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no- 3

Vol. V, No. 3. SEPTEMBER 1916. Prys 2d.

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THE PYONEER

M OV SIMPLIFYD SPEL1NQ.

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KONTENTS.

Pronunsiaishon Reform. — "Ten Years of Organized Effort for Simplified Spelling."— " A Dictionary of Simplified Spelling."— The Konferens ov Teecherz ov English at Stratford-on-Avon. — Wil Uther Braanchez ov the N.U.T. Folce Seut? — English haz the Ferst Klaim. — Speling Reform and Esperanto. — Transatlantik Tailz with a Moral. Korespondens. — Meets and Neuz. — Pres Kutingz. — Editorial Nost.

PUBLISHT BY THE

SIMPLIFYD SPELING SOSYETI,

44 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C.

The Traid suplyd by

SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT, & CO., 32 Paternoster Row, E.G.

SIMPLIFYD SPELING SOSYETI.

Prezident: PKOKKSOR GILBERT MURRAY, LL.D., D.LITT.. F P, A. Vys-Prezidents :

I R. W. MACAN. D.Litt.. T.C.D., Maasf r

I The Ryt On. Lord AVI.HI KV. F.C., n C.L . F.R S . LL.D . I). I. I Euniversiti Kolej. Oxford

The Reverend Prufesor \V. EMERY BARNES,

D.D. Profesor JAMES \V. BRIGHT, Ph.D., Litt.D.,

LL.D. The Rvt On. Lord BKVCE. D.C.L., LL.D.,

F.R S. Mis BURSTALL, M.A., Manchester Hy Skool

for Gerlz.

ANDREW CARNEGIE, LL.D. HENKV COWARD, Mus.Bac. Oxon. Ser JAMES CRICHTON-BROWNK. Kt., LL.D.,

F.R S., ets. Prinsipal Ser JAMES DONALDSON. LL.D.

I" F. J. FL-RNIVAI.L, M.A., D.Litt. (Paast Prezident). |

J. C. M. GIRNETT, M.A., Prinsipal, Skool ov

Teknoloji, Manchester. FRANK W. GOLDSTONE, M.P. Profesor CHARLES H. GRANDGENT, Harvard

Euniversiti (Prezident ov the Sirnplifyd

Speling Bord, U.S.A.). Profesor H. STANI EY JEVONS, M.A., B.Sc.,

Euniversiti ov Allahabad. Profesor THOMAS R. LOUNSHURY. LL.D.,

L.H.D. (Eks-Prezident ov the Simpiif>d

Speling Bord, U.S.A.).

Tllo.MAsJ. M.M-NAMARA.P C ., M . P. . L I . . 1 ). . M . A .

J. P. MAHAI-TY, C.V O.. M.A.. D.D., 1

Emeritus, Trinity Kolej, Dublin.

Ser JAMES A. II. MURRAY. M.A., LL.D., I D.C.L.. D.Litt.. Ph.D. |

J. L. PA-ION. M.A., Hy Maaster. Manchester

Grainar Skool. The Ryt On. Ser FREDERICK POI.I.OC-K, P.ait

LL.D.. D.C.L. G. II. RADI--ORD, LL.B., M.P.

Ser WILLIAM RAMSAY, K.C.B., LL.D.,

D.Sc.. M.D..ets. |

MICHAEL SADLE *, C.B., LL.D , V\ s-Cha-<u- selor ov the Euniversiti ov Leeds.

The Rev. Profesor SKEAT. Litt.D.. LL.D., I D.C.L., Ph.D. (Paast Pie/ulent).

WILLIAM ARCHER, M.A.

E. R. EDWARDS, Docteur de 1'Universitd de

Paris.

HENRY FRANK HEATH, C.B., B.A., Ph.D. G. B. HUNTER, D.Sc., Chairman, Mesrz. Swan

Hunter & Wi^ham Richardson, Ltd. DANIEL JONES, M.A.

On. Sekretari: WILLIAM AKCHER, M.A. On. Trezherer: WALTER RIPPMANN, M.A. Abistant Sekretari: Mis IRENE MONTAGU

R>t On. JAMES PARKER SMITH, P.C., D L.

C. E. SPEARMAN, Ph.D.

THOMAS B. SPRAGUE, M.A.. LL.D., F.I. A..

On^.F.A. W. B. STEER, Eks-Prez;dent ov the National

E union ov Teecherz.

Bishop WKLI.DON, Detn ov Manchrsti r. H. G. WELLS. Komiti :

Profesor A. S. NAPIER, D.Litt., ets.

WALTER RIPPMANN. M.A.

W. H. THOMPSON.

Mis MARY SPALDING WALKER, B.A., Roan

Skool for Gerlz. SYDNEY WALTON, M.A.. B.Litt.. F.R.G.S.

