Xref: utzoo sci.lang:4533 comp.cog-eng:1123 sci.psychology:1887 Path: utzoo!censor!jeff From: jeff@censor.UUCP (Jeff Hunter) Newsgroups: sci.lang,comp.cog-eng,sci.psychology Subject: Re: Spelling and Perceptual Mode (was: Effects of poor writing?) Summary: some odd reasons Keywords: GB Shaw, orthography Message-ID: <600@censor.UUCP> Date: 17 May 89 02:02:13 GMT References: <39131@bbn.COM> <1982@trantor.harris-atd.com> <187@intek01.UUCP> <1989May10.211236.19705@utpsych.toronto.edu> Distribution: na Organization: Bell Canada, Business Development, Toronto Lines: 47 see1@tank.uchicago.edu (Ellen Keyne Seebacher) writes: > > I learned quite a few rules by making and studying lists of similar > words. In almost all expert activities, the *really* good performers > are those who can glance at a large arrangement and grasp a pattern. > And like playing chess, spelling is something you learn by doing until > you *feel* the patterns. Ok, but why *should* spelling be as tough as chess. One of my co-workers tells me that Italian spelling is easy enough that his pre-school daughters already know all the rules and exceptions. raymond@utpsych.toronto.edu (Raymond Shaw) writes: > > The thing to remember about all of this nonsense about reforming orthography > is that English is comprised of words from many other languages, and the > spelling of many of the words remains little changed from the original. > The beauty of this is that intelligent people (go ahead, flame me on this > one, I'm looking forward to it), that's right, I said it, INTELLIGENT people > can look at a word they don't know, and make logical guesses about the meaning > of the word, because of its spelling, which reflects the original language. Well you used to be able to tell the subject of a volume measurement by the units used. Gallon = water, pint = beer or blood, bushel = leaves or grain, hogshead = beer again, barrel = oil, gill = medicine or liquor, and cord = wood. In general these have been discarded (except in some barbaric parts of the world :-). Why should millions of man-years be wasted to preserve etymology? There's easier ways to do it. > Finally, if you want to change spelling so that it matches pronunciation, > on whose pronunciation would you base it? Well you could at least remove things that were archaic even when the first dictionary was penned. I think tonite I'll drive-thru Dunkin Do-nuts, rite? *not* I think tonite I'll drive thro dunkin do nouts, rite? -- ___ __ __ {utzoo,lsuc}!censor!jeff (416-595-2705) / / /) / ) -- my opinions -- -/ _ -/- /- No one born with a mouth and a need is innocent. (__/ (/_/ _/_ Greg Bear