Intro E: Mini-FAQ on Spelling

(I am posting these Intros for Donna Richoux while she is away. Maria.)

Last Revised 2003-02-27 (27 Feb 2003)

~~ Mini-FAQ on Spelling ~~ There are longer answers, with more examples, for most of these items in the full AUE FAQ (see end). Many of these topics cause much argument, and we earnestly request that you do some research before deciding to post on these.

CONTENTS OF THIS MINI FAQ ON SPELLING:

- Isn't spelling reform a good idea? - Joke about step-by-step spelling reform - Humorous poems about spelling - What is "ghoti"? - I before E except after C - U.S. -v- REST-OF-WORLD ENGLISH "-er" -v- "-re"

-- Isn't spelling reform a good idea? --

Only a tiny number of a.u.e participants favour spelling reform. One chief reason is that there are so many ways to pronounce common English words that any simplified standard spelling would still be irregular for many people.

We do not appreciate long attempts at trying to convert us to spelling reform. You may find a better audience at alt.language.english.spelling.reform, and there is The Simplified Spelling Society at:

http://www.spellingsociety.org/

-- Joke about step-by-step spelling reform --

Three versions of this joke, in which spelling reforms are proposed and then made in the course of the article itself, are in circulation. They can be found on the Web, so please don't post any to a.u.e.

(1) A plan for the improvement of spelling, by M. J. Shields http://www.ojohaven.com/fun/spelling.html (M. J. Shields was a critic of G. B. Shaw's spelling reform ideas, according to the book "Another Almanac of Words at Play" (William Espy, 1980, p. 80). Many web sites attribute this piece to Mark Twain, but Twain scholars at the University of California could find no supporting evidence for that.)

(2) MEIHEM IN CE KLASRUM by Dolton Edwards (in Astounding SF 1946) http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~mjm62gwg/humour9.htm

(3) The European Commission has just announced... http://www.speedybar.ch/witze/jokes2000/spelling.html

-- Humorous poems about spelling --

One well-known poem that is posted occasionally and can be found on the Web is sometimes called "English is Tough Stuff," but its original title was "The Chaos." It was written by Dutch writer and teacher G. Nolst Trenite, and first appeared in his textbook, Drop Your Foreign Accent (Haarlem, 1920). In later editions he added more verses. It begins:

Dearest creature in creation, Studying English pronunciation. I will teach you in my verse Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.

http://www.spellingsociety.org/pubs/journals/jsss-1994-2/caos.html

Another poem is sometimes called "Ode to a Spelling Checker" or "Owed to a Spieling Chequer." What appears to be the original version is at:

CANDIDATE FOR A PULLET SURPRISE by Jerrold H. Zar http://www.tenderbytes.net/rhymeworld/feeder/teacher/pullet.htm
-- What is "ghoti"? --

It's an alternative spelling of "chestnut". O.K., it's "fish", re-spelled to demonstrate the inconsistency of English spelling: "gh" as in "cough", "o" as in "women", "ti" as in "nation".

Supposedly, this is an example of how awful English spelling is. In fact, it argues that English spelling is kind, considerate, and easy. Why? Because fish isn't really spelled "ghoti"! These fun examples overstate the case for spelling reform and strike some of us as self-defeating.

The "ghoti" spelling is said to have been suggested to G. B. Shaw by a spelling-reform enthusiast (see FAQ for reference).
-- I before E except after C --

This rule is presented in different ways in America and Britain. The British version specifies:

"I" before "E" Except after "C", When the sound is "ee". (/i:/ in ASCII phonetic)

This old rule is supposed to help students remember the spelling of vowels pronounced /i:/ (the long "e" sound of "feed"). It has no value for words where the vowel is pronounced in any other way, the key fact which people bemused by many "exceptions" to the rule usually do not realise.

Apart from some personal names (Keith, Sheila), there are very few common exceptions to the British rule. The apparent change in pronunciation of words like "fancies" from the traditional "fanciz" to the modern "fanceez" may lead to a new common exception being added to the rule.

A common U.S. version is:

"I" before "E" Except after "C", or when pronounced "ay" (eI) as in "neighbor" and "weigh".

It has been pointed out (by at least one American) that this version has far more exceptions because "ei" has many other pronunciations, e.g. in "height" and "heifer". There are more examples in the AUE FAQ Supplement.

~~ U.S. -v- REST-OF-WORLD ENGLISH ~~ -- "-er" -v- "-re" --

Many words which in American English are spelled with "er" at the end are spelled with "re" in the U.K. and in most other dialects around the world. A typical example is

(U.S.) "center" (U.K.) "centre"

This difference does not exist where "-er" is the agent suffix (as in "revolver") or the comparative suffix (as in "longer"). In this case U.K. and U.S. spellings both use "er".

-- This series of seven "Intro Documents" is intended to aid newcomers to the newsgroup. The articles are posted frequently here, and are also on the Web for your convenience, at:

http://www.alt-usage-english.org/

Parts of this document are taken from the big AUE FAQ, which was edited by Mark Israel and is also accessible at the same website. Remaining parts were written by Albert Marshall and others. Suggestions for improvements in clarity, fairness, accuracy, and brevity should be emailed to me -- Donna Richoux