OUTLINE SCHEME FOR NEW READERS

The same sound is always represented by the same letter or letters :

eni, jepardi, greev, leep (not any, jeopardy, grieve, leapi. Letters not pronounced are not written, and a consonant is not doubled to indicate

a short vowel : dout, lam, aktiv, leter, nee (not dpubt, lamb, active, letter, knee). Wherever the z sound (as distinguished from the s) is heard it is written: tyz, pr.u

ties, praise). C (except in ch), q, and x are not used.

VOWEL SOUNDS.

hat, glad.

meni, plezher (not many, pleasure),

wimen, bizi (not women, busy).

kot, hot.

but, bruther (not brother).

book, poot (not pug.

ai

*aa

au

ee

y

03

oo

eu

grait, kair (not great, care).

raather, haaf (not rather, half).

aul (not all, awl).

eech, reseev (not each, receive).

ryt, fyr (not right, fire).

loe, poest (not low, post).

troo (not true).

teun, euloji (not tune, eulogy).

* Only one a is used before r: arm, kar, &c.

In considering the scheme remember that no new letters are introduced, though in Knglish we have only 23 letters for representing over 40 sounds.

THE PYONEER

OV SIMPLIFYD SPELING.

VOL. V, No. 3. SEPTEMBER, 1916.

PRONUNSIAISHON REFORM.

I hav yet tu lern that thair iz amung the moest savij trybz eni feetish mor sensles and mor steupid than that which— with edeukaited men amung us— treets az werthi ov respekt or reverens the prezent orthografi ov the English tung. — PROF. LOUNSBURY.

CUM munths agce thair apeerd in " Modern Language Teaching" an artikel with the abuv tytel from the pen ov wun hoo preferd tu kaul himself " X." It woz a kwaint produkshon, for it woz never reali kleer whether " X." had hiz tung in hiz cheek aul the tym or whether the heumor woz ov the unkonshus varyeti.

He pointed out that bekauz the pronunsiaishon ov Latin haz been reformd we myt hoep tu reform that ov English, and on similar lynz. That iz karakteristik ov " X." 'z heel treetment ov the subjekt.

Our reederz need hardli be toeld that if we adopt the Latin speling az a gyd tu the pronunsiaishon we ar fairli saif, bekauz we nee that speling tu hav been aproksimaitli fonetik. The reform heer simpli ment an atemt tu giv the Latin leterz thair orijinal valeuz insted ov pronounsing this forin langwij with English soundz.

On the uther hand, tu maik the prezent speling ov English the baisis ov our pronunsiaishon wood be tu retern tu the spceken langwij ov Shakespeare'z dai. Whot did Prof. Skeat sai ov our speling ?

The shortest deskripshon ov modern speling iz tu sai that, specking jenerali, it reprezents a modern pronunsiaishon ov " popeular " werdz by meenz ov simbolz imperfektli adapted tu an Elizabethan pronunsiaishon, the simbolz themselvz being mainli deu tu the Anglo-French skrybz ov the Plantagenet peeriod, hooz sistem woz ment tu be fonetik. It aulso aimz at su jesting tu the y the orijinal formz ov " lerned " werdz. It iz thus guvernd by too conflikting prinsipelz, nyther ov which, eeven in its oen domain, iz konsistentli karid out.

That iz the konkloozhon ov Chapter XVI ov The Principles of English Etymology (First Series). If everibodi red that ekselent chapter befor venteuring tu diskus the reform ov speling or pronunsiaishon we shood be spaird a grait deel ov foolish ryting.

38 THE PYONEER.

" X." iz tipikal ov meni hoo think themselvz kwolifyd tu diskus theez subjekts. He sez " it iz propcezd tu * simplify ' speling by introdeusing a neu literal or silabik [sic] speling which shal maik it unnesesari tu remember werdz az hoel pikteurz, az it wer " — which iz uter nonsens. He sez " we aul nee edeukaited Frenchmen hoo skroopeulusli pronouns bo3th the fz in sotte." We wunder hou. He sez " let us simpli adapt the neu Latin pronunsiaishon tu our oen langwij." Sertinli, Mr. X., with plezher, if eu wil kyndli tel us hou tu pronouns, with the reformd Latin pronunsiaishon, such simpel litel werdz az " now " or " eight " or " thing."

Peepel sumtymz sai : " Why shood we not speek az we spel ? " But no wun haz ever tryd. It wood be delytfool (for a short tym) tu lisen tu sum wun hoo onestli tryd tu reprezent in hiz pronunsiaishon aul the leterz ov " breakfast " (separait valeuz for e and a in the ferst silabel, pleez !), " whistle, debt," ets., until he kolapst under the strain ov distingwishing the ee ov " speecfT" from the ea ov " speak,'* the tch ov " witch " from the ch ov " which," or the -ssion ov "passion" from the -tion ov "action," and the -cean ov "ocean" from the -sion ov " tension."

