Much talk – again – about the desirability of simplifying English spelling
Even as someone who took to reading, writing – yes and spelling - very easily, I can have some sympathy with this, though you do not have to think about it for very long to realise what a fond hope it is.
Phonetically, whose pronunciation do we go for – even if we think only about ENGLISH English & leave all other nations to do their own thing?
What do we do about useful homonyms/homophones such as rite, write, right, wright?
Better to think of it all as just a delightful game
There is however scope for considering how we should treat those who do not find it so easy
One of the brightest, most energetic & far sighted people I know cannot spell – though secretaries & colleagues usually do not have too much trouble deciphering anything he has written. In his case however, they are only too willing to make the effort.
I was at school with a boy, a son of Chinese immigrants. Everybody knew he was an outstanding chemist, but he failed repeatedly to pass his English O level, a basic requirement for university entrance. It was not just the family background – his brothers & sisters did not share his problem. In the end some kind of compromise was found, though I do not know what it was
I heard someone on the radio talking about a man who is one of the best paediatric brain surgeons. It took him much struggle, & many more years than is normal, to acquire his medical qualifications because of dyslexia
Should we be prepared to excuse, or make allowances for those who have such handicaps only if they show such determination or show that they are outstanding in other ways?
There may be some scope for having a kind of hierarchy of penalties for misspellings in public examinations – going easy on those who spell supersede with a c, for example
There used to be a system like this of a sort when students in the West Indies took the standard English GCEs. A committee of distinguished folk would draw up a list of Caribbean usages which were acceptable & should not be penalised by the English markers
Cartoon by Austin
