[BITList] Simplified spelling

[HUGH]

Mike,

If we phoneticise written English, should it be fonetisighs, or foaneticeyse, or what (whot)?  And as for English, should it be Inglish, English, or what?  Whose pronunciation should be the standard (standart, standar' ).  At a maths summer school I had many a conversation with a lady from dan sarf who thought (thot, thowt, thawt) my pronunciation was odd. I countered with, to quote only one of her foibles, her use of diphtongs where none were written, eg, rause, rauwse, for rose.  She denied it all. So whose speech will the new spelling mimic?  The lady above genuinely couldn't hear her own speech, and I daresay I was the pot calling the kettle black.  I shudder at the prospect of "hair" being written as "heh", and "car insurance" becoming "conshiens".  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  It is daft to compare the spelling problems of adults who learn English as a second language, with the largely non-existent problems faced by children who learn written English around ages 4 or 5.

Hugh.
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