Speling Refohrm

(Email Removed) (A.B. Normal 65) wrote on 29 Nov 2003:

Hay, Yahl*, Luhks liek itz ben awiel sins ther haz ben anee seereeus diskushon ov English speling refohrm on this ... Sowtheest U.S. slayng ekspreshun meening "yooz peepl". Ie no manee fiend it ofensiv, but wut the hek, just beeing mieself!

Fugidit.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.

Hay, Yahl*, Luhks liek itz ben awiel sins ther haz ben anee seereeus diskushon ov English speling refohrm on this ... Sowtheest U.S. slayng ekspreshun meening "yooz peepl". Ie no manee fiend it ofensiv, but wut the hek, just beeing mieself!

Ah sez yuh is dooin' kuwait ollrite!
Thomas F. Howald

Hay, Yahl*, Luhks liek itz ben awiel sins ther haz ... fiend it ofensiv, but wut the hek, just beeing mieself!

Ah sez yuh is dooin' kuwait ollrite!

I can think of a few reasons for spelling reform, but if it ever happens, I hope it's based on knowledge, wisdom and logic, and that A.B. has no part in it.

John W Hall (Email Removed)
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada.
"Helping People Prosper in the Information Age"

Hay, Yahl*, Luhks liek itz ben awiel sins ther haz ben anee seereeus diskushon ov English speling refohrm on this ... Sowtheest U.S. slayng ekspreshun meening "yooz peepl". Ie no manee fiend it ofensiv, but wut the hek, just beeing mieself!

Please tell us that you have thought about - and even solved - the problem of how to handle regional variation in pronunciation.

Under this system you're using, would you, personally, spell "cot" the same as "caught"? And what about Mary, merry, and marry?

If these sound different to you, would you expect the large number of Americans for whom they are the same to learn your spellings?

What would be recommend be done with multiple accepted pronunciations like route and route? Either and either? Roof and roof?

Suppose John pronounced "pen" like "pin," and Mary says it like "pen." Suppose they need to work together to recommend the best pen for their company to order. Which spelling do they use? Does it go by seniority? Location of the headquarters?
I won't even get into English pronunciations in different countries (figyer/figga, etc.) But it would seem a shame to replace a worldwide system with a regional one, creating a gulf between us and our overseas cousins.

Best Donna Richoux
An American living in the Netherlands

Ah sez yuh is dooin' kuwait ollrite!

I can think of a few reasons for spelling reform, but if it ever happens, I hope it's based on knowledge, wisdom and logic, and that A.B. has no part in it.

It has happened in the Netherlands, several times even, and it has (of course) in al cases been based on the pretence of "knowledge, wisdom and logic".
How could it be done otherwise?
There has (also of course) been no general agreement on the actual "knowledge, wisdom and logic" with which the changes have been applied. The likes of A.B. (advocates of some form of phonetic spelling) have not had much say in the matter.
Best,
Jan

Ah sez yuh is dooin' kuwait ollrite!

I can think of a few reasons for spelling reform, but if it ever happens, I hope it's based on knowledge, wisdom and logic, and that A.B. has no part in it.

Now, now. Did yoo get up on the rong sied ov the bed this mohrning? ) It's true, I have been going a little nuts with the phonetics in some of my recent posts. Just trying to imagine what a truly consistent English spelling system might look like. I'm pretty sure that a truly workable spelling reform probably won't be quite as dramatic as the "Fonetiks" system I've been using. I wonder what the result would be if we really did our best to apply knowledge, wisdom, and logic to a spelling reform for English. I'm kind of favoring the RITE system out of the ones I've seen. It doesn't simplify the rules as much as Fonetiks, but it probably strikes a balance that could actually work.
a.b.

I can think of a few reasons for spelling reform, ... and logic, and that A.B. has no part in it.

Now, now. Did yoo get up on the rong sied ov the bed this mohrning?...

OK, A.B., I'm willing to concede that your horrible 'example' was prompted by nothing worse than an excess of zeal for the topic. If you want to succeed, with a reasonable system, then we may give you a seat on the board.
To the earlier three basic guides, I'll add 'broad concensus'.

I have unfortunately missed your earlier postings, I'll go looking for them. For many years I had resisted spelling reform, primarily because that would lose a lot of the clues to word meanings from the Latin & Greek etc roots, but more recently I have come to believe that we'd gain more than we'd lose by reforming. If some academics wished to study 'standard English' while the rest of us get on with reformed English, I won't have a problem with that.
Re some other folks' remarks about regional variations, dialects, etc. I don't see why those could not continue. Reformed English would be intended primarily for ESL, international business and other widespread communications, or by anyone who opts for effectiveness over tradition. It would not need to be forced upon anyone, it would merely be adopted by anyone choosing to do so, and should succeed or fail on its merits.

John W Hall (Email Removed)
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada.
"Helping People Prosper in the Information Age"

To the earlier three basic guides, I'll add 'broad concensus'.

Or rather, 'broad consensus'. :-) (Sorry... couldn't resist.)

For many years I had resisted spelling reform, primarily because that would lose a lot of the clues to word meanings from the Latin & Greek etc roots, but more recently I have come to believe that we'd gain more than we'd lose by reforming.

In this case, the Latin root tells us that 'consensus' should have an 's' rather than a 'c' there. This belies the importance of etymology in determining spelling.
Sebastian.