Re:The hardest aspect of learning English as a second language
by bjourne on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:56AM
(#21824806)
How come the English never tried for a spelling reform? Such reforms were implemented both in Sweden and Germany to simplify spelling. Like the article says, bear really should be spelled bair.
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Re:The hardest aspect of learning English as a second language
by the_svd_doctor on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @09:02AM
(#21824862)
Maybe because English doesn’t have a “central authority” as opposed to for instance French with the Academie Francaise? That makes reforms difficult/impossible.
Re:The hardest aspect of learning English as a second language
by gruez on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @08:59AM
(#21824835)
Good luck getting the Americans, Canadians, British, Indians, and Australians to all agree on something.
Re:The hardest aspect of learning English as a second language
by jsolson on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @09:10AM
(#21824955)
I mean, we already disagree on spelling for some words, the name for the letter 'Z', and what to call dwellings in multi-family properties, so we're not off to a great start...
Re:The hardest aspect of learning English as a second language
by bjourne on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @10:58AM
(#21826138)
When the German spelling reform was enacted in the German Empire in 1902, German was spoken in many countries outside of it. In fact, it rivaled English as the Lingua franca for the scientific world.
Re:The hardest aspect of learning English as a second language
by jcranmer on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @10:11AM
(#21825598)
We have tried spelling reform, at least a dozen times. They tend not to stick, however, perhaps in large part because radical changes that impact the spelling of nearly every single word tend to engender a lot of resistance. Smaller changes (such as changing hiccough to hiccup in American English, or through to thru) are more successful.