Push for easier spelling persists despite lack of public interest

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/070606/nat_070606038.shtml ^ | Thursday, July 6, 2006 | AP

[Mike Bates]

Didn't want you to miss this.

[Hildy]

This is the STOOPIST thing I've ever RED.

[keithtoo]

wut a dumass artikl

[BenLurkin]

"wuudn't it maek mor sens to spel wurdz the wae thae sound"

NO!!!!

[Michael.SF.]

illiteracy rates would drop.

Know, they wood knot.

[goldstategop]

Liberal dumbing down of the language hasn't caught on. But it hasn't stopped them from pushing it.

(The Palestinian terrorist regime is the crisis and Israel's fist is the answer.)

[Still Thinking]

Already posted.

[nmh]

They'll try anything to make people even more stupid.

I guarantee you their are people out there that genuinely think this is a GREAT IDEA because they did poorly in spelling.

[mtbopfuyn]

"We try to show where these spellings are used and to show dictionary makers that they are used so they will include them as alternate spellings."

Uh, no. That's called the dumbing down of America. Just because people misspell words, doesn't make it correct.

My biggest gripe is when folks don't know the difference between "then" and "than". It's not simple spelling. It's a completely different word and definition.

[nmh]

They'll try anything to make people even more stupid.

I guarantee you there are people out there that genuinely think this is a GREAT IDEA because they did poorly in spelling.

[Lady Jag]

DUMB-DA-DUMB-DUMB!   DUMB!

[MineralMan]

There have been many proposals to change English spelling, and all have failed. All will continue to fail.

One problem is that the new orthographies all attempt to spell the language as it is spoken. Sadly, English is not spoken the same universally, even in the United states.

I give you some Southern spellings that would cause some problems with the new orthography:

Awl -- A lubricant
Far -- A conflagration

You can find such oddities in every region of the country. In Boston:

pawk -- to put a cah in a place deigned for temporary storage.

You see what I mean. These attempts are doomed from the get-go.

[WestTexasWend]

Sorry...searched and didn't find.

AdMon, lock and unload as you please.

[finallyatexan]

My gripe is "He pleaded guilty" instead of "He plead guilty" - also ending sentences with prepositions "what did he do that for"
I read that article in last nights paper and the first thing I thought was how far libs would go to dumb down our kids.

[Howlin]

LOL!

[M38]

Eye dew knot no, half two weight & sea

[RightWhale]

Those who like to know where a word comes from and what it means as well as what it used to mean before it was denatured by illiterates in the press like to see the spelling because that is what separates similar-sounding words and makes it possible to be traced back to the original Indo-European for its original meaning and links to the same word as it appears in many other languages.

[Starwolf]

I am one of those people who believe that a universal language would be a good thing. Unfortunately, it looks like English is winning that contest. If I could make the choice, it would be Esperanto
http://www.esperanto.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto)
Loosely Spanish based, truly phonetic, and easily extensible. Then again, I liked Ada as a computer language as well, and the geeks among us know how well that did.

All of the popular languages in use are hybrids with interesting historical roots, but with enough oddities in pronunciation and conjugation that it makes meaningful automation needlessly difficult. A good metaphor for the human condition.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

wilbar - a device with one and possibly two wheels used for transporting dirt from one place to another..