No gender 3rd person indefinite pronoun IS A GOOD FEETURE OF Inglish!!!
Burd - Wurd - Surch!. CITIZEN SOFA'S LINGO BLOG. My views and theories on the English language and its ortografy (spelling) ; and language and ortografy (spelling) in general may appear here. I should say I have an A grade at O-Level English Language (1987) and an A Grade at A-Level English Literature (1990).
Good reeson?
Is there good reeson to dislike the Inglish LANGWIDGE?
KNOW NOE NO!
THERE IS
NONE KNONE!
NONE KNOWN!
NUN KNONE AT AL!!!!
..........
KNOW NOE NO!
THERE IS
NONE KNONE!
NONE KNOWN!
NUN KNONE AT AL!!!!
..........
English is already in embryo an ideal language.
English is already in embryo an ideal language.
For it has ditched - at an early point in its history - many unnecessary and impractical features of grammar that almost all other languages in history have.
4 examples - noun genders, adjectival agreements, noun declensions, most verb declensions.
None of these things are needed!
None really exist in English.
By an ideal language I therefore mean a simpler one.
......................................
For it has ditched - at an early point in its history - many unnecessary and impractical features of grammar that almost all other languages in history have.
4 examples - noun genders, adjectival agreements, noun declensions, most verb declensions.
None of these things are needed!
None really exist in English.
By an ideal language I therefore mean a simpler one.
......................................
St. George wanted to slay the dragon of poor spelling in English!
GBS - George Bernard Shaw - the man who gave us the "GHOTI - FISH" observation - left the great bulk of his money in his will to the cause of spelling reform in English!
It is regrettable to reflect that not much progress has been made since he died in 1950.
It is regrettable to reflect that not much progress has been made since he died in 1950.
DISCREPANSEA!
DISCREPANSEA!
English has evolved so much.And this is ONE reason why there is a DISCREPANSEA
between ORTOGRAFEE and PRONUSCIATION.
If I exaggerate I feel no remores FOR THE SIMPLE REASON that
IF ONE HAS A RITTEN LANGUAGE SYSTEM AT ALL,
IT CAN HAVE A RELASHUN BETWEEN FONEMES AND GRAFEMES
IN FACT - in most human languages - IT USUALLY DUZ.
IN ENGLISH IT NEEDS TO BE REDISCOVERED!
==================================================
For IF WE DO NOT DO SO - we create jenerashun after jenerashun
of children who learn to spell by ROTE rather than REASON!
For no good reason; and for no reason at all!....
...which has a damaging effect in every sfere of their lives!
This irrationalitee blites theyur intire existense!
........................................................................................................
PEEPLE ARE ANGREE ABOUT THIS.
IT IS PART OF THE ANGER THAT EXISTS IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING EDUCASHUN.
AND HAS DUN FOR SOME TIME!
Yes all language systems have imperfections and discrepancies.
My point is that in English it is particularly marked.
And one can't help feeling that something could be done about it!
English has evolved so much.And this is ONE reason why there is a DISCREPANSEA
between ORTOGRAFEE and PRONUSCIATION.
If I exaggerate I feel no remores FOR THE SIMPLE REASON that
IF ONE HAS A RITTEN LANGUAGE SYSTEM AT ALL,
IT CAN HAVE A RELASHUN BETWEEN FONEMES AND GRAFEMES
IN FACT - in most human languages - IT USUALLY DUZ.
IN ENGLISH IT NEEDS TO BE REDISCOVERED!
==================================================
For IF WE DO NOT DO SO - we create jenerashun after jenerashun
of children who learn to spell by ROTE rather than REASON!
For no good reason; and for no reason at all!....
...which has a damaging effect in every sfere of their lives!
This irrationalitee blites theyur intire existense!
........................................................................................................
PEEPLE ARE ANGREE ABOUT THIS.
IT IS PART OF THE ANGER THAT EXISTS IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING EDUCASHUN.
AND HAS DUN FOR SOME TIME!
Yes all language systems have imperfections and discrepancies.
My point is that in English it is particularly marked.
And one can't help feeling that something could be done about it!
Iland with no "S"!!! DETENTION!!!
No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine;
if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse,
as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were;
any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
– John Donne.
DETENTION, JONNE!!!
Quoted in its original form in the epigraff to "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
by Ernest Hemingway.
Free spelling is the way forward. As it was in the past!
"SEMPER PROCEDENS" - "FORWA:RTS IMMER!"
===========================================
if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse,
as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were;
any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde;
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
– John Donne.
DETENTION, JONNE!!!
