---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: More and more rules were added until…"
description: "\"“More and more rules were added until people tried to standardise spelling in the eighteenth century - by which time the language was already an unruly..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg"
---

#  More and more rules were added until people tried to…

![“More and more rules were added until people tried to standardise spelling in the eighteenth century - by which time the language was already an unruly adolescent of 1300 years, throwing letters all over the place.” quote by Ben Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg)

> ““More and more rules were added until people tried to standardise spelling in the eighteenth century - by which time the language was already an unruly adolescent of 1300 years, throwing letters all over the place.””

[Ben Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-crystal/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Attempts to standardize spelling in the 1700s clashed with a language already evolving wildly.

**In simple terms:** Spelling rules conflicted with natural language change.

Key Takeaway

Recognize language’s fluid nature.

Themes

language history standardization spelling

Mood

reflective academic

Type

educational historical

When to use this quote

- teaching spelling
- language policy
- historical linguistics

Key Concepts

linguistics cultural evolution education

Questions to Reflect On

- Should spelling be reformed today?
- How does spelling affect literacy?

A Different Perspective

Standardization can suppress dialectal richness.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[1300 Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1300-years-2411250/) [Eighteenth Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighteenth-century/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Unruly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-unruly-2411248/) [Spelling Eighteenth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spelling-eighteenth-2411249/) [Standardise Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standardise-spelling-2411247/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/)

[David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/)

> [“It would be the twentieth century before the opening of the British Headquarters Papers at the University of Michigan proved what the eighteenth century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-sterne-randall/it-would-be-the-twentieth-century-before-the-opening-of-the-british/)

[Willard Sterne Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-sterne-randall/)

> [“Landscape design theory has been rotting away, peacefully, like a garden temple, since the close of the eighteenth century.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-turner/landscape-design-theory-has-been-rotting-away-peacefully-like-a/)

[Tom Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-turner/)

> [“Compare, for example, seventeenth century writers with those of the eighteenth. What a difference in tone and gait! The former, under a veneer of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-berth/compare-for-example-seventeenth-century-writers-with-those-of-the/)

[Edouard Berth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-berth/)

> [The liberal tradition has its roots in the Enlightenment, that period in the eighteenth-century Europe when intellectuals and political leaders had a powerful sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mearsheimer/the-liberal-tradition-has-its-roots-in-the-enlightenment-that-period/)

[John Mearsheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mearsheimer/)

> [However, the sciences of society and of history retained their old subservient relation to metaphysics for a long time - well into the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-dilthey/however-the-sciences-of-society-and-of-history-retained-their-old/)

[Wilhelm Dilthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-dilthey/)

> [Towards the end of the eighteenth century the industrial-financial revolution began.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-adams-cram/towards-the-end-of-the-eighteenth-century-the-industrial-financial/)

[Ralph Adams Cram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-adams-cram/)

> [What Marie Antoinette was to eighteenth-century France, Mary Pickford is to twentieth-century America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-crowninshield/what-marie-antoinette-was-to-eighteenth-century-france-mary-pickford/)

[Frank Crowninshield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-crowninshield/)

> [Without competition we would be clinging to the clumsy antiquated processes of farming and manufacture and the methods of business of long ago, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mckinley/without-competition-we-would-be-clinging-to-the-clumsy-antiquated/)

[William McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mckinley/)

> [“The house had a name and a history; the old gentleman taking his tea would have been delighted to tell you these things: how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-house-had-a-name-and-a-history-the-old-gentleman-taking-his-tea/)

[Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/)

> [“It was in the eighteenth century that England became what (Adam) Smith called "a nation of shopkeepers"… (p. 58)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-z-muller/it-was-in-the-eighteenth-century-that-england-became-what-adam-smith/)

[Jerry Z. Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-z-muller/)

> [Those who have not lived in the eighteenth century, in the years before the Revolution do not know the sweetness of living and cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/those-who-have-not-lived-in-the-eighteenth-century-in-the-years/)

[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/)

> [“The way we define opera circa 1700 may help us to throw light not just on the choices facing Bach and his brilliant peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot-gardiner/the-way-we-define-opera-circa-1700-may-help-us-to-throw-light-not/)

[John Eliot Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot-gardiner/)

> [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [To my mind, the two most fascinating subjects in the universe are sex and the eighteenth century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/to-my-mind-the-two-most-fascinating-subjects-in-the-universe-are-sex/)

[Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/)

## More by Ben Crystal

> [“The daily mantra of these single-minded individuals – that ‘the sea is there to be swum in, and must be conquered’ – is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-crystal/the-daily-mantra-of-these-single-minded-individuals-that-the-sea-is/)

[Ben Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-crystal/)

> [“Britain's relationship with America might be described as 'special', but only if by 'special' we mean 'frequently dysfunctional'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-crystal/britain-s-relationship-with-america-might-be-described-as-special-but/)

[Ben Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-crystal/)

[Explore all 3 Ben Crystal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-crystal/)

## More Language quotes

> [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/)

[Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/)

> [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/)

[Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/)

[Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/)

> [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/)

[TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/)

> [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/)

[Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/)

[Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/)

> [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/)

[Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/)

> [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/)

[Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/)

> [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/)

[Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/)

> [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/)

[Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/)

[Browse all 21,951 Language quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“More and more rules were added until people tried to standardise spelling in the eighteenth century - by which time the language was already an unruly adolescent of 1300 years, throwing letters all over the place.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ben Crystal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-crystal/more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-people-tried-to-standardise/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Language"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-crystal/more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-people-tried-to-standardise/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/290/ben-crystal-85518_time_more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-peo_1848809.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“More and more rules were added until people tried to standardise spelling in the eighteenth century - by…” — Ben Crystal",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ben Crystal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-crystal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“More and more rules were added...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-crystal/more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-people-tried-to-standardise/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-crystal/more-and-more-rules-were-added-until-people-tried-to-standardise/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```