Many years ago, while teaching ESL in Argentina, I came across a lighthearted, illustrated book about the history of the English language. As a teacher, I’m always looking for ways to keep students engaged, especially when we’re ploughing through grammar rules, pronunciation drills, or vocabulary lists. And this book provided material that was often a welcome, entertaining detour from the usual classroom routine.

I still remember a few passages that tackled one of the trickier parts of learning English as a second language: the silent “e.” The book claimed (perhaps you’ve heard this too) that Dutch printers, unfamiliar with English and paid by the letter, added extra “e”s (and even the silent “ght” in words like night and light) to boost their pay.