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On 10/12/12 11:28, tom wrote: > On 10/12/12 11:06, paul sutton wrote: >> On 10/12/12 10:22, tom wrote: >>> On 10/12/12 09:22, Philip Hudson wrote: >>>> On 10 Dec, 2012, at 8:55 am, tom wrote: >>>> >>>>> Using mercan spelling makes as much sense as using 3 for pi. It >>>>> might be 'easier' but achieves nothing of use to anyone. >>>> Go on, just take a deep breath and let go of those silly UK >>>> spellings. You can do it. Accept that American spellings are >>>> phonetically truer, truer to Latin and Greek originals, shorter, more >>>> consistent, easier to learn and remember, and altogether utterly and >>>> completely superior. You're a logical, reasoning, rational sort of >>>> chap, a global cybernaut, way beyond petty prejudice and chauvinism. >>>> >> compare Sulphur (uk) to Sulfur, the latter is now the accepted >> international spelling. It makes more sense, This was a decision made >> by the international chemistry people not us simply adopting American >> spellings. >> >> Oddly employers or potential employers here seem to think its ok to >> write Dear Paul on official correspondence, despite the fact I use >> proper salutations. Such as Dear Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss. To me what I use >> is more professional, and if I write to you like that you should write >> back (just because I am using e-mail does not mean that e-mail can't be >> made formal / informal. >> >> I have had letters from the US that use the salutation / surname >> format, so we are not getting this casual unprofessional attitude from >> the USA. >> >> You can't tell me times are changing as if you get official >> correspondence from the tax office, NHS et al, they do it properly. If >> you expect this from school leavers it may help if the teachers did it >> properly. >> >> >> Paul >> >> > The trouble is probably the teaching is too hard. Sulfur doesnt not > really make more sense than sulfur - say that in devon and its > mistaken for silver - the ph emphasises the f! Thats just an > international agreement where getting it wrong can blow people up. But > accents change - no-one was esturine when I was younger now half the > country seems to be. To change spelling to adapt to the latest fashion > just makes it harder for everyone in the long run. > Its very short sighted to think that making spelling easier will > somehow make language easier. When was the last time you spelt out a > familiar word when writing? It was, like most of your language skills, > learned by rote and not phonetically. If you are serious about doing > things phonetically then lets do it properly - teach everyone the > phonetic alphabet - that 44 speech sounds (and more now things that > beep at us are becoming part of speech). You'll be 10 before you can > write your name! > Tom te tom te tom > We are teaching phonics in schools, By the phonetic alphabet do you mean letter sounds, digraphs and split digraphs, as in the o sound and oo sound etc. or do you mean words for letters as in A - Alpha B - Bravo C - Charlie etc used by the police and emergency services and very useful when giving people your post code as it helps bridge accent barriers even in the Uk. I guess you mean the former. Paul -- -- http://drupal.zleap.net skype : psutton111 http://www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-sutton/36/595/911 http://www.raspberrypi.org http://www.ubuntu.com -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq