How to spell a Word
The spelling of English words is archaic, it's confusing , it's needlessly complicated and if you have a sense of humour , it's down right comical.In fact, any insulating epither you might wish to level against our weird methods of putting letters together to form words would probably be justified -but it,s our spelling ,and we are struck with it
Many years ago ,the Irish play wright George Bernard shaw offered a dramatic propasal for reducing England's taxes.Just eliminate unnecessary leters from our unwidelyspelling ,he said ,and you will save enough money in paper and printing to cut every one's tax rate in half .May be it would work , but it's never been put to the test-and the way things look now , it never will be. Current practice more and more holds spelling exactly where it is , bad though it may be . It is a scientific law of language that if enough people maake a 'mistake', the 'mistake' becomes acceptable usage . That law applies to prounciation , to grammar , to word meanings , but not to spelling . May be it's because of mis begotten faith in , and worship of , the printed word - may be it's because written language tends to be relatively staic , while spoken language constantly changes .What ever the cause , spelling today successfully resists every logical effort at reform.'English spelling' said the American sociologist and economist Thorestein Veblen, 'satisfies all the requirements of the canons of reputability under the law of conspicious waste . It is archaic , cumbrous and ineffective.'Perfectly true . Not withstanding , it's here to say.
your most erudite friend doubtless misspells the name of the Hawaiian Guitar. I asked half a dozen members of the English department of a large college to spell the word-without exception they responded with ukelele. Yet the only accepted form of a ukelele
Judging from my experience with my classes , half the population of the countrry must think the word is spelled alright .Seventy five percent of the members of my classes can't spell embarrassing or coolly . people will go on misspelling these for words , but the authorised spellings will remain impervious to change.
Well you know the one about Mohammed and the mountain . If spelling won't change , as it probably won't , those of us who consider ourselves poor spellers will have to .We'll just have to get up and go to the montain .
Is it hard to become a good speller? I have demonstrated over and over again in my classes that any one of normal intelligence and average educational background can become a good speller in very little time .
What makes the task so easy?
first-investigations have proved that ninety- five percent of the spelling errors that educated people make occur in just one hundred words .Not only do well all misspell the same same words -but we misspell them in about the same way.
Second -correct spelling relies exclusively on memory and the most effective way to train memory is by means of association or to use the technical term, mnemonics
If you fancy yourself an imperfect on even a terrible speller , the chances are very great thst you have developed a complex solely because you misspell some or all of the hunderd words with which this intermission deals . When you conquered this single list, and i shall immediately proceed to demonstate how easy it is , by means of mnemonics , to do so , ninet five percent of your spelling difficulties will in all likelihood vanish
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