THE Simplified Spelling Society (SSS) is celebrating its 99th birthday by launching a new campaign to make it easier to read and write English, Reuters has reported.
SSS is a London-based organization that promotes spelling reform of the English language. The Society claims that the updating of English spelling would be of benefit to many more than just the Anglo-Saxon world, but also the world of TEFL where other languages are spoken, not only English.
Some British linguists say English has failed to adapt for the last 500 years and now nearly half the English speakers in the world have difficulty in spelling.
SSS secretary John Gledhill, who has a PhD in the history of Dutch consonantal spelling, said the Netherlands updated spelling to keep pace with pronunciation.
"English is about the only language, apart from French, on the world stage that hasn't updated its spelling for 500 years," Gledhill added.
The SSS message is simple: "People are scared of change and don't realize it is normal in language. You can change the spelling without spoiling the language."
European children learn to read and write far quicker than the British, Gledhill said. Italians take just two years while the British can struggle for up to 12 years.
With texts and emails revolutionizing the way we communicate, Gledhill said, "the time is ripe for phonetic reform and spelling simplification."
"Texts cut away the complications and take away the stigma of not being able to use an obsolete spelling," he explained.
SSS sees phonetics as the key to improving literacy and spelling. Some linguists said that, like all languages with phonetic writing systems, reform would do away with those wasteful spelling classes for children learning English.
Gledhill complained that almost 4,000 English spellings make no sense. If "head" "said" and "friend" were simplified down to "hed" and "sed" and "frend", then kids would learn quicker.
But some English teachers have a different point of view. "Language has to fit the purpose. The discipline of spelling is important. Children should learn to judge when formal and informal language is required," said John Dunford of the Association of School and College Leaders. "Text message spelling may be appropriate for text messages. It certainly isn't appropriate for filling out an application form. Children should learn how to punctuate and spell properly."
