- #1
0TheSwerve0
- 195
- 0
gah! This makes my head hurt http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060705/ap_on_re_us/simpl_wurdz
Last edited by a moderator:
Happens all the time in almost all languages this desire of some to modernize their language. Modern is better is the underlying idea.0TheSwerve0 said:gah! This makes my head hurt http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060705/ap_on_re_us/simpl_wurdz
Well, duh! Is that the stupidest thing in that article or what? As for this:Thae [people who advocate Simplified Spelling and protest the Spelling Bee Competitions] sae th bee selebraets th ability of a fue stoodents to master a dificult sistem that stumps meny utherz hoo cuud do just as wel if speling were simpler.
That sounds way wrong. It takes some smarts to spell well. I would hardly be surprised if there's a study showing that people stronger in logic (mathematicians and scientists, say) are also better at spelling.Lurning English reqierz roet memory rather than lojic, he sed.
I agree. There are rules to spelling, and good spellers have actually learned them. The sign of a good speller isn't someone who can memorize lots of words; I actually think those are usually the bad spellers. A good speller knows the rules and can spell a word they've never seen written out before based on the way it sounds. You just know by the rest of the word if that F sound should be spelled with a "ph" or a "gh" or and "f".Gokul43201 said:As for this:That sounds way wrong. It takes some smarts to spell well. I would hardly be surprised if there's a study showing that people stronger in logic (mathematicians and scientists, say) are also better at spelling.
yomamma said:while other languages are even more complex, have accents, and 30+ characters, english has to be simplified
Moonbear said:I agree. There are rules to spelling, and good spellers have actually learned them. The sign of a good speller isn't someone who can memorize lots of words; I actually think those are usually the bad spellers. A good speller knows the rules and can spell a word they've never seen written out before based on the way it sounds. You just know by the rest of the word if that F sound should be spelled with a "ph" or a "gh" or and "f".
Not exactly. A knowledge of the word's language of origin is a bigger help than "knowing by the rest of the word". In the Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants are allowed to ask the language of origin before beginning to spell the word.Moonbear said:You just know by the rest of the word if that F sound should be spelled with a "ph" or a "gh" or and "f".
I think this addresses LYN's comment as well. Yes, part of what complicates the language is that many words are borrowed from other languages. But, I think that fits into the pattern recognition rules as well. The entire word gives the context. I think it's the same way that when someone talks to you in a foreign language, you don't have to understand what they are saying to identify the language being spoken as long as you have some knowledge of the language to help identify it. I think that all fits into part of the rules of the English language...recognizing the origin of the word you're trying to spell to know if it's likely to have a French, Latin or Greek spelling.jimmysnyder said:Not exactly. A knowledge of the word's language of origin is a bigger help than "knowing by the rest of the word". In the Scripps National Spelling Bee contestants are allowed to ask the language of origin before beginning to spell the word.
That only makes the workings more subtle. With many words, you can tell if the root is Greek or Latinic; you can find similarities with words in other present day languages - it's a vast playfield, but that only makes it more fun. And yes, while some amount of pattern matching and correlation applying can make you a pretty good speller, it takes a lot of work and much memorization to be a Bee-grade speller!loseyourname said:I think you're wrong about this from my experience. The rules of English spelling are haphazardly applied because so many words are loanwords, especially from French.
Really, when I got to the earlier sentence where you described the quandary fo the one f or two, I looked for similar sounding words, and the first one that hit me was affinity. It immediately struck me as extremely likely (I have the advantage of a little chemistry knowledge) that both words shared the same root. That would have settled it for me.I was never in the upper echelon of spellers as a kid, but I did make the state finals, and it really is just a lot of memorization. I ended up losing on a very simple word: paraffin, simply because at the time I had never heard of it before. There is no rule whatsoever dictating that it should be spelled with two fs instead of one. It all comes down to the etymology of each individual word, whether it derives from Latin, Greek, Old English, other Germanic sources, or Celtic sources. In the case of "paraffin," it comes from the Latin "parum" + "affinis."
That there is the major obstacle. Change in language is natural, but the change can not be forced. The silent "gh" is taking forever to go away, even now with "lite" beers and tiny holiday "lites" it still is not widely accepted to talk about our sons and dauters.Anttech said:Scots is written phentically... (Before you tell me it isn't a language http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_language ) The only problem with writing English like this, is that all dialects would spell words differently...
Gokul43201 said:Really, when I got to the earlier sentence where you described the quandary fo the one f or two, I looked for similar sounding words, and the first one that hit me was affinity. It immediately struck me as extremely likely (I have the advantage of a little chemistry knowledge) that both words shared the same root. That would have settled it for me.
The other problem is that "para" is a Greek root word, and the letter F doesn't even exist in the Greek alphabet.
Simplified English is a controlled language that uses a limited vocabulary and simplified grammar rules to make written and spoken language easier to understand.
Simplified English is often used in technical writing or for communication with non-native speakers because it reduces ambiguity and makes complex information easier to comprehend.
Simplified English restricts the use of idiomatic expressions, jargon, and complex sentence structures. It also has a limited vocabulary of about 850-1000 words compared to the estimated 500,000 words in the English language.
Simplified English is commonly used in industries such as aerospace, defense, and engineering, where clear and precise communication is critical. It is also used by organizations like the European Union and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Yes, anyone can learn Simplified English by following the standardized rules and vocabulary. It may be particularly helpful for non-native speakers or individuals with learning difficulties, but it can benefit anyone looking to improve their communication skills.