Words that should be respelt

[monster]

Originally Posted by Kingswood

So lighten up please.

back atcha

Why so defensive? Why so unwilling to allow the topic to develop into a discussion? You almost seem bitter -do you feel that you have suffered because of the difficulties of learning English? I ask to gain perspective on your pov, not to attack.

I did not say spelling was about guesswork and approximations. I said learning to spell was. Etc. Rules with exceptions, redundancy and the like may not be desirable or efficient, but they are facts of life. Familiarity with those concepts is not a bad thing.

Education is about learning to learn, not just learning to read. Reading is a tool. With a good teacher, learning to spell can give a child so many more tools that just reading.

You also seem to draw the conclusion that learning to spell and learning to read are almost the same thing. There is a lot of evidence that word shape is of greater importance than letter order when you read. That's why lower case is easier to read than upper case and why is its so easy for perfectly competent spellers to make typos and not notice them. Beginning readers have many sight words that they cannot yet spell.

The complexity of the English language may have drawbacks, I was merely pointing out some of its benefits. Italian children may learn to read more quickly, but does that mean they have a better education? It's not a race to the finish line, it's about what you collect on the way.



You mentioned greater likelihood of dyslexia diagnosis. Are you implying that the complexity of English causes dyslexia? Or that it causes people to be incorrectly diagnosed? Or what? You clearly seem to think this is a bad thing. You also don't support your assertion, but I assume you have some evidence.

...and the biggest loss of all if English were to be simplified is the good old American Spelling Bee! Competitive Spelling would never be the same again, and you suggest this is a good thing?