Yet Another English Spelling Reform Thread

[Melteor]

^^^Lol, we should just adopt one system?

For the record, the reforms that don't change the consonants too much, just the vowels, are the easiest to read. And all of them are pretty easy to read imo. Ai kwd ryd prite mctsh enything rittcn in ene wcn cf thim. Ai think ene ryl bincfit cf mcwst reformz iz lost if they downt spyk for thimselvz.

I like zomp's reform well enough, it only regularize a few divergent spellings to be in line with the rest; about 15% of the words are divergent.

[ayyub]

Just messing around. Two random sentences from random articles on WP:

Á Daiáléktrík Wíþstænding V-l-táj Tést íz án áléktrík-l tést pìrformd an á kámponínt or pradákt ovìr á spésífaid taim dìrexn tu dítìrmín ði áféktívnís áv æn íns-l-eting mátery-l-z (si also Íns-l-etìr (Áléktrísíti)), í.é., daiáléktríks, myuçyu-l-i íns-l-etíd sékxíns áv á part or part séparexn bítwin íns-l-etíd eriáz ænd áléktrik-l grawnd.

Frenkiá «Francia, Frankia», also kald ðá Kíngdám áv ðá Frenks or Frenkíx Kíngdám (Lætín: regnum Francorum), Frenkíx Rélm or ákezx-n-áli Frenklænd, wáz ðá terítori ínhæbítíd ænd ruld bai ðá Frenks frám ðá 3rd tu ðá 10þ sínçári.

[Nortaneous]

FEC ŦET ŚIT LAȾ OL RÍT IN SENĆLIŚ. ŦIS IS ŦE BEST IṈLIŚ SPELEṈ REFURM.

FRENCIYE, OLSU COLD ŦE CIṈDEM EV ŦE FRENCS UR FRENCIŚ CIṈDEM, FRENCIŚ RALM UR UCȺŚENELI FRENCLEND, WEZ ŦE TȺRITURI INHEBITID END RULD BÍ ŦE FRENCS FREM ŦE ŦERD TU ŦE TANŦ SANĆERI.

[Melteor]

Let me just ask, does that say "Sanchlish"? WTF Also CRUISE CONTROL

Ðhyz last tu ar prity harsj a- fcrst glans bct đhejc stil not ðha- bad rily. Aj kan- ge- jwsđ tc đhc dcbclkrosđ 'T'z đhcw, đhejc narly.

Aj thynk đhat đher iz oclscw đhy isju cv nercwn's in transkripsjcn đhat kcmz cp. Inevitcbly rajtynq đhat trajz tu mor klcwsly r'zimbcl đhc spcwk'n spytj, timpts đhc rajtcr tu ad evcr mor kclcwkwhyclizmz. Ðhc standcrd mcwst cv cs gcw baj in rajtnq iz prity far frcm đhc spcwk'n whcrd. Mejby đha- whwd sjcw my scm bin'fitz, tc anclajz thynqz mor. Aksjucly, đhatz đhy cnly ryz'n Ajm duynq đhis rily. (Aj djcst ryclajzđ đhc midcl vaucl cv 'benefits' kan by <e i c '>, whau. Yv'n whcrs whiđh đhc 're-' morfym.)

Ðhy cpostrcfy iz c wajcldkard for r'dusđ n kcnflejt'đ sjwhc -an sjwhi. Aj thođ c havinq a spesjcl kcwlatcrcl ker'ktcr for it in đhc r'dusđ formz cv whcrdz, bct it z oclredy bad incf đhat Ajm juzynq eth for x tap and x frikctiv and 'n alvycwlcr stop whiđh very'bcl vojsynq whitj iz đhc past tins markcr, whwps Aj djcst diđ iđ cgin, rajtynq đhc syngjclcr artikcl whiđh "x". Lwks prity dam harsj. Aj whisj đher whcr c strejt cp an daun leđcr insteđ cv eth scw it lwkđ lajk c T and c D. Cwkej, incf z incf.

[finlay]

Never seen Saanich? It did the rounds on the zbb last year or something. The official orthography is cruise control except for small s to indicate genitives. And it uses a shitload of non-standard characters too, as well as a few orthographic choices based on English (eg A is /e/ rather than /a/)

[ol bofosh]

Back from the grave...

Both the US and the UK set up academies to iron out, and even replace, conventional English spelling. Since there's no academies in other English countries the academies only concentrate on a phonemic spelling based on RP and GA. They will allow various spellings (and in the future the least popular spellings will be removed gradually), and probably people either side of the pond will favour different things.
Words that are already written according to these rules will maintain their current form, and alternative forms will not be accepted e.g. oral and aural, never oaral.

