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

Henrik Theiling wrote:

| Here's a poll:

Ah good, polls are fun! Though now I am replying in a slightly hurrying
mode...

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| 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

Rather MAY be reformed.

| 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?
|
|  [x] Yes
|  [ ] 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'?
|
|  [ ] laugh
|  [x] laff
|  [ ] 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?
|
|  [ ] People who can read already and just want to keep on reading
|      undisturbed.  (This is probably the largest group of living
|      people now).
|
|  [ ] L1 learners of English
|
|  [ ] 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.
|
|  [x] Anyone who uses or is going to use this languages
|
| 6) How should one cope with different dialects?
|
|  [ ] By neglecting distinctions made in some dialects.
|  [x] By considering SOME MAJOR distinctions made in dialects.
|  [ ] 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
|  [ ] French
|  [ ] German
|  [ ] Japanese
|  [x] Ukrainian, because of the last two stupid reforms...
|  [ ] __________
|
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------
|
| What else?

Wishing good luck in this hopeless enterprise...

| **Henrik

-- Yitzik