English Spelling Reform

[Chêvouÿx]

If this is how it's going to look.

 

No.

 

 

 

Personally, I feel that the "looks" of a language is a fucking terrible reason to not want reform.

 

Now, if you don't like the diacritics, that's understandable; English-speakers seem to have some irrational fear of it, so I understand.

 

In place of diacritics, though, there's only other solution in my opinion: double vowels (as Dutch uses). Otherwise, you'll have to deal with the crazy new letters that others have suggested over the decades. At least with the system I've rough-drafted, the only change is diacritics (not including the Ðð) and not some wacky new symbol; people would still be able to recognize their good, ol' English alphabet but with some extra markings.

 

Furthermore, you should remember that English doesn't apply solely to the U.S., the U.K., or Canada. There are other nations who natively speak English and pronounce words differently than you. (E.g., educate as /ˈedʒ.ju.keɪt/ or /ˈed.u.keɪt/) Thus, the reforms who propose to spell words like the North Americans way are simply unaware and wouldn't function well in my mind.

 

The system I have worked out so far is set up for such differences. Mostly, I want to come up with a system that allows for not just standardization but also for regions to spell their dialect. If Schwiizerdüütsch can spell itself differently from Hochdeutsch, why couldn't British English from American English? English can easily copy German in that there could be a standard formal language (Hochdeutsch) that's used internationally and in school (etc.) and informal dialects with their own way of spelling that still use the same phonetic rules as the formal language.

 

 

 

 

Now, answer me this, Kiwi: do you want to have a system like this? Do you see the new letters you'd have to learn to write? Do you see how it might be easier to write diacritics or double vowels?

 

[MPQC]

In the spot where you said to report typo's, you have a typo.

 

note them to me so that i can make the necessary edits.

 

:]

[Chêvouÿx]

In the spot where you said to report typo's, you have a typo.

 

 

 

:]

 

 

Yeah, it's littered with some poor grammar and typos. I made that post late at night and haven't yet been willing to go through to change all the errors.

 

 

Any comments on the topic at hand, oh wise Mr. Penguin? :]

[PotshotPolka]

I don't see the problem, the patterns of "ca" and "ce" declining in different ways are perfectly normal and there is a pattern to it, go ask a philologist.

 

It isn't an issue for native speakers for obvious reasons (you spend your whole life speaking it), and second-language learners figure it out by being taught the patterns that we ignore.

[TheVirus]

Yes, let's fix a language by making it worse.

[vonmatrices]

However screwed up English is (or any other language for that matter), changes usually need to come naturally - considering that people will speak the language they know. Unless strictly controlled by an authority, people will continue to speak what their parents have spoken, with a few new slang words here or there.

 

To try and change it dramatically over a few generations will not work.

[2DG]

I, as a foreigner sometimes CAN have problems with spelling, but that's usually because I never take the time, if I have to, I can speak grammatically perfect, but I tend to make some mistakes in spelling, even if I try to do it withoud.

[RaDiuM]

I, as a foreigner sometimes CAN have problems with spelling, but that's usually because I never take the time, if I have to, I can speak grammatically perfect, but I tend to make some mistakes in spelling, even if I try to do it withoud.

 

Like then?

[Moop the communist]

Grammar police?

[Chêvouÿx]

Yes, let's fix a language by making it worse.

 

Do explain how phonetic spelling would make the language worse