Quoted in its original form in the epigraff to "For Whom The Bell Tolls"
by Ernest Hemingway.
Free spelling is the way forward. As it was in the past!
"SEMPER PROCEDENS" - "FORWA:RTS IMMER!"
===========================================
The sleap ov reeson projuises monsters!
"El suen~o de la razo'n produce monstruos".
The sleap ov reeson projuises monsters!
One of them being English spelling one could say!....
Though it wasn't deliberate!....
The sleap ov reeson projuises monsters!
One of them being English spelling one could say!....
Though it wasn't deliberate!....
Upon reflection - this is possibly nonsense!
In the same way that I claim that I would never teach anyone English in its present form, I am tempted to say this -
"If I could solely speak French - I would never learn English!"
So tempted that I will say it. Again.
If I could solely speak French - I would never learn English!
................
Upon reflection - this is possibly nonsense.
In the sense that - perhaps one has to learn English to read a lot of great poetry, novels and history.
It COULD be translated I suppose.
But still, translation is not really ever the same as the original.
"If I could solely speak French - I would never learn English!"
So tempted that I will say it. Again.
If I could solely speak French - I would never learn English!
................
Upon reflection - this is possibly nonsense.
In the sense that - perhaps one has to learn English to read a lot of great poetry, novels and history.
It COULD be translated I suppose.
But still, translation is not really ever the same as the original.
When one went on one's Grand Tour......
When one went on one's Grand Tour at the age of 19, one lodged with an Old Harrovian.
One does want despewuttly to avoid blowing his cover.
I was lucky enuff to spend two months in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
Florence is a charming woman and a wonderful city. Home of the Italian Renaissance.
One attended letchings at the Brutish Institute there.
I nearly read one of the books in the splendid libwawy, which overlooks the River Arnold.
Well - anyway the point one was wanting to make was that it was quite a shock for me to note quite how entirely PHONETIC the Eyetie lingo actually iz.
As are many others. It was only living in these warmer climes that brought it home.
Some Italian women would burst into tears over how hard they found English spelling.
One does want despewuttly to avoid blowing his cover.
I was lucky enuff to spend two months in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
Florence is a charming woman and a wonderful city. Home of the Italian Renaissance.
One attended letchings at the Brutish Institute there.
I nearly read one of the books in the splendid libwawy, which overlooks the River Arnold.
Well - anyway the point one was wanting to make was that it was quite a shock for me to note quite how entirely PHONETIC the Eyetie lingo actually iz.
As are many others. It was only living in these warmer climes that brought it home.
Some Italian women would burst into tears over how hard they found English spelling.
BURD - WURD - SURCH!
BURD - WURD - SURCH!
TURD! :D
Bird, Word, Search!
All very different spelling - all very much the same sound!....
For things like this and the tears of frustration and anger that English-learners have to somehow transcend when they are met with looks of perplexity I HAVE PUT THIS BLOG HERE!.....
:)
TURD! :D
Bird, Word, Search!
All very different spelling - all very much the same sound!....
For things like this and the tears of frustration and anger that English-learners have to somehow transcend when they are met with looks of perplexity I HAVE PUT THIS BLOG HERE!.....
:)
English SPECIFICALLY has too TOO many HOMOPHONES!
English SPECIFICALLY has too TOO many HOMOPHONES!
FAR MORE THAN OTHER LINGOS!
DO YOU AGREE?
1) PROFIT PROPHET (Greek)
2) DUAL (Latin) JEWEL
3) TOO TO TWO ( 3 there - I like doing things in three ;)
One solution is - extra terms/terminology -
WHICH ENGLISH IS ALRDEADY UNIQUELY RICH IN!!!!!
SUGGESTIONS for the above :
Profit Foreteller
Twofold Jewel
Also Duo AD :) (3 Different Altogether!)
...........
The allegation of the NO CHANGE Brigade is such things are CLEAR BY CONTEXT - indeed this is true as the same thing happens in many other languages of course.
HOYEVER - as they say in Northern Ireland - the combination of this phenomenon with the fenomenon of illogical and INCONSISTENT spelling (often due to the origins in older languages like Ancient Greek) calls - I think - for MORE flexibility NOT less.
To console English Speakers - in France and elsewhere there are PRESCRIPTIVE Academies of languages........
In the English-speaking world The NOW VAST O.E.D. is and always was DESCRIPTIVE.
Languages evolve anyway.
Italian for example was literally once Latin.......
..................
And so it goes on
like the great MISISIPI - sorry Winston!....
FAR MORE THAN OTHER LINGOS!
DO YOU AGREE?
