When do you expect a major spelling reform of the English language?
Wouldn’t elementary teachers love it? And all the first graders, let alone the hundreds of millions of foreigners who learn English as a second language?
From Wikipedia: English spelling contains many irregularities due to a number of factors. The large number of words assimilated from other languages is one of them. A number of proposals have been made to reform English spelling. Some were proposed by Noah Webster early in the 19th century. He was in part concerned to distinguish American from British usage. Supporters assert that the many inconsistencies and irregularities of English spelling lead to severe difficulties for learners. They believe this leads to a lower level of literacy among English speakers compared with speakers of languages having a spelling system that more faithfully conforms to how the language is spoken, and have, since at least the time of George Bernard Shaw, pointed out costs to business and other users in retaining traditional spelling, which can be worked out by the casual observer as cumulatively massive.
Even though German spelling has already been much more consistent than English or French spelling, German speaking countries signed an agreement for spelling reforms in 1996, planned to be gradually introduced beginning in 1998 and fully used in 2005. The so-called Rechtschreibreform is still subject to dispute, and polls consistently show a majority against the new rules. It was not the first reform of the German spelling. There was an earlier reform in 1901.
Would you welcome a spelling reform of English? Is it likely that a majority would eventually demand one? If yes, when can we expect this to happen?
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