My plan has been to keep to conventions already in use and yet also allow for ambiguity. It is more phonemically faithful than current English orthography (at least for GA and RP accents), but there's plenty of overlap phonemically and orthographically. I think that makes for something fairly familiar and yet versatile.

Short conditions: VC, VCC*
Long conditions: VCe (where the preceding vowel is lengthened), word final position.
*includes digraphs of two consonants; does not include <x>.

Diaeresis or hyphen may be optionally used to mark hiatus: going as go-ing or goïng (to distinguish /ou.I/ from /OI/, for example).

US UK

<A a>
Short: /æ ɑ æ ɑː/
Long: /eɪ eɪ/ (word final and emphasised becomes /ɑ ɑː/)
Unemphasied: /ə ə/
/ɑ ɑː/ may optionally be written with aa or ah.

<E e>
Short: /ɛ e/
Long: /i iː/
Unemphasied: /ə ə/
Word final: silent; used for lengthening of previous vowels, except when it the only syllable, e.g. be, we, me, etc. (not the, which is /ðə/).

<I i>
Short: /ɪ ɪ/
Long: /aɪ aɪ/

Becomes long when word final.

<O o>
Short: /ɑ ɒ/
Long: /oʊ əʊ/

Becomes long when word final.

<U u>
Short: ʌ ʊ ʌ ʊ
Long: /u uː/
Becomes long when word final. May take on invisible /j/ before the vowel.

<y>
/aɪ aɪ/

Also used for happY vowel. Changes to ee or i in the case of plural: bunny - bunneez/bunniz.

<Au au>
/ɔ ɔː/
Written aw when word final.

<Ai ai>
/eɪ eɪ/
Written ay when word final.

<Ee ee>
/i iː/

<Ea ea>

/ɪə ɪə/

<Eu eu/Ue ue>
/ju juː/
Unempasised: /jə/

<Oo oo>
/u uː/

<Oa oa>
/oʊ əʊ/

<Oi oi>
/ɔɪ ɔɪ/
Written oy when word final.

<Ou ou>
/aʊ aʊ/
Written ow when word final.

Rhotics
Placing r after certain vowels has certain effects. When a rr is written after a vowel it retains its short quality.

<Ar ar>
/ɑr ɑː/

<Air air>
/ɛr ɛə/

<Aur aur>
/ɔr ɔː/

<Ir ir>
/ɜr ɜː/

<Er er>
Emphasised: /ɜr ɜː/
Unemphasised: /ɚ ə/

<Eer eer>
/ɪr ɪə/

<Or or>
/ɔr or ɔː/

<Oar oar>
/or ɔː/

<Ur ur>
/ʊr ʊə/ - ur
May take on an invisible /j/ before the vowel.

GA/RP
æ/æ - a
ɑ/ɑː - a
ɛ/e - e
ɪ/ɪ - i
ɑ/ɒ - o
ʌ/ʌ - u
ʊ/ʊ - u
i/iː - ee
ɔ/ɔː - au
u/uː - oo

eɪ/eɪ - ai ay
oʊ/əʊ - oa
aɪ/aɪ - y
ɔɪ/ɔɪ - oi oy
aʊ/aʊ - ou ow
ɪə/ɪə - ea

ɜr/ɜː - er
ɪr/ɪə - eer
ɛr/ɛə - air
ɑr/ɑː - ar
ɔr/ɔː - or aur
or/ɔː - or oar
ʊr/ʊə - ur

Consonants
Consonants will be doubled between vowels to retain short vowel quality of the preceding vowel.
<p b t d k> /p b t d k/
<f v s z h> /f v s z h/
<j> /dʒ/
<w l r y> /w l r j/
<m n ng> /m n ŋ/

Special
<c>
Soft (before e and i): /s/
Hard (before a, o and u): /k/

<g>
Soft (before e and i): /dʒ/
Hard (before a, o and u): /g/

Digraphs:
<qu> /kw/
<gh> use for when /g/ appears before e or i.
<ph> /f/ only for words already spelt like this.
<ch> /tʃ ~ x/
<sh> /ʃ ~ ʒ/
<th> /θ ~ ð/
<wh> /ʍ ~ w/ optional for words already spelt with this. Likely to go out of fashion.

Rite, I think I haven't left ennething out. I'l eddit it if thair iz ennething missing.

[Drydic]

Where did you get the idea that GA has /ɜr/?

Aside from that and a few quibbles, not a bad attempt really. I'm only a bit ambivalent about <oa> for əʊ/oʊ, but it's fairly common in the current "system" and thus is probably justifiable.

[ol bofosh]

Where did you get the idea that GA has /ɜr/?

Looking through the lexical sets page on Wiki (NURSE set).

Aside from that and a few quibbles, not a bad attempt really. I'm only a bit ambivalent about <oa> for əʊ/oʊ, but it's fairly common in the current "system" and thus is probably justifiable.

