The trubl with spelling

The reasons are the impossible aims of radical phonetic spelling, difficulties in the language and in existing spelling, unchallenged assumptions, arguments rather than experiment, current reliance on spellcheckers, and conservatism that takes no account of poor learners' difficulties and the economic and social costs of present spelling.

However, learning from all these and from overseas experiences can make English reform feasible in a way that has not been considered.

I would like an experiment to be made by everyone concerned about the learners who fail.

The experiment is to offer a spelling without traps as a 'crib' next to a page - any page you like - of normal spelling. Then see how many people are helped by your crib to read the normal spelling.

There are three traps in normal spelling–

1. The fact that 38 very common words cannot be learned by reasoning or phonics, but they are important in everyday text, making up 12% of it. These 38 common words are: - ALL ALMOST ALWAYS AMONG AS ARE COME SOME COULD SHOULD WOULD HALF HAVE KNOW OF OFF ONE ONLY ONCE OTHER PULL PUSH PUT THEY THEIR TWO AS WAS WHAT WANT WHO WHY, WORD and word-endings -ION/-TION/-SION. Leave them as they are. Research with flash-cards shows that almost everyone can learn up to 40 words – it is hundreds that confuse them.

Other words have two types of letters that are traps - the letters that are not needed for pronunciation or meaning, which are 6% of all letters in everyday spelling, as in GUARD, and the letters in words that are misleading, which are 4% of all letters in everyday spelling, as in WOMEN. Omit the surplus letters and change the misleading letters.

You can spell /f/ with always with <f/>, changing <ph> to <f>.

Or if u have ideas for other ways to make spelling easier, try them out.

U can offer 'spelling-without-traps' as a pronunciation gide in a dictionary, insted of the difficult forms provided as gides at present.

At present, teachers are afraid to experiment in spelling with their students. If students cannot lern, they refer them on to experts and remedial programs or let them remain as they are, to go up the grades regardless of reading ability. Poor spellers and readers are condemd as lazy or considerd to have handicaps that prevent them lerning.

Yet this experiment which harms nobody could provide one solution to meny peple's failure to read. What is the form of spelling that they would find most useful? Find out.