The werd " breakfast " remyndz us ov the klever yung man hoo diskuverd the seekret ov pronunsiaishon reform. Aul eu hav tu doo iz tu giv fool (O.S. " full " !) valeu tu the unstrest silabelz. Apair- entli eu need not wuri about the strest silabelz. Thus, this klever yung man pronounst " breakfast " az " brekfaast," and " twopence " az " tupens " (ryming with "sens"). It haz been sujested that a fiting punishment for reformerz- ov this kynd wood be a perpeteual dyet ov "gri-led sau-sai-jez for brek-faast."

The komonest kynd ov pronunsiaishon reformer iz, houever, not waid doun by eni partikeular prinsipel or theori. Tu the kwestion " Whot iz good speech ? " he haz a redi aanser. It simpli amounts tu this : that hiz oen speech iz the troo standerd ; deeviaishonz from it ar bound tu be rong. " Orthodoksi iz my doksi ; heterodoksi iz uther peepel'z doksi."

Eu kan not argeu with this kynd ov man (it iz aulmcest aulwaiz a man). The Editor ov THE PYONEER ncez him wel. If eu ryt in a rashonal speling eu must adopt a definit atiteud az tu the spoeken langwij ; eu must reprezent whot, so far az eu kan tel, iz the ordinari speech (nyther slipshod nor pedantik) ov edeukaited men and wimen. On meni points thair iz no disagreement ov eni kynd, but in a good meni kaisez thair iz markt unsertinti, and then the person ov pontifikal infalibiliti in pronunsiaishon gets hiz oporteuniti

PRONUNSIAISHON REFORM. 39

ov jumping on the Editor. We giv a feu instansez ov the varyeti found in edeukaited speech ; in sum the reeder wil, perhaps, not hezitait in selekting the mor komon form, in utherz he wil probabli be mor doutful.

Iz it " eether " or " yther " ? "dekorus" or " dekorus " ? " primer " or " prymer " ? " parafin " or " parafeen " ? " omnisiens " or " omnishiens " ? " asoesiaishon " or " asoeshiaishon " ? "apreesiai- shon " or " apreeshiaishon " ? " mith " or " myth " ? " marjereen " or " margereen " ? " medzotint " or " metsotint " ? "grandeur" or " granjer " ? " feekund " or " fekund " ? " tordz " or " tuwordz " ?

We myt gre on for a good long tym, but this wil sufys for our perpos, which iz tu remynd the reeder that thair iz, in our edeu- kaited speech, a grait deel ov absoleutli meeningles vairiaishon az wun ov the penaltiz we pai for our reched speling.

It iz aultugether feutyl tu think ov reforming our pronunsiaishon by substiteuting Latin soundz or Elizabethan soundz for thcez we nou hav. Our prezent langwij wel spceken iz az beutifool az English ever woz, in spyt ov the peepel hoo sai that our speech iz de- teerioraiting — that it iz not az good az it woz. It never woz, lyk " Punch."

Az a mater ov fakt a good kais myt be maid out for aserting that our edeukaited speech iz a good deel beter than it woz fifti tu wun hundred yeerz agoe ; but it iz sufishent for us tu nee, az we aul agree, that it iz beutifool when wel spceken.

" Wel spceken " implyz meni uther thingz besyd pronunsiaishon ; but pronunsiaishon iz a veri important feeteur. A speeker mai hav ekselenf vcekal organz and shoe boeth intelijens and feeling in whot he sez ; yet our enjoiment ov hiz werdz mai be kompleetli spoilt if he pronounsez them in whot seemz tu us an afekted or a kairles or an unfamiliar maner.

If we wish, then, -tu reform our pronunsiaishon we must studi veri kairfooli the praktis ov good speekerz in order tu lern whot iz thair nateural speech ; and whair thair iz meeningles varyeti, such az haz been indikaited abuv, we shood stryv tu remoov it. This kan hardli be dun efektivli utherwyz than by a Komishon on Standerd Speech, the kreaishon ov which haz been repeetedli advokaited in theez kolumz.