1) PROFIT PROPHET (Greek)
2) DUAL (Latin) JEWEL
3) TOO TO TWO ( 3 there - I like doing things in three ;)
One solution is - extra terms/terminology -
WHICH ENGLISH IS ALRDEADY UNIQUELY RICH IN!!!!!
SUGGESTIONS for the above :
Profit Foreteller
Twofold Jewel
Also Duo AD :) (3 Different Altogether!)
...........
The allegation of the NO CHANGE Brigade is such things are CLEAR BY CONTEXT - indeed this is true as the same thing happens in many other languages of course.
HOYEVER - as they say in Northern Ireland - the combination of this phenomenon with the fenomenon of illogical and INCONSISTENT spelling (often due to the origins in older languages like Ancient Greek) calls - I think - for MORE flexibility NOT less.
To console English Speakers - in France and elsewhere there are PRESCRIPTIVE Academies of languages........
In the English-speaking world The NOW VAST O.E.D. is and always was DESCRIPTIVE.
Languages evolve anyway.
Italian for example was literally once Latin.......
..................
And so it goes on
like the great MISISIPI - sorry Winston!....
Dyslexia ROOLS UK.
Dyslexia ROOLS UK.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "DYSLEXIA" WHILST THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXISTS IN ITS PRESENT FORM.
"DYSLEXIA" DOES NOT EXIST.
If you disagree then you probably are an English speaker.
Why not chose a different language to speak and write in?
Maybe ...say Spanish.
Do everything in Spanish and THEN tell me if you still have "Dyslexia" (according to someone else) or think you do yourself.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "DYSLEXIA" WHILST THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE EXISTS IN ITS PRESENT FORM.
"DYSLEXIA" DOES NOT EXIST.
If you disagree then you probably are an English speaker.
Why not chose a different language to speak and write in?
Maybe ...say Spanish.
Do everything in Spanish and THEN tell me if you still have "Dyslexia" (according to someone else) or think you do yourself.
"Orwell Day" is today - 21st January!
George Orwell died today in 1948.
George Orwell wrote of the English language in 1941
(in "The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius.")
that the spelling system "DEFIES ANALYSIS.".....
Oddly enough/enuff :) in his strong views regarding the future of the English language - which he of course cared about - he does not seem to mention the possibility of spelling reform.
In this famous essay he makes recommendations about what he thinks would help its better development :
"Politics and the English Language" :
Politics and the English Language
He would certainly be against change by Diktat. That's a safe bet!
George Orwell wrote of the English language in 1941
(in "The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius.")
that the spelling system "DEFIES ANALYSIS.".....
Oddly enough/enuff :) in his strong views regarding the future of the English language - which he of course cared about - he does not seem to mention the possibility of spelling reform.
In this famous essay he makes recommendations about what he thinks would help its better development :
"Politics and the English Language" :
Politics and the English Language
He would certainly be against change by Diktat. That's a safe bet!
An irony of history!
The living language that is closest to English in human History is Dutch. [Also Frisian is particularly close].
An irony of history is that Dutch is extremely phonetically spelt.
De levende taal die het dichtst bij Engels in human Geschiedenis is Nederlands.
De ironie van de geschiedenis is dat Nederlands is zeer fonetisch gespeld.
PERHAPS we could let this fact inspire us IF we were of the opinion that our wonderful language were in any need of reform.
:)
An irony of history is that Dutch is extremely phonetically spelt.
De levende taal die het dichtst bij Engels in human Geschiedenis is Nederlands.
De ironie van de geschiedenis is dat Nederlands is zeer fonetisch gespeld.
PERHAPS we could let this fact inspire us IF we were of the opinion that our wonderful language were in any need of reform.
:)
Tyger Tyger!
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
......
William Blake.
ONCE UPON A TIME...... Inglish had NO SPELLING RULES!!!!....
ONCE UPON A TIME "Countdown" and "Scrabble" did not exist.....
This time was not that long ago......
The last lines of the verse above form a RhETORICAL QUESTION!..........
.......................................................................................
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
......
William Blake.
ONCE UPON A TIME...... Inglish had NO SPELLING RULES!!!!....
ONCE UPON A TIME "Countdown" and "Scrabble" did not exist.....
This time was not that long ago......
The last lines of the verse above form a RhETORICAL QUESTION!..........
.......................................................................................
2 new proposals for consistent spelling G and J
G
for hard G sound as in GIT and GRANDAD.......
and
J
for soft J sound as in JUSTICE and JIRAFFE :)
Jeans - the trousers and
Jenes - the things that the USA lies to us all about! ....
