Monday 9 June 2008

Spelin

Yep, I've spelt "spelling" wrong deliberately because I read yesterday that it takes the average British kid 3 years - yes, 3 years - to spell at a basic level

Now, I have no problems with the fact that it can be difficult to spell some words; I couldn't spell the word "eight" over and over until I reached my second year of comp. There were probably lots of other words I couldn't spell as well, but I remember that this one used to get me particularly frustated.

Anyway, the experts in this report seemed to think that the English language was just too complicated to learn and that there were far too many words that had unnecessary letters, such as "friend" and "orange" (I refuse to put their example of "shoulder" because taking out the "u" would make this phonetically different and then people won't be able to talk let alone spell!) Okay, this is getting complicated.

They suggested that completely rewriting the English language to make it easier to spell would help. They then went on to say that people who had already learned under the old system (i.e. proper spelling) could keep writing words the same way while this new generation went on to write words differently.

What!? What the heck!? That would be like having two different langauges! Can you imagine working with someone ten or twenty years younger than you who practically writes in a different language? This is nonsense! There has to be some way to make spelling easier rather than these rash measures. I don't think tey've thought this one through.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's true that English is a difficult language to learn and I do watch my children struggle with spelling. But they get there eventually.

The problem with simplified spelling schemes that are phonetically based is that are fine for some regional speakers but don't work for others.

Anonymous said...

oh! i read that article too! it was extremely disappointing. just like a professor that said that fractions should be taught at college! i was like.. "you kidding me?" hahaha

but yeah, english takes so much longer to learn just cause of the spelling. spanish speakers learn spelling in a fraction of the time it takes english speakers.