fonetics

[deird1]

So – spelling ríform.
Wyl y am mostlí in févor of éh words spelling matching thí wéh it saunds, my mén ríaksion tú thí possibiliti of spelling ríform is… wel, dred.

Mehnlí this is bikoz y ríli don’t wont tú lern éh hol nu spelling sistem. But also… y lyk aur wírd and komplicéted spelling, and how strénj it is. Y lyk bíing ébl to sí orl thí words that ar klírli from Jerman, or Latin, or Old Inglish, and hau thér spelling stil riflekts that. It’s word gíkery at its fynest – and y don’t wont tú giv that up.

(Interestingli, aur komplicéted words sím tú bí spelled much mor akkuratli than aur simpul wuns. Hau od.)

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I thought your gripe with spelling reform was it'd end up with everything spelled to match US Midwest pronunciation. Or am I confusing you with another Australian?

[deird1]

No, you're not confused. And yes, that is my main gripe. However:
- It's my main gripe because I think it's likely to actually happen. Whereas I don't think actual spelling reform would take it quite as far as I just did.
- I've just been studying lots of Latin and Old English, so pre-vowel shift spelling is more on my mind than usual.
- Frankly, complaints about America wouldn't look nearly so funny when I try typing them.

[alexseanchai]

*nods*