English Spelling Reform

Abstract

Knowledge is the wealth of nations, and language is the main social technology by which knowledge is communicated. An efficient orthography is therefore of great importance. English, as the principal international language of the early twenty‐first century, has much to offer the world, but its spelling is archaic and dysfunctional. Technically, the reform of English spelling would not be difficult, but there are very major political obstacles in the way. The benefits of spelling reform would greatly exceed the costs, and a ‘Big bang’ approach to reform is required. The present article outlines a technical solution and the way in which reform could be implemented.

Keywords:

• English
• language
• spelling
• reform
• social technology

Notes

1. J. B. Carter, ‘A practical plan for achieving spelling reform’, Spelcon 2005, International Conference on English Spelling, Mannheim, 29–31 July 2005.

2. University of California (Berkeley), Research Project: How Much Information, Internet, 2003, available at: http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects.

3. Ibid.

4. Calculation based on Ibid., and author’s estimates.

5. Based on a report in The New York Times, 26 March 2001, which made reference to research into dyslexia by an international team led by Eraldo Paulesu, University of Milan, Bicocca, 2001.

6. The Simplified Spelling Society (UK), Modernising English Spelling: Principles and Practicalities, Internet, 2001, available at: http://www.spellingsociety.org.

7. American Literacy Council, Internet, 2003, available at: http://www.americanliteracy.com.

8. Reginald Deans, Universal Language and Simplified Spelling, Midland Press, London, 1954, p. 29.

9. Based on a report in The New York Times, 26 March 2001.

10. David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989, p. 110.

11. Albert Eagle, Literary Phonetic English, Suggested Principles and Practice for English Spelling Reform, the author, Instow, 1955, p. 11.

12. R. J. McGehee, comment on paper by I. Raven, ‘Centre of power in educational change’, Spelcon 2005.

13. Joel Mokyr, Gifts of Athena: Historical Origins of the Knowledge Economy, Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford, 2002, p. 218 et seq.

14. D. Lamberton, ‘Introduction’, in D. Lamberton (ed.), The Economics of Language, E. Elgar, Cheltenham, UK, 2002, p. xv.

15. Pak Hung Mo, Globalisation with Language Divides: Problems and a Solution, Hong Kong Baptist University, 2003, p. 5.

16. B. R. Chiswick and P. W. Miller, ‘The endogeneity between language and earnings: international analyses’, Journal of Labour Economics, 1995, reprinted in Lamberton (ed.), op. cit., p. 198.

17. The Simplified Spelling Society (UK), op. cit.

18. Noah Webster, Dissertation on the English Language, 1789.

19. American Literacy Council, op. cit., reference to information from National Alliance of Business.

20. US Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States, Information and Communications, 2004.

21. Eagle, op. cit.

22. R. E. Zachrisson, Anglic, An International Language, with a Survey of English Spelling Reform, McGrath Publishing Co., College Park, MD,1970, p. 3.

23. Frank Laubach, Toward a Literate World, Columbia University Press, 1938, p. 11.

24. Jorge Villalta, Ataturk, Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, Ankara, 1979, p. 380.