Will English ever have a spelling reform?

Unlike many other languages, English spelling has never been systematically updated and thus today only partly holds to the alphabetic principle. As an outcome, English spelling is a system of weak rules with many exceptions and ambiguities. Most phonemes in English can be spelled in more than one way.

What words did Noah Webster change?

He changed the –ce in words like defence, offence, and pretence to –se; abandoned the second, silent “l” in verbs such as travel and cancel when forming the past tense; dropped the “u” from words such as humour and colour; and dropped the “k” from words such as publick and musick.

Who was the first to think of reforming the chaotic English spelling?

Reform efforts began in earnest in the 16th century with Sir John Cheke and Sir Thomas Smith, who reconstructed ancient Greek pronunciation and then applied themselves to English; Smith published a 34-letter alphabet to better map onto its sounds.

Who simplified American English?

That man is Noah Webster, the iconic dictionary editor whose name is now synonymous with dictionaries in the United States. In the late 1700s, Webster took issue with some of the inconsistencies of British spelling and the troubles they posed for American students learning the language.

What are the English spelling rules?

Spelling Rules

• Every word has at least one vowel.
• Every syllable has one vowel.
• C can say /k/ or /s/.
• G can say /g/ or /j/.
• Q is always followed by a u (queen).
• Double the consonants f, l, and s at the end of a one-syllable word that has just one vowel (stiff, spell, pass).

Why is English spelling weird?

Between 1350-1700 the pronunciation of many English vowels gradually changed in a process known as the Great Vowel Shift. However, the spelling of many words became standardised in the 1400s-1500s with the arrival of more widespread printing. So English spelling is quite literally ‘stuck’ in the Middle Ages!

Is Merriam Webster American or British?

Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as G & C Merriam Co.

Why is English spelling so chaotic?

This overabundance of spellings is a result of English’s unabashed habit of importing words from other languages. In many instances new words brought along the spelling conventions of the language of origin. Clearly English orthography requires more study than that of other modern languages.

Why do Americans spell differently?

The simple reason for this is that England and America went their separate ways before anyone became unduly rigorous about spelling words the same way every time. This was largely to differentiate those words from the ones that end in –our and sound like –ower. As in hour, flour, sour and so on.