Re: USAGE: No rants! (USAGE: di"f"thong)

On Mon, 29 May 2006 16:46:24 +0200, Henrik Theiling <theiling@...> wrote:

>No, no, we won't go into rant mode.
>
>It feels a bit like 'auxlang are a good thing' threads.  Don't tell me
>a spelling reform of English is a good thing and don't tell me it is
>not a good thing.
>
>Here's a poll:
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>1) Do you think English spelling should be reformed?
>
> [ ] No, it should not be reformed
> [x] Yes, it should be reformed, but only slightly
> [ ] Yes, and we need a whole now spelling
> [ ] I don't care
>
>2a) Do you think English spelling is phonemic?
>
> [ ] Yes
> [x] No
> [ ] I don't know
> [ ] I don't care
>
>2b) Do you think English spelling is phonetic?
>
> [ ] Yes
> [x] No
> [ ] I don't know
> [ ] I don't care
>
>3a) Do you think English spelling should be phonemic?
>
> [ ] Yes
> [x] No
> [ ] I don't care
>
>3b) Do you think English spelling should be phonetic?
>
> [ ] Yes
> [x] No
> [ ] I don't care
>
>4) Which spelling would you prefer for current 'laugh'?
>
> [x] laugh
> [x] laff
> [x] laf
> [ ] larf
> [ ] _______
> [ ] I don't care
>
>If you only answered 'I don't care' or 'I don't know' up to here,
>rethink whether you are really interested in this poll...
>
>5) Who is the most important group of people you think of when
>   proposing/rejecting a spelling reform?
>
> [x] People who can read already and just want to keep on reading
>     undisturbed.  (This is probably the largest group of living
>     people now).
>
> [x] L1 learners of English
>
> [x] L2 learners of English [This will be the largest group of people
>     if time is considered and we wait for 100 years.)
>
> [ ] Myself, I cannot read/write properly/have had problems learning it.
>
> [ ] _________________
>
>6) How should one cope with different dialects?
>
> [x] By neglecting distinctions made in some dialects.
> [ ] By considering all distinctions made in dialects.
> [x] By using historical state of English and base the spelling on it.
> [ ] By defining a standard dialect and use it regardless of variants.
> [ ] By using a semantics based writing system.
> [ ] __________________
>
>7) Have you thought about or (tried to) invent(ed) a spelling reform
>   yourself?
>
> [x] Yes
> [ ] No
>
>8) Which other lang do think needs a spelling reform?
>
> [ ] Chinese
> [ ] Danish
> [ ] Faeroese
> [x] French
> [ ] German
> [ ] Japanese
> [ ] __________
> [ ] __________
Even making English spelling more phonemic would require picking one dialect
over another - and which do we choose? Standard American? RP? Scots? ANZAC?
Canadian? Caribbean? South Asian? Shanghai/Hong Kong?

My own proposal is to base any spelling reform on the general dialect of
Early Modern English (circa pre-1750) prior to the major dialectal split
between American and British English - regularizing the spelling as much as
possible while retaining some of the etymological character of the current
spelling.

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