feline

Join Date 04/2001

Australian Spelling

From a recent letter to the New Scientist magazine:

It was Australia that made a serious attempt to modify English spelling. The plan was to introduce reforms gradually, and spelling reform number 1, known as SR1, advocated using just 'e' whenever a short 'e' shound occured, as in bred or sed. For some years the Australian Ministry of Helth was thus spelt.

i have tried to reproduce the spelling acuratley

feline gets visions of a wincustomize dictionary
after all, any "new and improved" english language that both Jafo and I can agree on should be very nearly fool proof

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

I won't say a word....

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while you are hear, any chance of getting enough offically recalsified as enuf?

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Koasati

Join Date 07/2001

+21

enuph already..........hehe

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Aw just put another shrimp on the barbee

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*sigh*

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paxx

Join Date 03/2001

Languages change over the years, the centuries, and there always has been language reforms. I have nothing against adapting the written language to reflect better the oral language. But some purists like to be amongst the few who can perfectly master the written language. Although I must admit the English language is not so hard to write compared to a language such as French for example. There was a project to reform the written French language a few years back but the 95 years old dinosaures at the Academie de la Langue Française (some stupid organisation that is responsible for managing our language - like adding new words, etc.) opposed to it. The reform would have elminated a lot of confusion like the double consonents (one P or two Ps? One T or two Ts?) and a lot of other stupid spellings.
Anyway, there were other reforms before, and when the written language is so different from the spoken language that it almost seems like a second language, I think it's time for some changes.

My opinion.

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Actually, the English language is quite difficult to write: so much so, that it's rarely done correctly. (Trust me, I make my living as an editor, and I have no fear of losing my job.) One of the problems is the mixture of English and American usage (not to mention Australia and other English-speaking countries).

Spelling and pronunciation do change over time and vary by country (color vs. colour, gray vs. grey, ee-ther vs. eye-ther, etc.), but rarely does the spoken language match the written language. Unless you're me, but I tend to annoy people when I correct their grammar

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

I never correct people's grammar or spelling..... Spell checker

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feline collapses on floor laughing hysterically.

*several minutes later*
to be fair, i dont recall Jafo ever commenting on grammar, although i do have this vague memory of one or two threads where most of my posts were followed by the imfoumous and much loved jafo icon
feline *starts giggleing again*

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paxx - Anyway, there were other reforms before, and when the written language is so different from the spoken language that it almost seems like a second language, I think it's time for some changes.

feline agree's

how about a new spelling for beutiful
that would be the word begining with b meaning very attractive. for some reason this is one of those words that i just *cannot* spell correctly, and normally MS Word just says "no suggestions", so i have to work around it.

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hmmmm.... I have had trouble all my life with the English language, not just the spelling but also pronouncing it have made many people have a good laugh for the day. BUT I recently learned about the "Aussie" lingo..... oh my! I used the word "fanny" ( boy you sure busted your fanny girl) and I was given a link to the meaning of "fanny" in Aussie lingo, I must say I tripped on my lip and muttered a few things and then read my sentence with their meaning, I split a gut.... uh oh does "gut" have a different meaning too? he hee Aussie lingo is harder than the English language to this old gal

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its not just aussie language.
the same small bag that straps on round the waist is called a 'fanny bag' in the US (i am assured) and a 'bum bag' in the UK.

this struck me as quite amusing when i was first told, given the meaning in the UK

feline *shrug*

computers dont help, since i am not the only programmer at work with strange spelling habits, the code to 'centre' something has some strange spellings (at least 3 that i know of), now imortalised in libraries that are many years old. spelling by consensus really

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I totally agree with you paxx

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

Yes...the Americans might like to take note that a 'fanny' in countries other than the U S of A does not exactly have a lot to do with a person's posterior, but, in fact is that portion of a woman's anatomy that is more commonly associated [strangely enough] with a felis domesticus.
Apt that feline brought this up...

And it's 'beautiful', feline..... Spell checker

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Americans are funny. They call a tramp a bum, a bum a fanny, and a fanny a pu-seh.

AJ

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