sentences and authentic writing
  • High-Utility Affixing Rules (2.D.4)

When a suffix beginning with a vowel is added to a base, three classic orthographic adjustments dominate elementary and intervention curricula.

1. The doubling rule (1-1-1)

Doubling typically applies when a one -syllable base has one final consonant after one vowel, and the suffix begins with a vowel: hop + -ing → hopping ; run + -er → runner ; mad + -est → maddest . Doubling keeps the preceding vowel short by preserving a visual closed syllable.

Doubling usually does not apply when:

  • The suffix begins with a consonant — consonant suffixes just add: ship + -ment → shipment ; sad + -ly → sadly
  • The base ends in two consonants ( jump + -ing → jumping )

The final consonant is w , x , or y in many programs’ statements of the rule ( box + -ing → boxing ; play + -ing → playing )

For multisyllabic bases, many programs double only if the final syllable is accented ( begin → beginning ; compare enter → entering )

Accent returns here from Section 6.1: stress status gates doubling in longer words.

2. Dropping silent e

When a base ends in silent e and the suffix begins with a vowel, English generally drops the e : hope + -ing → hoping ; make + -er → maker ; fame + -ous → famous . The e often signaled a long vowel or soft c/g ; once a vowel suffix supplies the needed structure, the e is redundant.

Keep the e when the suffix begins with a consonant ( hope + -ful → hopeful ) Also keep the e after a soft c or g when the suffix begins with a or o , because the e is what preserves the soft sound: notice + -able → noticeable ; change + -able → changeable ; courage + -ous → courageous . This is a categorical rule, not a style preference— noticable is simply misspelled.

3. Changing y to i

When a base ends in consonant + y , and the suffix does not begin with i , change y to i : happy + -ness → happiness ; try + -ed → tried ; baby + -es → babies . Keep y when the suffix begins with i ( cry + -ing → crying ) to avoid ii , and typically keep y after a vowel ( play + -ed → played ).

  • Rule Trigger (typical) Example
  • Doubling 1-syllable, 1 vowel, 1 final consonant + vowel suffix sit → sitting
  • Drop e Silent e base + vowel suffix use → using
  • Change y → i Consonant + y + suffix not starting with i carry → carried
  • Assimilated Prefixes

Assimilation changes a prefix’s final consonant to match or ease the join with the base—improving pronounceability while preserving meaning. Classic Latin patterns:

  • Prefix (basic) Assimilated forms Examples
  • in- (not/in) im- , il- , ir- impossible , illegal , irregular
  • con- (with/together) com- , col- , cor- compress , collect , correct

ad- (to/toward) ac- , af- , ag- , al- , an- , ap- , ar- , as- , at- account , affect , aggress , allege , annex , apply , arrive , assist , attract

  • sub- suc- , suf- , sug- , sum- , sup- succeed , suffer , suggest , summon , support
  • ob- oc- , of- , op- occur , offer , oppose

Students who write inlegal or conrect need morphology plus assimilation teaching—not only phoneme–grapheme drill. Meaning stays stable ( in- = not) while spelling adapts.

Sequencing the Development of the English Language (2.D.1)

Objective 2.D.1 asks you to sequence events that correlate with the development of the English language . English spelling is layered because English history is layered—the timeline below is what makes the three etymological layers in the next section make sense.

  • Approx. date Event What it added to English
  • 43–410 CE Roman occupation of Britain A first thin layer of Latin contact vocabulary

~449 CE Angles, Saxons, and Jutes settle Britain Old English (Anglo-Saxon) — the core everyday vocabulary and the th , sh , wh , ck , tch , dge patterns

597 CE St. Augustine's mission; conversion to Christianity Latin ecclesiastical and scholarly words ( bishop , altar , priest ); the Latin alphabet replaces runes

8th–11th c. Viking invasions and the Danelaw Old Norse everyday words ( sky , skin , egg , window ) and the pronouns they, them, their

1066 Norman Conquest Middle English begins. Norman French becomes the language of court, law, and administration for ~300 years; a vast French/Latin vocabulary enters, and French scribes reshape spelling conventions ( cwen → queen )

1362 Statute of Pleading English restored as the language of the courts

1476 Caxton sets up the printing press at Westminster Spelling begins to standardize —and to freeze, just as pronunciation was still changing

c. 1400–1700 The Great Vowel Shift Long vowels shifted in pronunciation after many spellings were fixed, producing today's mismatches ( name , time , house )

16th–17th c. Renaissance revival of classical learning Early Modern English : direct scholarly borrowing from Latin and Greek for science and medicine, bringing ph , ch = /k/, y as a vowel, and ps-

  • 1755 Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language Further standardization of British spelling
  • 1828 Noah Webster's American Dictionary American spellings diverge ( color / colour , center / centre )

Why this sequence is testable. The three layers a CALT teaches are the residue of these events, in order:

Anglo-Saxon vocabulary came first, so it dominates the highest-frequency words a beginning reader meets—and includes the odd-looking survivors ( of , was , does ) whose spellings froze before later sound changes.

Latin/Romance arrived largely through 1066 and the centuries after, so it supplies the school and formal register with stable roots and affixes.

Greek arrived last and mostly through Renaissance scholarship, so it clusters in scientific and technical vocabulary.

When a student asks why English "makes no sense," the honest and instructionally useful answer is historical: the spelling system preserves the meaning and origin of words across centuries of sound change. Say so, then teach the pattern explicitly.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Greek Layers (2.D.5)

English spelling reflects layered borrowing:

Anglo-Saxon (Old English) layer — everyday vocabulary, short words, consonant digraphs such as th , sh , wh , vowel teams like ea in many high-frequency words, and some opaque function words ( of , was , does ). These words dominate early reading but include high-frequency irregulars best explained as historical survivors, not student failure.

Latin / Romance layer — school and formal vocabulary, stable roots ( port , struct , ject , vid/vis ), suffixes -tion , -ous , -able , and assimilated prefixes. Spelling often preserves morpheme identity across sound changes ( regulate / regular ).

Greek layer — scientific and technical terms, ph for /f/ ( phone ), ch for /k/ ( chorus ), y as a vowel ( gym , cycle ), combining forms ( bio , geo , chrono , morph ).

Teaching etymology helps students predict patterns: philosophy uses ph because it is Greek-based; telephone shares phon ; who and of look odd because of Anglo-Saxon history and sound change, not because “English makes no sense.”

Integrating Rules and Origins in Therapy

A complete MSLE orthography block might:

  • Identify the base and suffix; apply doubling, drop-e, or y-change as needed
  • Check for an assimilated prefix and restore the “basic” prefix meaning for vocabulary
  • Label language of origin when it explains a grapheme ( ph , ch = /k/, final que )
  • Dictate words and sentences that force the new rule under mild cognitive load
  • Have the student explain the rule in their own words (metacognition)
  • CALT Decision Rules

When an item shows hop → hopping , choose the doubling / closed-syllable protection account. When in- + legal → illegal , choose assimilated prefix . When asked why of or who resists simple phonics, choose etymology / language history , then still teach the word explicitly and cumulatively. Orthography on this exam is never “just memorize”—it is structured linguistics applied to print.