On English Spelling

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A Plan for the Improvement of English Spelling
by Mark Twain

For example, in Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s," and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c," "y" and "x" - bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez - tu riplais "ch," "sh," and "th" rispektivli.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev alojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.



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Williams College
Department of Computer Science
This page is part of a section of lecture slides related to " On Being Digital " within the topic "Why Digital?". Other slides within this section and other sections of slides for the topic "Why Digital?" can be accessed using the links below.
  • On Being Digital
  • On English Spelling
  • Being Digital
  • Analog vs. Digital
  • Analog vs. Digital
  • Analog vs. Digital
  • "DIGITAL" DOESN'T REQUIRE DIGITS
  • Why Binary?
  • Alphabet Independence
  • Alphabet Reduction
  • UNIFORM INFORMATION TRANSPORT
  • Digitizing the Non-digital
  • The Physics of Sound
  • A Mathematical Abstraction of Sound
  • Analog Representations of Sound
  • Sound Sampling
  • Digital Sound
  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Digitization
  • Approximation and Under-sampling
  • Sensitivity to Distortion