English-language spelling reform
English reform is the desire by speakers and writers of the English language to improve it. English is a very difficult language to learn, even for the children of native English speakers. It has many inconsistencies, irregularities and dialects.
Unlike many other languages, English does not have a central regulating authority. It is shaped by the actual usage of the language in many countries. There are many different versions of the English language. British English is the original form, while American English is becoming more prominent mostly because of the greater number of speakers.
The enforcement of correct forms of English falls primarily upon newspaper editors and school teachers. Their main reference is the Oxford English Dictionary. There are other prominent dictionaries also used as primary references:
- Webster's Dictionary for American English
- Canadian Oxford Dictionary
These dictionaries are considered to be descriptive, rather than prescriptive: see Prescription and description. They describe the many ways English is in common use and list authorized spelling variants. They hold a key role in the standardization of spelling: if a variant spelling is not present, then it is considered to be incorrect. They generally do not attempt to suggest or guide the language towards an improved version.
In addition to dictionaries, there are several style, grammar and other types of guidebooks available. Collectively, these works define standard English. Often, these publications are specific to one of the dialects of English.
Need for reform
It is generally agreed by the users of English that the language has many problems that could be improved upon. These problems are especially difficult to overcome for people with a different mother tongue. The desire by many for English to become the Universal language or lingua franca is held back by these problems.
Elements of reform
The main problems with the English language are listed below, in order of severity.
Spelling
Spelling of words in English is the most severe problem. English has a very poor Phonemic orthography (correspondence between how the words are written and how they are spoken). Most Spelling reforms attempt to improve this correspondence. English also has a great number of different methods of representing the same sound. See Spelling Chaos for examples.
Homophones
Homophones are very undesirable and confusing to new learners of English. Many of them are considered to be essential basic elements of English and will be difficult to reform. Examples:
- to, two and too
- for, four and fore
Polysemy is a related term.
Synonyms
Synonyms are also confusing to new learners of English. There is no problem when many words give small nuances to a certain meaning. The difficulty arises when a single word has multiple completely different meanings and are unnecessarily synonymous with other words. Examples:
- Died and expired. Died is correctly used for living creatures. Expired is also used to mean death. It should only be used for the invalidation of something after a period of time. Expired is an unnecessary synonym of died.
- Pretty, attractive and beautiful. Pretty is an unnecessary synonym of beautiful. Attractive also refers to physical properties such as magnetic attraction.
Vocabulary
A typical adult whose mother tongue is English has a vocabulary of approximately 80,000 words. Many of these words are unnecessary synonyms of each other.
Examples of restricted vocabularies:
- Basic English created by Charles K. Ogden
- Special English created by Voice Of America
These simplified vocabularies are generally considered "not rich enough." Basic English does have a mechanism to add other words in groups of typically 50 words per subject.
Vocabulary reform should attempt to find a happy medium between Basic English and the vocabulary in common usage. The Simple English Wikipedia is an attempt at this concept, but it does not yet have a defined vocabulary list.
Grammar
English Grammar has many irregularities that could be improved upon.
Style
There are several publications, such as a Style guide, available to define English writing style.
Reform agreement
Deciding upon which of many possible reform choices to pursue has been the greatest obstacle of all. In the absence of a central regulating authority, reform is very difficult. The only way the language can be changed is through the adoption of some reform elements by the majority of the users. Agreement can only be determined by some mechanism of voting. Once determined, the established publishers, as descriptive followers, will list the reforms for all to utilize.
Levels of reform
Status Quo
No changes to the existing forms of language usage. This is not an option for English, as it is already beginning to fragment in a manner similar to what happened to Latin.
Ideal end state
Initial reforms must be compatible with the desired ideal end state. Unplanned reforms which conflict with the end state could cause more damage than remaining with the status quo. Once the ideal state is determined, then initial reforms can commence.
Spelling reform Stage 1 is an example. However, it may be incompatible with the chosen ideal spelling reform. There is a danger starting with Stage 1 if Saispel (TM) were to be eventually chosen as the ideal end state.
Intermediate reforms
The spelling used in American English is an example of an intermediate spelling reform of British English. The Simple English Wikipedia is an example of an intermediate vocabulary and grammar reform of the English language.
Reform implementation
Once a level of reform agreement is achieved, a new Wikipedia language should be created. Perhaps named "Reformed English." Interested people may then translate articles from English into Reformed English. After a critical mass of articles is achieved, the general population may then begin to use elements of the reform.
What can you do?
If you believe the English language is overdue for some level of reformation, then your contributions are very welcome. Some areas you can assist in:
- Learn more about the various reform proposals.
- Contribute to this article. Spirited discussion is encouraged!
- Add more detail to the linked sections on reform.
- Contribute sensible reform details to the Wiktionary. For examples see:
- Consider the proposals and vote for the ones you favour. Propose voting mechanisms.
- Translate articles into the Reformed English Wikipedia. (Not yet started. Waiting for agreement on the name for the language.)
- Use the reforms in your daily life.
- Encourage others to research the reforms and to use them.