We began by kwceting Prof. Lounsbury, and we kan not konklood beter than by repeeting the werdz at the end ov hiz admirabel book on The Standard of Pronunciation in English : —

" Eeven the petiest aulteraishonz in the interest ov a meer

40 THE PYONEER.

mekanikal euniformiti meet with the sterdiest resistans. On this heel subjekt, indeed, thair iz no ignorans so profound and kompre- hensiv az that which envelops the myndz ov meni men ov leterz, if we kan juj ov the degree ov thair nolej by the karakter ov thair uteransez. It rekwyrz a far mor enlytend opinion than prevailz yet arming the larj majoriti ov theez befor we kan look for the sukses ov eni efort tu kauz our tung tu aproech eeven remcetli tu the fonetik ekselens ov Italian or Spanish or German. Yet, until that tym Kumz, no smaul shair ov our lyvz wil be spent in the profitabel and eksyting okeupaishon ov konsulting dikshonariz, in the eekwali prontabel and eksyting diskushon ov the pronunsiaishon ov par- tikeular werdz, and in airing our opinionz and delivering our de- sizhonz upon points about which wun thurceli edeukaited man iz az good an authoriti az anuther, and nobodi iz an authoriti at aul."

"TEN YEARS OF ORGANIZED EFFORT FOR SIMPLIFIED SPELLING.'1

•

hav reseevd a leeflet with the abuv tytel, seting forth the werk ov the Simplified Spelling Board of America deuring the peeriod 1906-1916. It iz admirabli riten. We print belce, in the speling adopted, too sekshonz which our reederz wil fynd eusfool for propa- ganda perposez : —

REASONS FOR SIMPLIFIED SPELLING. It wil—

1. Make English spelling more correct, scientifically and his- torically ;

2. Make it easier to spel correctly ;

3. Make the spelling lesson an aid, insted of an obstacle, to the development of the child's reasoning powers ;

4. Improve and tend to standardize pronunciation ;

5. Save time (and expense) in elementary education;

6. Save time (and expense) in riting, typeriting, and printing ;

7. Remove the greatest barrier to the Americanization of our foren population ;

8. Remove the greatest barrier to the use of English as an inter- national language.

"TEN YEARS OF ORGANIZED EFFORT." 41

SOME COMMON OBJECTIONS ANSERD.

1. Simplified spelling wil not " cut us off from the literature of the past," because the changes now proposed cause no difficulty in the reading of books printed in the present spelling. If more radical changes should later be adopted, scolars wil easily learn the older spellings, as they do now ; but the ordinary reader wil always find everything that is worth preserving in English literature reprinted in the spelling of his time, as is the case to-day.

2. Simplified spelling wil not " obscure the derivations of words," much les wil it "destroy" etymology, which the scolar knoes without the spelling, and which means nothing to 99 per cent, of those who read and rite English. Moreover, not only is the etymology of words often misleading as to their present meanings, but in many instances the present spelling is etymologically in- correct, as in "comptroller, delight, island, limb," &c. Etymologists care nothing for " etymological " spelling. Prof. Skeat, the great English etymologist, said : " In the interests of etymology we ought to spel as we pronounce. To spel words as they used to be pro- nounst is not etymological, but antiquarian."

3. When the new forms become familiar they wil appear les " ugly " than the old, unreasonable forms. The literary dignity or propriety that we feel in certain word-forms is entirely a matter of visual habit and mental association.

4. It is not necessary for those whose spelling habits ar fixt to burden themselvs unduly by "learning a new method." The chief advantage wil be for our children and for future generations.

5. " Confusion " — different ways of spelling the same word — has always caracterized English spelling. The dictionaries print thou- sands of words of which alternativ spellings ar given on equal authority. This confusion can be minimized if teachers and riters of English wil use the simpler forms. Each simplification adopted into good usage reduces the total number of incongruities and helps to make our spelling more uniform and more rational than it was before. Even if the present confusion should temporarily increase, which is not probable, it would be a small price to pay for the ultimate gain.

6. The attempt is no more " artificial " than those other move- ments in the past which hav made our spelling simpler — when " logique " was changed to " logic," for example.

7. Those who " don't like it " should not enforce their prejudis on those who wish to spel in accordance with reason and the laws of language.

42 THE PYONEER.

"A DICTIONARY OF SIMPLIFIED SPELLING."

""THIS dikshonari haz been publish! by Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls and •*• kompyld by Mr. F. H. Vizetelly. It iz " based on the publications of the United States Bureau of Education, and the rules of the American Philological Association, and the Simplified Spelling Board." Hou far theez roolz gee iz indikaited in the introduktori paijez. The majoriti refer tu the droping ov unnesesari leterz, konsonants (e.g. " each," not " catch " ; " eb," not " ebb ") and vouelz (e.g. " fether," not " feather " ; "catalog," not "catalogue"; "det," not "debt"). Uther chainjez rekomended ar: —

For o having the sound ov u in " but " ryt u — e.g. " abuv, tung."

Chainj d and ed tu t when so pronounst — e.g. "lookt," unles the e afekts the preseeding sound — e.g. " chafed. '*

Chainj gh and ph tu / when so sounded — e.g. " enuf, fonetic."

