Arguments for reform English-language spelling reform

1 arguments reform

1.1 ambiguity
1.2 undoing damage
1.3 redundant letters

arguments reform

it argued spelling reform make easier learn read (decode), spell, , pronounce, making more useful international communication, reducing educational budgets (reducing literacy teachers, remediation costs, , literacy programs) and/or enabling teachers , learners spend more time on more important subjects or expanding subjects.

advocates note spelling reforms have taken place already, , not in organized way. there many words once spelled un-phonetically have since been reformed. example, music spelled musick until 1880s, , fantasy spelled phantasy until 1920s. time, words -or ending (such error) once spelled -our (errour), , words -er ending (such member) once spelled -re (membre). in american spelling, of them use -or , -er, in british spelling, have been reformed.

in last 250 years, since samuel johnson prescribed how words ought spelled, pronunciations of hundreds of thousands of words (as extrapolated masha bells research on 7000 common words) have gradually changed, , alphabetic principle lies behind english (and every other alphabetically written language) has gradually been corrupted. advocates argue if wish keep english spelling regular, spelling needs amended account changes.

ambiguity

unlike many other languages, english spelling has never been systematically updated , today partly holds alphabetic principle. outcome, english spelling system of weak rules many exceptions , ambiguities.

most phonemes in english can spelled more 1 way. e.g. words fear , peer contain same sound in different spellings. likewise, many graphemes in english have multiple pronunciations, such different pronunciations of combination ough in words through, though, thought, thorough, tough, trough, plough, , hiccough. these kinds of incoherences can found throughout english spelling , pronunciation, , cause difficulty in learning , practice , lead uncertainty because of sheer number.

such ambiguity particularly problematic in case of heteronyms (homographs different pronunciations vary meaning), such bow, desert, live, read, tear, wind, , wound. in reading such words 1 must consider context in used, , increases difficulty of learning read , pronounce english.

a closer relationship between phonemes , spellings eliminate many exceptions , ambiguities , make language easier master.

undoing damage

the epitaph on grave of william shakespeare spells friend frend.

some proposed simplified spellings exist standard or variant spellings in old literature. noted earlier, in 16th century, scholars of greek , latin literature tried make english words more graeco-latin counterparts, @ times erroneously. did adding silent letters, det became debt, dout became doubt, sithe became scythe, iland became island, ake became ache, , on. spelling reformers propose undoing these changes. other examples of older spellings more phonetic include frend friend (as on shakespeare s grave), agenst against, yeeld yield, bild build, cort court, sted stead, delite delight, entise entice, gost ghost, harth hearth, rime rhyme, sum some, tung tongue, , many others. once common use -t ending -ed pronounced such (for example dropt dropped). of english language s celebrated writers , poets have used these spellings , others proposed today s spelling reformers. edmund spenser, example, used spellings such rize, wize , advize in famous poem faerie queene, published in 1590s.

many english words based on french modifications (e.g., colour , analogue) though come latin or greek.

redundant letters

the english alphabet has several letters characteristic sounds represented elsewhere in alphabet. these include x, can realised ks , gz , or z; soft g, can realised j; hard c, can realised k; soft c, can realised s; , q ( qu ), can realised kw , (or, simply, k in cases). however, these spellings retained reflect their—often latin—roots.