Spelling Changes Suggested for the English Language, as spoken by our British Neighbors

Cool and sunny.. yesterday it was almost 70 degrees... today, it was almost 50 degrees.

Suggested Spelling Changes for the English Language

Way back in September of 1976, fellow Mensan, M.G. Shaw of Orpington, Kent, England wrote an article for the International Mensa Journal about how to make (British) English easier for people to spell.  The title was:  A Spell of English.. or A Spel of Englix.)    Let me extract some of his suggested changes to get you thinking about what might also be done for (American) English.

Rule 01:   Eliminate the 'same double-letter' combination.  (What use is it anyway?) 

Examples: "hal" or "wal" or "wil"

Rule 02:  Eliminate the 'different double-letter combination. 

Examples: For "ph" use "f";  "gh" at the end of a word, drop it entirely.

Rule 03:  Drop the "parasitical C"

Examples: For "ceiling" use "seiling"; For for "cake" use "kake"; For "attic" use "attic"
                  For "luck" use "luk"

Rule 04:  Use "c" for the "ch" sound; 

Examples: For "chuck" use "cuk"; For "chicken" use "ciken"

Rule 05:  Dump the "QU" combination and use  "kw"

Example:  For "quickly" use "kwikly"

Rule 06:  Exchange "ks" for "x"

Example: For "exactly" use "eksaktly"

Rule 07:  Use "x" for the "sh" sound

Examples: For "shame" use "xame";  For "nation" use "naxn"

Rule 08:  Use 'z" for the "th" sound

Example:  For "then" use "zen";

Rule 09:  Use "ss" for "z"  (smal violaxn for rule 01.. use double-leters when zey canje ze sound of zeir single leter kounterparts)

Example:  For "crazy" use "krassy"

Rule 10:  Change the "ou" combination to just "o"

Example:  For "cough" use "kof"


Mr. Shaw didn't expect these changes to be made overnight. (I hope he wasn't holding his breath.) Let me end all this with Mr. Shaw's own words:

"Al ze books wil hav to be re-printed, for a start.  But onse ze edukaznal program begins, it won't take long for anyone to katc on.  Why, I'll bet you'r a beter speller alreay - beter zan you ever zought possible!...I rekon we wil al be able to kik ze habit of zuming zru ze dikxnary just to find out how to spel a word..."

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Somewhere in my blog entries I have written about other attempts to change the spelling for American words.  These are somewhat similar to those above.  I think the changes put forward by Melville Dewey (you know, the library man) are very  similar.  Those suggestions did not get acted upon either, as far as I know.

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