Welcome to Orthographica!
This site gives subscribers access to the body of amazing films made by RealSpelling to accompany the Spellinars, a series of online classes offered by RealSpelling:
- Latin for Othographers 1
- Latin for Orthographers 2
- Transcribing Greek
- Understanding Lewis & Short
- Greek for Orthographers
- Lexical Doublets
- Understanding RealScript
You can see a sample of the riches in store here.
If you are interested and think this resource would be helpful, you can subscribe annually or for the lifetime of the site to all the films on the site. Note that all prices are in US dollars, and that prices include only access to the films, not to actual Spellinars, which are no longer offered. Please read this note about pricing changes.
- Annual subscription: $25
- LIfetime of the Site subscription: $150
Please note the following important caveats -- PLEASE READ!
- The Spellinar resources were never intended to be used as stand-alone references. These resources were created to spark inquiry and discussion in a Spellinar consisting of a series of in-person meetings, face to face with the creator of the films. Since those Spellinar sessions are no longer offered, we have obtained permission from Real Spelling to make the resource films available online. If you had the good fortune to participate in the Spellinars with Real Spelling, you have the advantage of that context as you revisit these films. Keep in mind, however, that over time these films were revised to reflect the evolution of orthographic understanding fostered by the Spellinars. Thus, the final versions of the resources, as available online, may differ from the films you discussed in your Spellinar sessions.
- The Spellinar resources are not the most accessible entry point for making sense of English orthography. Although Real Spelling has offered the world a remarkable body of work to shed light on how our fascinating English orthography system works, these resources do not provide simple answers; nor do they address teaching strategies. Instead, they offer an opportunity to deepen orthographic understanding, which then may inform the choices educators make in developing their courses of instruction. Given the richness and depth of the content of these films, it is strongly recommended that you begin your study of the Real Spelling Tool Box 2 and other reliable orthographic linguistic resources before subscribing to the Spellinar films. Our work to translate the Real Spelling Toolbox 2 to the online format has made it possible for the seriously curious to have access to that remarkable reference (tbox2.com). Note, however, that Real Spelling stopped updating the Toolbox 2 many years ago. As a result, these newly available Spellinar films reflect an evolved understanding that is not always the same as that expressed in the Toolbox 2. Just as the Real Spelling Toolbox 2 represented a major “upgrade” in understanding compared to the first Toolbox, these Spellinar films represent yet another advancement in the evolution of orthographic understanding. Of course, what that also means is that the Spellinar films should never be viewed as “stone tablets” to be accepted without question but rather as hypotheses to be considered, discussed, and developed further by future scholars.
- The Spellinar resources may be most effectively studied in collaboration with others. While the Spellinar context offered a unique experience of scholarship with the Real Spelling community, the resources themselves are astonishingly rich on their own. They are not films you watch once and move on; they reward revisiting again and again, preferably in a collaborative context with other scholars.
Real Spelling’s view is that scholarship begins with three. We encourage subscribers to this forum to connect with (at least two) others and arrange to study together, thereby creating their own productive, scholarly contexts.
New scholars might partner with Spellinar recidivists, who have learned that continued repetition and reengagement with these resources deepen understanding. (Lively recidivism was always a facet of the Spellinar experience.) As Heraclitus famously observed, you can’t step into the same river twice: both you and the river constantly change so that every encounter offers new insights and “aha!” experiences.
Elegantly presented, always building on their rigorous linguistic precision, these Real Spelling films manage somehow to introduce the most apt example at just the right moment!
It is our hope that access to the foundational orthographic principles presented in the Real Spelling Spellinar resources not only fosters a deeper understanding of the English writing system but also encourages new experiences of collaborative scholarship, for which these resources were created.
The orthographic content of this site is copyright ©1999-2023 by Real Spelling and Pascal Mira. All rights reserved. Permission to publish their content was granted by Real Spelling to M. Berman in 2021. The content required for the website's operation is copyright ©2021-2023 by M. Berman, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except for use by the subscriber's children or classes, without the prior written permission of the publisher or in accordance with the Copyright, Design, and Patents Act 1988. The material on this site is for the exclusive use of the subscribers to the site, and their children and students. Copyright holders are not responsible for your misuse of the English language nor any damages ensuing from that misuse.