A brief and humorous 500-year history of the Simplified Spelling Movement from advocates like Ben Franklin, C. S. Lewis, and Mark Twain to texts and Twitter.
Why does the G in George sound different from the G in gorge? Why does C begin both case and cease? And why is it funny when a philologist faints, but not polight to laf about it? Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to write in English has, at one time or another, struggled with its spelling.
So why do we continue to use it? If our system of writing words is so tragically inconsistent, why haven't we standardized it, phoneticized it, brought it into line? How many brave linguists throughout language history have ever had the courage to state, in a declaration of phonetic revolt: "Enough is enuf"?
The answer: many. In the comic annals of linguistic history, legions of rebel wordsmiths have died on the hill of spelling reform, risking their reputations to bring English into the realm of the rational. This book, a work of popular linguistics, is about them: Mark Twain, Ben Franklin, Eliza Burnz, C. S. Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Darwin, and the innumerable others on both sides of the Atlantic who, for a time in their life, became fanatically occupied with writing thru instead of through, tho for though, laf for laugh, beleev for believe, and dawter for daughter (and tried futilely to get everyone around them to do it too).
Henry takes his humorous and informative chronicle right up to today as the language seems to naturally be simplifying to fit the needs of our changing world thanks to technology—from texting to Twitter and emojis, the Simplified Spelling Movement may finally be having its day.
This deep dive into the comic annals of spelling reform reveals:
- A 500-Year History of Spelling Reform: Follow a centuries-long battle against silent letters and nonsensical rules, from medieval monks to modern-day texters.
- Famous Advocates and Rebels: Discover the surprisingly passionate campaigns of figures like Mark Twain, Ben Franklin, George Bernard Shaw, and even a U.S. President.
- The Absurdity of English: Uncover why doubt has a "b", daughter and laughter don't rhyme, and legions of rebel wordsmiths have declared "Enough is enuf!".
- From Dictionaries to Twitter: Trace the evolution of simplified spelling from Noah Webster's dictionary right up to the age of emojis, hashtags, and social media.