ALWAYS.
.......
for hard G sound as in GIT and GRANDAD.......
and
J
for soft J sound as in JUSTICE and JIRAFFE :)
Jeans - the trousers and
Jenes - the things that the USA lies to us all about! ....
ALWAYS.
.......
HOMOFONOFOBIA
(Sorry I "suffer" with great pleasure - from SEVERE "HOMOFONOFOBIA"!:) )
Just bear with me! RRAARR!! :)
In German "Can you hear me from here?" is "Ho:ren sie mich von hier?" (2 different words and sounds) - a clue to the origins of the different spellings - now pronounced the same - in Inglish! ......
BTW "Homophobia" is not in my dictionary - neither really nor figuratively.....!
Just bear with me! RRAARR!! :)
In German "Can you hear me from here?" is "Ho:ren sie mich von hier?" (2 different words and sounds) - a clue to the origins of the different spellings - now pronounced the same - in Inglish! ......
BTW "Homophobia" is not in my dictionary - neither really nor figuratively.....!
Sensible proposals for English Ortografee Reform?
Sensible proposals/conventions for more FONETIC English Spelling - ARE - perhaps?.....
F - for an F sound (replace many "PH"s )
S - for an "S" sound
C - for a HARD C sound (replacing many "K"s and - a couple of "CH"s.....)
ALWAYS.
.......
----------------
This is LOGICALLY CONSISTENT and TOTALLY FEASIBLE and LONG OVERDUE.
Another one I am obviously testing out here is more fonetic treatment of words spelt with UNPRONOUNCED "ght"s and "g"s and suchlike in general.
I just THORT it MITE bee a gud idea!.....at the tium...
Sori! :)
............
I can think of others but will leave it at that for now.....
The fact that English is a global language make such reforms an even better idea.......
I see such things as inseparable from the question of PLAIN ENGLISH - a cause I am aware of and fully support by the way......
--------------------------------------------
http://www.spellingsociety.org/
I am fully on the side of this organisation.
Sadly they still believe in "Dyslexia".
The only way to prove or disprove the existence of this dubious "condition" is to reform English spelling! :)
F - for an F sound (replace many "PH"s )
S - for an "S" sound
C - for a HARD C sound (replacing many "K"s and - a couple of "CH"s.....)
ALWAYS.
.......
----------------
This is LOGICALLY CONSISTENT and TOTALLY FEASIBLE and LONG OVERDUE.
Another one I am obviously testing out here is more fonetic treatment of words spelt with UNPRONOUNCED "ght"s and "g"s and suchlike in general.
I just THORT it MITE bee a gud idea!.....at the tium...
Sori! :)
............
I can think of others but will leave it at that for now.....
The fact that English is a global language make such reforms an even better idea.......
I see such things as inseparable from the question of PLAIN ENGLISH - a cause I am aware of and fully support by the way......
--------------------------------------------
http://www.spellingsociety.org/
I am fully on the side of this organisation.
Sadly they still believe in "Dyslexia".
The only way to prove or disprove the existence of this dubious "condition" is to reform English spelling! :)
Y Eye Wood Neva Teech Any1 Inglish
I would never teach anyone English in its present form.
Y Eye Wood Neva Teech Any1 Inglish
------------------------------
There is the famous Bernard Shaw observation:
GHOTI = FISH
photograPH - F
wOmen - I
naTIon - SH
---------------------------
http://www.spellingsociety.org/
--------------------------
English is well on the way to becoming a de facto global lingua franca, a global language.
It has many advantages that make it a good choice to be a global language.
It also has some defects in its present form that make it a bad choice as a world language.
It's becoming a world language may be to the detriment of other languages but that is not inevitable.
However, if it is to be an international language I think that it should
most definitely have logical spelling.
If it is possible for a language, especially a world language, to have logical spelling then it
should have it.
In some ways I don't think of English as being a distinct language, though of course it undoubtedly is. It has various origins and various versions.
It has various origins and has borrowed many words, but so have other languages.
Most languages evolved from other languages.
It is not as "clean" and "pure" a language as some other languages are.
I mean that in a purely linguistic sense. This is due to the mixture of influences on the language.
Joseph Conrad, who chose to write in English - his fourth language -, said something similar about English. He thought that French may have been a clearer language to write in.
(I must find a quote to validate that point about Conrad.)
....
On the other hand it is capable of many shades of meaning, perhaps because of its varied origins.
English is about 300 years old in its present form. It is constantly evolving as are all human languages. But English is evolving more than others because it is spoken all over the planet. This makes it quite heterodox.