Since ou and ow were taken for /aU/ already it was the best choice left. I wanted to use conventions already existing as much as possible rather than reinvent /aU/ as au or aw, and those were going for /O/ anyway.
I'm still fiddling with it cos there's still things even I'm not happy with (above I believe I put one lengthening condition as VCV, which had an awful affect on spirrittuallitty).

[Jipí]

Just for fun: http://benung.nfshost.com/files/2013-05 ... Hikamu.pdf – this likely exhibits unnatural mergers because I'm not a native speaker.

[ol bofosh]

Looks good Jipí.

I just rewrote one of my favourite songs according to the above orthography: Parklife by Blur (I just reerote wun ov my faivret songz acording tu the abuv orthography: Parklife by Blir/Bler).

Confidence iz a prefrence
For the habitual voyir ov whot iz noan az…parklife
And morning soop can be avoidid
If yoo take a rute strait thru whot is noan az… parklife
Jon’s got brooerz droop
He gets initimidaitid by the dirty pigins
Thay luv a bit ov it.
Hu’s that gut lord marching
Yoo shud cut down on yor porklife, mate
Get sum exxercize
Aul the peepel
So meny peepel
And thay aul go
Hand in hand
Hand in hand thru thair
Parklife
I get up when I wont
Exxept on wenzdays
When I get roodly awakend by the dustmen
I put my trouserz on
Have a cup of tee
And I think about leeving the hous
I feed the pigins
I sumtymz feed the sparroze too
It givz me a sens ov inormos wel-being
And then I’m hapy for the rest of the day
Safe in the nolidge
Thair wil aulwayz be
A bit of my hart divoatid to it
It’s got nothing to du with yor
Vorsprung durch technic, yoo noa
And it’s not about yoo joggers
Hu go round and round and round

[R.Rusanov]

Dheu best pasybeul spelyng riform for ynglysh yz weun dhaet deuz nat eup dheu neumbeur euv leteurz aend kaen bi izyli eundersteud bai eu waid ynteurnaesheunal adiens.

Gad nouz a geud kampreumaiz meust bi faund for dheu shua haueveur - wyc keimpraizez aet list haef euv ynglysh'ez vauelz

[ol bofosh]

I think the moast practical thing iz not tu replace the current sistem but to make ajustments tu it, like remooving the d from adjustment or the e from have, simple chaingiz ov things that arn't eusful.

I like maiking nu orthographees, and I'm hapy with my last wun, but I doan't imagin that eny nu sistem wud be acceptid hoalsale.

I'd be quite hapy tu adopt this propoasal, for instance. It duzn't need replaicing, it just needs cleening up, IMO.

[jmcd]

Dheu best pasybeul spelyng riform for ynglysh yz weun dhaet deuz nat eup dheu neumbeur euv leteurz aend kaen bi izyli eundersteud bai eu waid ynteurnaesheunal adiens.

Gad nouz a geud kampreumaiz meust bi faund for dheu shua haueveur - wyc keimpraizez aet list haef euv ynglysh'ez vauelz

Ol Bofosh's idea can be understood as eesily as standard orthograffy so that's part ov why it's a good idea. Yoors takes sum dooing dho, espeshally "eu" for shva. Eedher "e" or "a" or "u" cood be reezonable but 2 letters is too mutch espeshally sins yoo'd think "eu" iz for /ju/ or sumthing like that. And A'm not shoor whot "shua" iz suppost too be.

[Nortaneous]

Ай тъинк уи шуд джыст рыйт инглиш ин сирилик. Лаьтин дызнт хаьв иныф вауыл лэтрз. Нийдър дыз сирилик, быт ит икспаьндз бэтр.

Фул камюнизм, анд соу он, анд соу он,

[ol bofosh]

Inglish Reeform
I'v started on one page, alredy.

Could anyone suggest a suitable text (about a paragraph) to show examples of each orthography?

[R.Rusanov]

Dheu best pasybeul spelyng riform for ynglysh yz weun dhaet deuz nat eup dheu neumbeur euv leteurz aend kaen bi izyli eundersteud bai eu waid ynteurnaesheunal adiens.

Gad nouz a geud kampreumaiz meust bi faund for dheu shua haueveur - wyc keimpraizez aet list haef euv ynglysh'ez vauelz

Ol Bofosh's idea can be understood as eesily as standard orthograffy so that's part ov why it's a good idea. Yoors takes sum dooing dho, espeshally "eu" for shva. Eedher "e" or "a" or "u" cood be reezonable but 2 letters is too mutch espeshally sins yoo'd think "eu" iz for /ju/ or sumthing like that. And A'm not shoor whot "shua" iz suppost too be.

