Задание

Read about the English writing system.

Рис. 1. Learning English

The English writing system

The ancient Germans had a runic writing system. The current English writing system is based on the Latin alphabet. It has existed since the seventh century. Now the English alphabet has 26 letters. However, in the Middle Ages there were more, for example, ampersand (&) or the letter thorn, used for the sounds [ð] and [θ].

Most English learners agree that the spelling is illogical and very difficult for non-native speakers. There are a lot of sounds that do not have corresponding letters and a lot of letter combinations are silent. There are too many exceptions from the spelling rules, so a learner has to memorize the majority of the words. It can be frustrating and difficult. A famous linguist Max Muller said: «English spelling is a national misfortune to England and an international misfortune to the rest of the world». The influence of many languages, such as French, Latin, German, Greek and others has resulted in the complexity of the English writing system.

Fill in these phrases.

1. The current English writing system is  the Latin alphabet.

2. However, in the  there were more, for example, ampersand (&) or the letter thorn, used for the sounds [ð] and [θ].

3. There are too many  from the spelling rules, so a learner has to memorize the majority of the words.