Why I Chose ‘Judgy’ Over ‘Judgmental’

“Only you would give that keynote!” a good friend of mine exclaimed with a laugh when I told her how I had spent my Saturday afternoon. Now I feel quite sure that is not technically true, but I take the point: Not everyone would think you could squeeze a keynote out of English spelling. I, on the other hand, cannot think of a much more fun thing to have the chance to do.

The talk, which I called “Weird and Wonderful Stories Behind English Spelling,” was the lunchtime plenary at the MITESOL 2...