If it were that easy...

Referencing the July 6 article (A-2, "Attempts at spelling reform") that suggests spelling words phonetically would lower illiteracy rates: What a terrific idea! Here's another one: Let's lower the poverty line to a wage of, say $50 a year per family. Voila! No more poor people!

Paul Benlon
Merriam

Comments

[CRD]

"In any event if you want to live and work and be successful in this Country you are well adised to learn to speak, read and write it,"

I'm sorry, but I can't resist pointing out another typo in this thread -- it's "advised," not "adised." ;-)

[Engineer]

Hey, isn't our strength our diversity? Our language comes from an island where the indigenous people were overrun by the Celts, the Celts were later imposed upon by the Romans, after the Romans officially pulled out the Celtic/Latin population was overran by the Anglos, Saxons and Jutes. They in turn were pretty much taken over by the Danes and other Norsemen. The resulting population was then conquered by the Normans (descendents of Norsemen) and their French allies. No wonder our language has words that can be traced to different roots. In any event if you want to live and work and be successful in this Country you are well adised to learn to speak, read and write it, whether you are an immigrant or a native.

[jack]

All languages are a hodge podge. What do you want to do, go back to the original germanic root?

Several years ago, I set out to learn Spanish. I was told it was easier than English because "all the rules stay constant". What B.S.

Geuss what, the "street Spanish" (that which people actually speak instead of the formal Spanish taught in schools), is full of variable rules, contractions, slang and all the other stuff that makes English hard for foreigners.

By the way, have you actually heard a person from England speak "English" lately? It is virtually impossible to understand them! Maybe it is time to start calling what we speak something other than English. American maybe?

[T. Hanson]

"Why is Phonics not spelled how it is sounded?" -Gallager

[CRD]

"Instead of trying to find ways to make things easier for people to lazy or stupid to learn the language, why don't we hold our schools to higher standards so they produce people who can read and spell."

That's "too lazy or stupid to learn the language." ;-)

[Lost_In_Ambivalence]

Here we are, a nation of many cultures and ethinicities. Of course our language is a hodge-podge of crap from other languages, both current and archaic. That is the way things go.

Instead of trying to find ways to make things easier for people to lazy or stupid to learn the language, why don't we hold our schools to higher standards so they produce people who can read and spell. By the wae, spelling things fanetically isent going to help many of the kerent peple who kant reed 2 no wat the hell it is that tha r reeding.

[CRD]

English is a ridiculous pastiche of borrowed or assimilated words, and grammatical rules are seemingly there to be broken. I'm reminded of the Dr. Seuss book, "The Tough Coughs as he Ploughs the Dough."