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               the case for  

ENGLISH SPELLING REFORM

THE PROBLEM

English spelling is irregular. In many instances, English phonetic symbols, or letters, do not accurately represent the way the language sounds.

THE OBJECTIVE

To start the conversation to improve English spelling. This site provides examples of spelling irregularities and highlights situations in which letters do not reflect their pronunciation.

THE SOLUTION

Consider historical and morphological aspects to call for an English spelling reform, leading to an improved writing system that would largely pronounce words as they are spelled, which would create spelling regularity even when  exceptions are warranted.

Why is English Spelling Irregular? 

The incorporation of words from other languages has contributed to spelling irregularities in English since many borrowed words kept their original spelling, but changed pronunciation, or underwent etymological respellings,  (e.g., Phoenix, debris, and debt).  
Internal changes have also contributed to the irregularity or changes in spelling, including the Great Vowel Shift (GVS), breaking, and palatalization. For these reasons, the correspondence between sound and symbols, in English, is not straightforward. 

Previous Spelling Reform Proposals 

by Luis Blandon

English has never had a language academy to regulate spelling and grammar. Other nations have established language academies, including Italy in 1582, France in 1635, and Spain in 1713.¹  English, on the other hand, has not had an official body to govern spelling. Instead, English spelling rules have been based on individual contributions that have been standardized over time. For instance, in 1420, the Chancery of London started introducing some spelling variations that became (unofficially ) standardized, such as the past verb-tense -ed endings .²  These spelling variations, however, did not necessarily represent the spoken English of the time. For example, some past verb-tense endings were pronounced with tsound even though the Chancery of London has them spelled with -ed. The lack of uniformity has caused variant spellings and pronunciation. As a result, there have been several calls for English spelling reforms to establish a standard spelling. The following are some noticeable spelling reform proposals that sought phonetic spelling based on our current Latin alphabet. 
Charles Butler (1633), a British author and musician, was one of the early proponents of English spelling reform, suggesting English to be written phonetically. Butler proposed to improve spelling by reforming the orthography of the English language. However, a new orthography must have been an intensive undertaking at that time and his efforts toward alphabetic enrichment failed.³  
Mark Twain's (1899) proposal and ideas to improve English spelling were very practical. Twain proposed to drop letters that already had a sound in the current written alphabet. For instance, Twain proposed to drop the "c" from the English language since there are other letters that can make that sound such as "s" and "k." Twain also proposed not to write the "p" and "h" when silent. Twain wanted English speakers to pronounce words as they are spelled. In "A Simplified Alphabet" (1899), Twain made the case for a new phonographic alphabet that allows for words to be spelled by their sound.  However, Twain took a light-hearted satirical approach to improve the alphabet and spelling for which he was not taken seriously. 
The Chicago Tribune (1934 to 1975): For 40 years, the newspaper adopted a system of simplified spelling by introducing a series of respelled words. The idea was to introduce a small collection of newly-spelled words every month and start using them until they become universally accepted. This idea seemed to have worked to a degree since some respelled words were accepted, including cataloganalogdialog, and canceled. In 1975, however, it became clear to the newspaper editors that the public was not following their lead anymore, so they stopped the effort. Nonetheless, the fact some of the respelled words were accepted in the United States hints at the possibility that better-orchestrated spelling reform efforts can take hold. 

A New Stage in the Development of the English Language: From Modern English to Global English

by Luis Blandon

There are many varieties of spoken English, including different dialects and regional variations. Consequently, reaching a consensus to standardize the spelling will be difficult since there will be many competing tendencies. However, authorities, from the inner and outer circles of English-speaking countries, should view this  proposed spelling reform as part of a new stage in the development of the English language. This period could be referred to as "Global English" since English has become a global language. The objective of this proposed spelling reform is to improve our current phonetic alphabet to have a closer relationship between spelling and pronunciation. The new system will make some spelling differences out-of-date, and regulate grammar and spelling to prevent English dialects and regions from introducing different variant spellings.

Conclusion

By Luis Blandon

According to van Gelderen (2014), language and spelling is political. Consequently, any meaningful effort at an English spelling reform should include political leaders, in addition to educators, scholars, and media editors. 
This spelling reform should improve our writing system by adressing known spelling irregularities, which will create spelling regularity in English, even when spelling exceptions are warranted. 


References

1. Elly van Gelderen. A History of the English Language (Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014), 17 - 18.

2. Elly van GelderenA History of the English Language (Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014), 227.

3. James Pruett.  "Charles Butler -Musician, Grammarian, Apiarist." Oxford University Press. Accessed April 15, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/740581

4.  Mark Twain. "A Simplified Alphabet." Accessed on April 20, 2023. https://www.online-literature.com/twain/1322/

5. Stephan Benzkofer.  “Don’t Be Agast (or Even Aghast)! Tribune Once Trifled with Standard Spelling.” Chicago Tribune, December 23, 2018. https://www.chicagotribune.com/ct-per-flash-simplespelling-0229-20120129-story.html.