...
There is a great amount of excellent literature in English. It is worth learning just for that but I would not teach it in its present form because it does not at present have logical spelling.
Some people may want to learn the spelling to read the literature but there is no literary value to the spellings in themselves in my opinion.
I won't teach anyone a language with illogical spelling.
Just doesn't make sense to me.
I would go as far as to say that a language without generally logical spelling is not really a language.
The same applies to Gaelic. I think it should have logical spelling as well.
The irony is that all English spellings were attempts at logical spellings.
The spellings were only standardised in the 18th century, I think.
I read Bill Bryson's excellent book "Mother Tongue" about the English language, and in it he reveals that there was even a mediaeval monk in the early thirteenth century - named Orm - who demanded logical, phonetic spelling for English.
The beginnings of modern English were in the medieval period, around the time of the writer Chaucer, who wrote in what is called Middle English.
At its birth it was a mixture of Anglo-Saxon or Old English and French and this is one reason for the erratic spelling.
....
8th August 2008.
There is talk of a "spelling amnesty" - allowing some words to be spelt differently from normal.
The irony is still lost on most people: all English spellings were originally attempts at logical spellings; and there were no spelling rules at all until about the 18th century.
Before that time anyone could spell anything any way they liked.
These facts are not often reported in the coverage of this issue.
----------------------
Other things in favour of English as a global language:
Flexible and simple grammar
No word genders at all
No declensions/endings - i.e. it is analytic.
Easy verb tenses
Things against:
Far too many homophones and homonyms
Some difficult verb participles
All in all - much more in favour than against!...
...........
Y Eye Wood Neva Teech Any1 Inglish
------------------------------
There is the famous Bernard Shaw observation:
GHOTI = FISH
photograPH - F
wOmen - I
naTIon - SH
---------------------------
http://www.spellingsociety.org/
--------------------------
English is well on the way to becoming a de facto global lingua franca, a global language.
It has many advantages that make it a good choice to be a global language.
It also has some defects in its present form that make it a bad choice as a world language.
It's becoming a world language may be to the detriment of other languages but that is not inevitable.
However, if it is to be an international language I think that it should
most definitely have logical spelling.
If it is possible for a language, especially a world language, to have logical spelling then it
should have it.
In some ways I don't think of English as being a distinct language, though of course it undoubtedly is. It has various origins and various versions.
It has various origins and has borrowed many words, but so have other languages.
Most languages evolved from other languages.
It is not as "clean" and "pure" a language as some other languages are.
I mean that in a purely linguistic sense. This is due to the mixture of influences on the language.
Joseph Conrad, who chose to write in English - his fourth language -, said something similar about English. He thought that French may have been a clearer language to write in.
(I must find a quote to validate that point about Conrad.)
....
On the other hand it is capable of many shades of meaning, perhaps because of its varied origins.
English is about 300 years old in its present form. It is constantly evolving as are all human languages. But English is evolving more than others because it is spoken all over the planet. This makes it quite heterodox.
...
There is a great amount of excellent literature in English. It is worth learning just for that but I would not teach it in its present form because it does not at present have logical spelling.
Some people may want to learn the spelling to read the literature but there is no literary value to the spellings in themselves in my opinion.
I won't teach anyone a language with illogical spelling.
Just doesn't make sense to me.
I would go as far as to say that a language without generally logical spelling is not really a language.
The same applies to Gaelic. I think it should have logical spelling as well.
The irony is that all English spellings were attempts at logical spellings.
The spellings were only standardised in the 18th century, I think.
I read Bill Bryson's excellent book "Mother Tongue" about the English language, and in it he reveals that there was even a mediaeval monk in the early thirteenth century - named Orm - who demanded logical, phonetic spelling for English.
The beginnings of modern English were in the medieval period, around the time of the writer Chaucer, who wrote in what is called Middle English.
At its birth it was a mixture of Anglo-Saxon or Old English and French and this is one reason for the erratic spelling.
....
8th August 2008.
There is talk of a "spelling amnesty" - allowing some words to be spelt differently from normal.
The irony is still lost on most people: all English spellings were originally attempts at logical spellings; and there were no spelling rules at all until about the 18th century.
Before that time anyone could spell anything any way they liked.
These facts are not often reported in the coverage of this issue.
----------------------
Other things in favour of English as a global language:
Flexible and simple grammar
No word genders at all
No declensions/endings - i.e. it is analytic.
Easy verb tenses
Things against:
Far too many homophones and homonyms
Some difficult verb participles
All in all - much more in favour than against!...
...........
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