[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.56,0:00:18.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People often think the word "doubt" spelling is a little crazy
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.69,0:00:20.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of the letter "b".
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.61,0:00:22.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Since it doesn't spell a sound,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.23,0:00:25.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most folks can't figure out what it's doing there.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.44,0:00:27.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in spite of what most of us learn in school,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.78,0:00:30.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sound is {\i1}never{\i0} the most important aspect
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.27,0:00:32.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of spelling an English word.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.41,0:00:35.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A word's meaning and history need to come first.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.70,0:00:37.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,To doubt means to question,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.73,0:00:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to waver,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.74,0:00:40.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to hesitate.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.20,0:00:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a noun, it means uncertainty or confusion.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.78,0:00:46.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The present-day English word "doubt"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.15,0:00:49.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,started as a Latin word, "dubitare".
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.79,0:00:52.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It first moved from Latin into French
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.21,0:00:56.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where it lost both its "buh" sound and its letter "b".
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.47,0:00:59.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And then it came into English in the 13th century.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.42,0:01:01.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,About 100 years later,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.35,0:01:05.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,scribes who wrote English but also knew Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.46,0:01:09.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,started to reinsert the "b" into the word's spelling,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.47,0:01:12.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even though no one pronounced it that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.50,0:01:14.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But why would they do this?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.19,0:01:16.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why would anyone in their right mind
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.08,0:01:19.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reinsert a silent letter into a spelling?
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.15,0:01:21.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Well, because they knew Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:21.18,0:01:26.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the scribes understood that the root of "doubt" had a "b" in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.53,0:01:30.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over time, even as fewer literate people knew Latin,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.19,0:01:32.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the "b" was kept because it marked important,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.76,0:01:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,meaningful connections to other related words,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.34,0:01:38.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like "dubious" and "indubitalbly,"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.16,0:01:40.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which were subsequently borrowed into English
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.37,0:01:43.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the same Latin root, "dubitare".
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.80,0:01:46.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Understanding these historical connections
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.10,0:01:48.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not only helped us to spell "doubt,"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.40,0:01:50.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also to understand the meaning
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.40,0:01:53.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of these more sophisticated words.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.07,0:01:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the story doesn't end there.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.20,0:01:56.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we look even deeper,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.43,0:01:59.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can see beyond the shadow of a doubt,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.46,0:02:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just how revealing that "b" can be.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.78,0:02:05.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are only two base words in all of English
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.51,0:02:08.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that have the letters "d-o-u-b":
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.80,0:02:10.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one is doubt,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.57,0:02:12.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the other is double.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.53,0:02:14.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We can build lots of other words
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.37,0:02:16.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on each of these bases,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.02,0:02:16.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like doubtful
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.99,0:02:18.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and doubtless,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.34,0:02:19.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or doublet,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.51,0:02:20.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and redouble,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:20.56,0:02:22.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and doubloon.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.07,0:02:24.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It turns out that if we look into their history,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.51,0:02:26.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we can see that they both derive
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.81,0:02:29.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the same Latin forms.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.29,0:02:31.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The meaning of double,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.26,0:02:32.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.13,0:02:35.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is reflected in a deep understanding of doubt.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.78,0:02:37.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,See, when we doubt,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.32,0:02:38.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we hesitate,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.83,0:02:41.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we second guess ourselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.50,0:02:43.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we have doubts about something,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:43.68,0:02:46.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when we have questions or confusion,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.13,0:02:48.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we are of two minds.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.88,0:02:51.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Historically, before English began
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.54,0:02:53.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to borrow words from French,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.23,0:02:55.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it already had a word for doubt.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.51,0:02:59.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That Old English word was "tweogan,"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.15,0:03:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a word whose relationship to "two"
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.58,0:03:05.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is clear in its spelling as well.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.29,0:03:06.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the next time you are in doubt
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.76,0:03:09.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about why English spelling works the way it does,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.46,0:03:11.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take a second look.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.41,0:03:16.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What you find just might make you do a double-take.