Using context clues one might divine that what compromises half of English vowels and sounds like "shua" could, possibly, just maybe, haply be the term you pronounce "shva"

[maıráí]

like remooving the d from adjustment

"Ay-just-ment"? Ew.

[Drydic]

Dheu best pasybeul spelyng riform for ynglysh yz weun dhaet deuz nat eup dheu neumbeur euv leteurz aend kaen bi izyli eundersteud bai eu waid ynteurnaesheunal adiens.

Gad nouz a geud kampreumaiz meust bi faund for dheu shua haueveur - wyc keimpraizez aet list haef euv ynglysh'ez vauelz

Ol Bofosh's idea can be understood as eesily as standard orthograffy so that's part ov why it's a good idea. Yoors takes sum dooing dho, espeshally "eu" for shva. Eedher "e" or "a" or "u" cood be reezonable but 2 letters is too mutch espeshally sins yoo'd think "eu" iz for /ju/ or sumthing like that. And A'm not shoor whot "shua" iz suppost too be.

Using context clues one might divine that what compromises half of English vowels and sounds like "shua" could, possibly, just maybe, haply be the term you pronounce "shva"

You do realize that many of the British Englishes contrast several of those, right?

[jmcd]

Wo. Yoo yoozd "u" for /w/ in Inglish? It's a constonant and funkshons az sutch. Dhis izint wun ov dhoze Spannishy langwijaiz whair yoo can olternait bitween and [w] when yoo feel like it.

[R.Rusanov]

Dhys yz tru aend yn faekt <oo> aend <w> haev dyfrent pleisez euv artykiuleisheun yn Ynglysh

[Nortaneous]

Xау мени таймз ду ай хаьф ту тел ёл дъыт фык дъи Лаьтин аьлфыбет

Экшыли ай тъинк юзинг э фор дъи ТРЭП саунд из бетр. Аь из ыгли, энд дъейрз ноу рийл рийзн нат ты юз ы прфиктли гуд летр.

Айм стил нат шр хау ту дистингуиш ФУТ фрым ГУС, быт итс нат дъэт импортнт синс дъер ар хардл ени минимл перз. Oлсо нат шр уедър ту райт ы ин урдз лайк 'летр' адн 'шр' (летыр, шыр) ор уыт ту ду абаут ынстрест урдз лайк ы/ей, дъы/дъи/дъий, ор ты/ту, быт ху гивз ы шит

(オル アフ コルス デルス オルヱイズ カタカナ~~~~~~)

[R.Rusanov]

Ьф ю ар гъна сьрьльфай ьҥльш ѣт лист гет съм ъндърстѣндиҥ ъв сьрьльк фърст - ѣнд нат џъст ѳъ ръшън вѣриент иѳър

[Nortaneous]

Ай ноу хау ит уркс аутсайд Рышн. Уай елс ууд ай тъинк ыв юзинг <аь> фор /æ/ лайк ин Чечен? Алсоу ай кэнт бий фыкт ту юз кериктрз дъэт арнт он дъи Рышн кийборд ай юз, соу ынлес дъерз е бетр уын онлайн...

Бисайдз, ноу лэнгуидж тыдей юзиз ѣ ор ѳ (Джийзыс, эт лийст юз <ҙ> иф йр гына эд нанстэндрд кериктрз...) , энд онлы Былгериын юзиз ъ эз е ваул. Из дъер *эни* лэнгуидж эт ал дъэт юзиз ь аз е ваул?

[finlay]

Xау мени таймз ду ай хаьф ту тел ёл дъыт фык дъи Лаьтин аьлфыбет

Экшыли ай тъинк юзинг э фор дъи ТРЭП саунд из бетр. Аь из ыгли, энд дъейрз ноу рийл рийзн нат ты юз ы прфиктли гуд летр.

Айм стил нат шр хау ту дистингуиш ФУТ фрым ГУС, быт итс нат дъэт импортнт синс дъер ар хардл ени минимл перз. Oлсо нат шр уедър ту райт ы ин урдз лайк 'летр' адн 'шр' (летыр, шыр) ор уыт ту ду абаут ынстрест урдз лайк ы/ей, дъы/дъи/дъий, ор ты/ту, быт ху гивз ы шит

(オル アフ コルス デルス オルヱイズ カタカナ~~~~~~)

＊オア オブ コース デーズ オルウェイズ カタカナ

ザ シング アバウト カタカナ イングリッシュ イズ ザット イッツ ノンローティック アンド カインド オブ メッシー ビコーズ サムタイムズ ゼア アー ディファレント ウェイズ オブ トランスクライビング ワーズ (フォー エグザンプル オブ ラーザー ザン オヴ)

I feel like i'm in a karaoke bar... English songs tend to have this kind of katakana as a pronunciation guide. Automatically generated, I imagine.

[Nortaneous]

barfu