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Thu reezin thee English langwidg iz oonlee seventee persent fonetik, iz that it kums from soo menee plasez. As wavez ov konkwests roled oover England, nuu langwidjez wer intrijuused intu thu kultyer. Thu derivaashinz on tuu pajez weir Ii oopend u
dikshineree, kame from forteen diferent kuntreez.
Menee naashinz hav fonetik speling - Maori, Japaneze, and Italian - for instans.
Utherz - like French, wich haz kontributed menee werz tuu ower tung, iz
significantlee les fonetik.
Ii personalee think that wee English speekerz shord make thee efort
tuuwordz fonetik speling. In duuing soo, wee wil not oonlee make it
eezier for ower oon children tuu lern tuu reed and rite, it wil
orlsoo be soo much simpler for forinerz tuu usimilate. Obveeislee,
th(ere*) wil be sum problemz for several reezinz. Wun iz that wee
doon't hav eenuf leterz for orl ower sowndz.* But simplifiiing thu
ru*lz shord bee werth ower wile.
Konsonants shord not bee tuu much ov u problem - espeshialee if wee
doon't uze thu leter `y' for enee vowel sowndz. Wee kan drop of silent
leters like `kn', `ck', `pn', `gh' etseteru, and the suuperfluuus
leterz - `c', 'q', and `x' kan bee rendered bii corekt fonetik
ekwivalents, such az kaak and seeiling (and kwiier), kwicsotik, ziilafoon, eksit and egzaktlee. Soft `g' can
orlsoo bee replased bii `j' az in aje and gararj.
Long vowelz - that saa their* name - kan bee standadized with thee
ending `e' r(u*)l - kake, kite ets., but kan later bee chaangd intuu thu
dubil repeet vowel - ej. kaak, kiit - liik thu werdz `seed' and `meet'
orlredee ar. This wil then meen wee kan drop the dubil konsonants
beefor endingz wich helped us noo if a short or long vowel woz needed -
ej. liking (licking) and liiking (liking); fiter (fitter) and fiiter
(fighter); robed (robbed) and roobed (robed) - in klook ov skarlet).
Konsistent vowel kombinashins for sowndz such az `ow', `ou', `au'; `hair', `hare', `here' (there/their*), `hear'; `ew', `ue', `oo', `u' (wether az in rule* or pool, or moon and tune) wil need tuu bee werked owt. It will
bee gord tuu reedres such anomileez as worm = werm; and warm = worm (kf.
harm).
But doon't bee afraad - wee orlredee werk owt menee werdz bii kontekst
uloon. *And it woon't taak menee nuu roulz to sort owt ower uther sowndz.
For thu fuuter, wee kan hav singil leters for `sh',`th'and 'ch' - and
put them on ower keebords in plaas ov `c - q - x', in fakt it wil bee u
gord tiim tuu reeuraanj thu leter plasment - wich woz orignalee deeziind
tuu slo tiipists down soo thair mucheenz corld coop!
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TRANSLATION
The reason the English language is only seventy percent phonetic, is that it comes from so many different places. As waves of conquests rolled over England, new languages were introduced into the culture. The derivations on two pages where I opened a dictionary, came from fourteen different countries.
Many nations have phonetic spelling - Maori, Japanese, and Italian - for instance. Others - like French, which has contributed many words to our tongue, is significantly less phonetic.
I personally think that we English speakers should make the effort towards phonetic spelling. In doing so, we will not only make it easier for our own children to learn to read and write, it will also be so much simpler for foreigners to assimilate. Obviously there will be some problems for several reasons. One is that we don't have enough letters for all our sounds. But simplifying the rules should be worth our while.
Consonants should not be too much of a problem - especially if we don't use the letter `y' for any vowel sounds. We can drop off silent letters like `kn', `ck', `pn', `gh' etc. And the superfluous letters - `c, `q', and `x' can be rendered by correct phonetic equivalents, such as cake and ceiling (and choir), quixotic, xylophone, exit and exactly. Soft `g' can also be replaced by `j' as in age and garage.
Long vowels - that say their name - can be standardised with the ending `e' rule - cake, kite, etc., but can later be changed into the double repeat vowel - eg. kaak, kiit - like the words, `seed' and `meet' already are. This will then mean we can drop the double consonants before endings which helped us know if a short or long vowel was needed - eg. liking and liiking, fiter and fiiter, robed and roobed (in cloak of scarlet).
Consistent vowel combinations for sounds such as `ow', `ou', `au'; `hair', `hare', `here' (there/their*), and `hear; `ew', `ue', `oo', `u' (whether as in rule, or pool, or moon and tune) will need to be worked out. It will be good to redress such anomalies as worm = werm; and warm = worm (c.f. harm).
But don't be afraid - we already work out many words by context alone. *And it won't take many new rules to sort out our other sounds.
For the future, we can have single letters for `sh', `th', and `ch' - and put them on our keyboards in place of `c', `q', and `x', in fact, it will be a good time to rearrange the letter placement - which was originally designed to slow typists down so their machines could cope!
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