Re: English diglossia (was Re: retroflex consonants)

John:
> He used both, and I agree that he winds up with too much "z".  Here's a
> small sample of RI, with the s > z, th > dh, and a > aa changes backed out:
>
> Wunce upon a time thare livd a poor boy named Dick Whittington, hoose
hooze

> she wos angry and told him to begon.  At that moment the oener ov the
<oener> because mergers that affect both RP & GenAm are carried over
into RI?

> aulmoste every day.  She treated him so badly that the merchant's
or <evri>?

****

Like you, I am one of the few nonloonies who takes English spelling
reform seriously & thinks it would be a good thing. My preferences
for a reformed system are a little different, though:

* Don't change spellings carried over from Latin spelling.
* In other respects, prefer brevity to continuity with the current
system.
* Use abbreviations for high frequency words (perhaps not taught to
children in the initial phase of learning to read).
* Don't worry about irregular orthography in foreign borrowings that
are not high frequency.
* For nonlatinate nonforeign nonabbreviated words, use whatever
quasiphonemic spelling causes the least pain to the greatest number
of children.

Applied to the Dick Whittington text, this would give something
approximately like the following:

Wns pn -taim ðr livd -puwr boy neimd Dick Whittington, hwz faðr
n muðr wr bþ ded. Hvng nyðr howm nr frendz, h rowmd bwt ðkuntri
trayng t urn hiz livng. Sumtaimz h kd nt faynd eni wurk, n h ofn
hd t g hungri.
  On markit deyz h hurd ðfarmrz took bwt ðgreyt siti v Lundn. Ðe
sed ð its striytz wr peyvd w gowld. So Dick meyd p hiz maynd t g t
Lundn n siyk hiz fortywn. Pakng hiz klow(ð)z intu -bundl n koolng
hiz feyþfl kat h startd wt. Aftr deyz n deyz v wookng ðhungri lad
finali riycd Lundn.
  Bt alas, ðstriytz wr nt peyvd w gowld bt hard koblstownz. H wondrd
bwt ðsiti siykng fr wurk. At last h keym t ðhaws v -ric murcnt n
nokd at ðdor.
  Ðdor wz owpnd ba ðkuk, bt wen sc wnli soo -ragid boy on ðstep, sc
wz angri n towld hm t bigon. At ðt moment ð-ownr v ðhaws, Mastr
Fitzwarren, riturnd n siyng ðpuwr boy-z condition h tuk piti on
hm n ordrd ðkuk t gv hm sm fuwd. "If y wisc t wurk," h add, "y me
stey hy n help kuk in ðkicn. Y wl faynd -bed in ð-attic". Dick
þankd Mastr Fitzwarren vy mc fr hiz greyt kayndnis.
  Dick myt hv bn hapi hd it nt bn fr ðkuk, hu wipd hm lmwst evri
dey. Sc triytd hm so badli ð ðmurcnt-z dootr, hu wz -kaynd-hartd
gurl, felt vy sori fr ðlownli lad.
  Wn dey ðmurcnt coold l hiz servantz tgð. H towld ðm ð h hd -scip
redi t seyl t forin landz, n ðt yc v ðm myt send smþ in hr; n þe
sd hv l it sowld fr.
  "Wt ar y gng t send, Dick?" askd ðmurcnt-z dootr.
  "A hv nþ t send", sed Dick sadli, "nþ bt ma kat".
  "Fec ðay kat ðn, boy, n send hr!" sed ðmurcnt.
  Dick wz sori t part w Pusi, yt h owbeyd hiz mastr, n w tirz in hiz
ayz geyv Pus t ðkaptn v ðscip.


-- Of course, RI stands a better chance of getting adopted than the
above system, but since the chances of either of them getting adopted
are so remote, I allow myself the indulgence of a scheme more ideal
than practical.

--And.

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