Chainj s tu z when so sounded, espeshali in distinktiv werdz and in -ise — e.g. "abuze" (verb), "advertize."

ae, cz, or e : chooz e — e.g. " esthetic, medieval."

oe, oe or e : chooz e — e.g. " esofagus."

-ence, or -ense : chooz -ense — e.g. " defense."

~ew pronounst az long u aafter I or r or ch : chainj tu u — e.g. clu, slu.

•oe pronounst o : drop e — e.g. " fo, to."

-ou befor r., pronounst lyk u in burn : drop o — e.g. " jurnal " (but " courage, flourish, nourish " ar left unchainjd).

-ow pronounst o : chainj tu o — e.g. " gro, belo, pillo (-owed bekumz -oed, -ows bekumz -oes, -own remainz — e.g. " floed, groes, grown.")

'' -some," pronounst lyk " some," bekumz -sum, e.g. " burdensum."

•ue final, after I or r , pronounst lyk long u : chainj tu -u, e.g. blu, clu.

Theez chainjez ar undoutedli valeuabel az far az thai gee, and remoov a number ov redundansiz and a feu inkonsistensiz. The real and grait difikulti ov the reprezentaishon ov the vouel soundz iz, houever, hardli eeven aprcecht. The speling ov meni veri komon werdz duz not apeer at aul in this dikshonari : ov the fifteen werdz we hav just riten ("the speling . . . dikshonari ") not a singel wun iz given. On the uther hand, it kon- tainz meni such werdz az " antiputrefactive, stereochromoscope," theez too being inklooded bekauz ov a dropt e and h respektivli.

The stres iz aulso indikaited ; but when we look up sum test werdz tu see whether American praktis agreez with ourz we ar disapointed, for we fail tu fynd " decorous, precedence, ptomaine," and utherz which shood hav been inklooded.

We ar left wundering hoo wil deryv benefit from this dikshonari. Not

THE KONFERENS OV TEECHERZ OV ENGLISH. 43

the children, for mcest ov the werdz in thair vokabeulari ar mising ; and by implikaishon thai ar ekspekted tu gee on ryting " done, gone, stone," and " my, buy, sigh," and " fern, fir, fur," and " made, laid, weighed," and aul the uther inkonsistent vouel notaishonz that konstiteut the cheef berden in our speling.

We ar driven tu supcez that thair must be a jeneuin dezyr amung syentifik werkerz tu nee hou thai aut tu spel the werdz " fructificativ, foto- sphere (sic], glyfografy, hydrocoumarin, ets., ets.," and that literari men ar kraiving for gydans az tu the proper form ov " goahedativness, inexpug- nablness, mismanageabl, nonrespectabl, ets., ets."

In konkloozhon, we noet with plezher that the kuver ov the book iz dezynd in imitaishon ov our oen booklet on Simplified Spelling, at which we feel much flaterd.

WE think it wil be instruktiv for our reederz tu kompair a pasij transkrybd in our cen form ov Simplifyd Speling with the saim pasij in which aul chainjez ar maid that apeer in the Dictionary of Simplified Spelling. We chooz the begining ov " Dhe Baibz in dhe Wood," az printed in our Ferst Reeder. It wil be rememberd that the voist sound ov th iz thair riten dh ; utherwyz it iz in akordans with our skeem az at prezent euzd in THE PYONEER.

Az soon az dhe faadher neu he As soon as the father knew he

kood not get wel, he began tu think coud not get wel, he began to think

whot kood be dun for his litel wunz. what coud be done for his litl ones.

So he sent for hiz brudher, dhe child- So he sent for his brother, the child-

ren'z unkel. " Brudher," he sed, dren's uncl. " Brother," he said,

" my deer wyf iz ded, and I am dying. " my dear wife is ded, and I am dy-

Taik kair ov my children, and teech ing. Take care of my children, and

dhem aulwaiz tu doo whot iz ryt." teach them always to do what is right."

Dhe unkel promist tu doo so. Dhen The uncl promist to do so. Then the

dhe faadher bad dhe baibz good-by, father bad the babes good-by, and soon

and soon aafterwerdz dyd. afterwards died.

THE KONFERENS OV TEECHERZ OV ENGLISH AT STRATFORD-ON-AVON.

) R a heel week in August teecherz ov English — klces on too hundred — wer asembeld at Stratford-on-Avon tu diskus vairius aspekts ov thair werk. Thai had lekteurz from Mr. Drinkwater on " The Significance of the Drama," and from Mr. de la Mare on " Realism in Fiction." Thai had paiperz on the ydeal skool edishon ov Shakespeare (by Mr. Guy Kendall), on the literateur leson (by Mis M. G. Jones), on the teeching ov reeding (by Mis N. Dale), on esai ryting in skoolz (by Mr. J. H. Fowler), and on egzaminaishonz in English (by Mr. Stanley Leathes) ; and Mr.

