Ur Tu Stoopid Tu Spel Gud
The Simplified Spelling Society wants to change the way the English language is spelled. They would like to use all phonetic spelling because, they say, the spelling of English has not been updated in 500 years. Itz tu hard tu spel gud.
The Simplified Spelling Society (SSS) is celebrating its 99th birthday by launching a new campaign to make it easier to read and write English.
It may be the world's most universal language but linguistic experts say it has failed to adapt for the last 500 years and now half the globe's English speakers have difficulty spelling.
With texts and e-mails revolutionising the way we communicate, SSS secretary John Gledhill says the time is ripe for phonetic reform and spelling simplification.
"Texts cut away the complications and take away the stigma of not being able to use an obsolete spelling," Gledhill told Reuters in an interview.
The SSS message is simple: "You can change the spelling without spoiling the language. People are scared of change and don't realise it is normal in language."
European children learn to read and write far quicker than the British, he said. Italians take just two years while the British can struggle for up to 12 years.
He said 40 million American adults are functionally illiterate — for everyday purposes, they are not able to read and write.
Gledhill, who has a PhD in the history of Dutch consonantal spelling from 1100-1970, said the Netherlands updated spelling to keep pace with pronunciation.
Do I occasionally misspell a word, sure. I have spell checker on this blog for just that reason. Sometimes it is a typing error, sometimes I just flub the spelling. But, really, is was not all that hard to learn to spell English. Their are a few weird rules but nothing all that difficult (I'm quite sure the Dutch consonantal spelling has a few oddities in it, too.) English grammar is probably somewhat more difficult than the spelling is. But there are far more difficult languages in the world.
World news | Gaius Wednesday, 18 April , 2007
By Pam, Wednesday, 18 April , 2007 @ 8:06 am
You spelled “grammar” wrong, LOL!
I think there was a movement to simplify spelling back in the ’30s, but it didn’t really catch on. (Anyone with details on this?)
Meanwhile, people like my stepfather continue to use his own spelling when he writes a grocery list (cheeze is a prime example), and thanks to spellcheck on his computer, gets along quite well.
And 40 million Americans are functionally illiterate? I’d like to see where he gets those stats. Is he including immigrants (legal and illegal) who don’t want to bother learning English?
By Gaius, Wednesday, 18 April , 2007 @ 8:48 am
Heh. What was my point?
By Uncle Pinky, Wednesday, 18 April , 2007 @ 10:22 am
As my Japanese class was at 8 a.m. on Saturday ( at 18, in college, in Florida, in a beach town) and my Russian class was MWF 4-6, I am familiar with the deleterious effects of codified spelling systems.
By Sylvia, Wednesday, 18 April , 2007 @ 12:57 pm
When I was in first grade, they tried to teach us ITA, a phonetic alphabet. The kids who already read English treated it like a foreign language and survived (the program was axed the next year). The kids who were learning to read in first grade? Failed, and consistently had trouble with English thereafter.
Gaius, did you see Monday’s article in the Washington Post about spelling bee and lecture dates? In the New Dating Scene, the Attraction is a Beautiful Mind.
By OldeForce, Thursday, 19 April , 2007 @ 1:42 pm
Used my own “shorthand” when I was in HS and college. Found it carried over when I was making notes for teaching - right! - English. I would be very careful about spelling and punctuation on anything the students got from me, but every once and awhile one would notice my notes. Most wanted to know if I could understand “that stuff”. Yup, still use it for phone messages and grocery lists. But now I can blame it on senility!