44 THE PYONEER.

Rippmann spcek about " the studi ov fonetiks az an aid tu good speech," and gaiv hiz lekteur on " Our Living Langwij and its Ded Speling."

Our reederz .wil be glad tu nee that the atiteud ov thcez prezent at the Konferens aforded fresh evidens ov the keen interest that the studi ov the spceken langwij iz arouzing amung aul hoo ar interested in the teeching ov English. The cenli rezoleushonz paast by the Konferens wer :

7. That a test in the pouer ov reeding aloud, kleerli, in- telijentli, and ekspresivli, shood be inklooded in aid egzaminai- shonz in English langwij and literateur up tu and inklooding thcez ov seenior standerd.

2. That, in order tu sekeur the konipetent teeching ov good speech in our skoolz, the studi ov the spceken langwij, baist on a sound nolej ov whot iz fundamental in fonetiks and vois produkshon, shood form an integral part ov eni kors ov training for tcecherz in elementari and sekondari skoolz.

Az far az wun kood juj, theez rezoleushonz reprezent the eunani- mus opinion ov thcez prezent — at leest, no disenshent vois woz raizd. We mai regard this az a distinkt step forwerd.

The lekteur advokaiting a rashonal speling woz eekwali suksesfool. A ncetwerthi number ov teecherz wer prezent, and at the end thair woz no opozishon ; indeed, meni bekaim memberz, and meni mor baut kopiz ov the " Ferst Reeder " and ov the " The Star."

It iz probabli the ferst tym that the kais for simplifyd speling haz been poot befor an audiens kompcezd cheefli ov teecherz ov English, and the resepshon serpaast our mcest sangwin antisipaishon. We ar begining tu kaast of the feterz ov the ded speling and tu rejois in the beuti ov the living langwij.

WIL UTHER BRAANCHEZ OV THE N.U.T. FOLCE SEUT?

VV/E hav much plezher in printing the folceing rezoleushon reesentli reseevd : —

This meeting ov the Nottingham and Distrikt Braanch ov the N.U.T. iz ov the opinion that the atemt tu impart the prezent English speling involvz a graiv los ov tym and enerji without eni kompensaiting edeukaishonal gain, and in the interests ov eekonomi and efishensi in edeukaishon, it rezolvz tu giv enerjetik suport tu a petishon for the apointment ov a Roial Komishon tu inkwyr intu the feezibiliti ov a reform ov English speling, and the best meenz ov bringing about such a reform.

SPELING REFORM AND ESPERANTO. 45

ENGLISH HAZ THE FERST KLAIM.

[From the " Aberdeen Free Press."]

'"T'HE London Siti Korporaishon haz sent a rezoleushon tu the Bord ov *• Traid that it wood be ov imens valeu if wun langwij kood be rekog- nyzd az the komershal langwij and taut in aul skoolz, heer and abraud. It iz sujested that steps be taiken tu plais the mater befor the Alyz. In spyt ov the Esperanto entheuziasts, we inklyn tu think that English haz the ferst klaim. But English with a revyzd speling. Pozeshon iz nyn-tenths ov the lau, and the fakt that our langwij, the simplest and nicest direkt ov European tungz, iz spceken aul cever the werld iz an imens fakt in its faivor. It iz a hyli signifikant fakt that it woz euzd at the Konferens ov the Alyz sum tym agce and not French, in spyt ov the fakt that the Konferens woz held in the French kapital. Numberz ov peepel hav been rekomending us tu lern Russian, the nicest difikult ov langwijez, az if such a herkeulean taask kood be performd by aul and sundri. No, it iz mor lykli that the Russians wil lern English than the uther wai about. Alyd with the propcezal tu hav an internashonal komershal langwij iz the rezoleushon ov the Kort ov Komon Kounsil tu adopt the metrik sistem ov waits and mezherz. Too grait reformz — the introdukshon ov the desimal sistem and a fonetik sistem ov speling — wood be an enormus gain for our children, and not for theez alcen, but for aul thoez hoo hav tu traid with us and euz our langwij. The end ov the Wor wil provyd a fit oporteuniti for stok- talking in vairius departments ov the nashonal lyf. Feu transend in komershal importans the too reformz aulredi menshond. The reformz stand waiting redi tu be taken in hand. Whair iz the reformer tu akomplish the taask ?

SPELING REFORM AND ESPERANTO.

A KEEN suporter ov Esperanto rcet us an interesting leter the uther *;* dai, in the kors ov which he sed : " I shood lyk tu see English speling reformerz and English Esperantists werking in harmoni, and eech helping the uther. The Esperantists apreeshiait kleerli the valeu o speling reform, but if thai ar given the impreshon that English speling reform wil endainjer the sukses ov Esperanto az the internashonal langwij, thai wil stik tu Esperanto az being the mor important ov the too in thair yz. Why not join in werking for bceth : — Reformd speling for the benefit ov English- speeking peepel and aul hoo wood lyk tu lern English ; Esperanto az the internashonal augziliari langwij ? In the tym saivd tu peepel lerning English, by meenz ov reformd speling, thai kood fooli maaster Esperanto. Everiwun hoo lernz Esperanto reseevz a konvinsing demonstraishon ov the enormus advaantijez ov fonetik speling."

Nou it iz veri gratifying for us tu nee that the Esperantists apreeshiait kleerli the valeu ov speling reform, and we shal be veri glad if thai wil let that apreeshiaishon taik a tanjibel form by bekuming memberz ov our

46 THE PYONEER.

Sosyeti. Why shood thai think that English speling reform wil endainjer the sukses ov Esperanto ? Az far az we kan see, that kood cenli be if English, ceing tu the simplifikaishon ov its speling, bekaim stil mor popeular than it iz az the langwij ov internashonal komeunikaishon. The Esperantists hav ofen taiken okaizhon tu point out hou graitli the jeneral spred ov English iz hamperd by our bad speling, a fakt we hav insisted upon again and again and ov which evidens reechez us from everi forin land.

We see no good reezon why the Esperantist shood not giv hiz suport tu our moovment ; indeed, it iz hiz deuti, if he iz a Britishman, tu doo whot he kan tu improov the English langwij, and we ar tceld that he realyzez that a reform ov the speling wood be an improovment. Whyl the benefits ov a rashonal speling wood be incest direktli felt by our een children, thai wood aulso ekstend tu the former. Duz our Esperantist korespondent objekt tu this rezult ? No ; but he sez : " If wun iz a troo paitriot wun aut aulso tu respekt the paitriotizm ov utherz, and for Englishmen tu try tu impcez English on uthej* peepel for the perposez ov internashonal interkors seemz tu me tu saivor ov the spirit ov shcevinizm raather than ov brutherhood."

Kwyt so. But if we improov our speling, duz this meen that we "try tu impcez " our langwij on the foriner ? Eni atemt tu doo so wood obviusli be doomd tu faileur. But thair ar meni ov us hoo regard English az pozesing so meni intrinsik advaantijez that thair iz no need tu " impcez " it oneniwun. It haz maid its wai aulredi in a kwyt remarkabel maner ; and if its speling wer rashonal it wood spred stil mor rapidli. We doo not beleev in kompulshon, but in peesfool penetraishon.

If we agreed tu our frend'z propcezal, and sujested that the edeukaishon tym set free by the adopshon ov a rashonal speling shood be devceted tu lerning Esperanto we shood komit ourselvz tir too opinionz :

1. That Esperanto, and not English, iz the dezyrabel langwij ov inter- nashonal komeunikaishon ;

2. That Esperanto iz the subjekt tu which our children shood devcet the tym availabel when rashonal speling haz been introdeust.

We doo not think that we kan onestli rekomend our memberz tu adopt theez opinionz. We welkum memberz hoo hceld theez veuz, az we welkum eniwun hoo wil suport our moovment ; but we doo not think that our Sosyeti, az a heel, wood be wel advyzd tu maik theez opinionz planks in its platform. We doo not wish tu eksklood theez. hoo beleev in the werldwyd ekstenshon ov English speech, or hoo dezyr the introdukshon ov uther reformz in our elementari edeukaishon. Thair ar meni hoo wood lyk tu devcet the tym set free by redeusing the number ov ourz nou given tu speling lesonz, not tu Esperanto, but tu — English. We wont mor tym for teeching good English speech ; for the reeding ov good literateur ; for kompozishon. It iz English that, for meni ov us, haz the ferst klaim aul the tym.

KORESPONDENS. 47

TRANS ATLANTIK TAILZ WITH A MORAL.

1.— FROM SPELING-BOOK TU JAIL!

VV7UN dai az Frank Thompson paast throo jail he sau a prizoner glaans W at him and then aask the gard for privilej tu speek. Then the konvikt reecht for hiz hand, with teerz in his yz, and sed : " Hou doo eu doo, Frank ? Dcen't eu remember eur celd seetmait, Tom Jones ? Eu nee I got tangeld up in speling, and teecher skcelded til I lost paishens, kerst the celd book and him too. He ceverberd me, eu nee, and beet me so that I left skool. That began mi dounwerd kareer. I went tu a distant start, and fel intu eevil kumpani. I went from bad tu wurs. Wun nyt several ov us went tu a raid. VVun poor felce woz kild, and thai throo the blaim on me. I woz sent heer for lyf ! "

2.— FROM SPELING-BOOK TU BANKRUPTSI ! When Thomas Brown atended skool he wonted tu studi book-keeping. But the teecher tceld him he must spend the tym on hiz speling lesonz, for book-keeping wood doo him nee good unles he kood spel wel. So he kwit skool, and went tu help in hiz unkel'z grceseri. In a feu yeerz he inherited the establishment. The steer woz wel patronyzd, and apeerd tu prosper. He had tu depend entyrli on a hyrd akountant, hoo sylentli robd him, and doktord up " the books. Brown did not nee whot woz rong. Everi yeer he bekaim mor deepli involvd. At length, worn out and dis- kurijd, he dyd ov feever. The book-keeper fled. The estait sceld tor meni thouzand dolarz les than lyabilitiz. The unforteunait famili woz left in wont.

KORESPONDENS.

]W[R- A. D. WILDE haz sent us this interesting noet : —

IV! i rvt tu kaul atenshon tu wun mor sad egzaampel ov the misforteunz

that atend thoez hoo diskus speech-soundz without trubling tu akwyr the roodiments ov fonetiks. It iz tu be found in a seereez ov lekteurz on the Art ov Writing, deliverd by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, King Edward VII Professor of English Literature at Cambridge, and reesentli publisht az a book. He thair ryts (paij 140) :

" Explore, next, what ... to my mind stands the first, or almost the first, secret of beautiful writing in English. ... I mean that inter-play of vowel sounds in which no language can match us. We have so many vowel sounds indeed, and so few vowels to express them, that the foreigner, mistaking our modesty, complains against God's plenty. We alone, for example, sound by a natural vouel that noble /, which other nations can only compass by diphthongs."

On this foloez the kwoetaishon, " Arise, shine, for thy light is come," ets., maiking it kleer whot sound iz intended. By the wai, this ydea ov the eksepshonal welth ov vouelz in English iz unfounded. Sweet's Primer of Phonetics, giving 18 for English, 15 for French, and 19 for German, iz sertinli not much out. But, leting this paas az a tuch ov aimiabel, tho uninstrukted patriotizm, whot ar we tu sai about the remark on " the noble / "? Being a definit speech-sound, that vouel iz yther whot iz kauld a

48 THE PYONEER.

difthong, cr not. Hou, then, kan it be sed that we sound it " by a natural vowel," whyl utherz " compass it only by diphthongs " ? and whot izthair unnateural in a difthong ? The suspishon aryzez that the Profesor iz deseevd by the fakt that, whyl in uther langwijez, or at leest in sum ov them, this sound iz reprezented by too leterz, e.g. in German by ei , in English it iz ofen reprezented by \vun oenli, az in mind and by, and that suspishon iz deepend intu konvikshon by whot foloez :

" Take another passage in which the first lift of this / vowel yields to its graver sisters as though the sound sank into the very heart of the sense. 4 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him : Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.' ' And am no more worthy to be called thy son.' Mark the deep o's."

The Profesor poots in italiks the soundz tu be markt az "deep o's," and the ferst too ar no dout rytli kauld o'z, but ov the alejd o'z in worthy and son the former iz utherwyz spelt in earth, birth, mirth, further, and myrtle, and wood he kaul it an o in aul theez ? At aul events, it iz not wun, but iz probabli best kauld the undenoeted vouel, sins no wun ov the fyv or siks vouel leterz properli belongz tu it, and it iz konsekwentli, or inkonsekwentli, spelt with aulmoest eni ov them. Its orijin iz probabli not in eni ov the vouelz at aul, but in the silabik eus ov r, but this iz mater ov opinion, and I doo not stait it az fakt. The vouel ov son and sun mai perhaps be reezonabli deskrybd az a kynd^v u, but mor trooli it iz a kynd ov a : in nyther kais iz it an o. And, whyl he rongli marks theez soundz az o'z, the Profesor oeverlooks the fakt that the vouel ov called iz az " deep " an o az eni. He iz misled by the speling, and the much tu be regreted fakt iz manifest that we hav a Professor ov English Literature so il instrukted in the soundz ov the langwij az not tu hav paast that ferst esenshal step in fonetiks, the kompleet mental separaishon ov Sound and Syn.

THE ENGLISH FONETIK ALFABET.

From Mr. W. J. YOUNG, ov Harston, Cambridge, we hav reseevd the foloeing leter : —

Since you invite criticism of this Alphabet I venture to send you the following : — The alphabet has a little to recommend it in that is an attempt at Reform, and is not mere irrational Simplification. For instance, in The Two Frogs ai is correctly used to represent the sound heard in " Kaiser" and in "aisle," and not a sound for which it has no affinity, as in the Simplified Spelling. It is clearly ridiculous to teach children the fact that the vowel sound heard in " shine " is a diphthong of the two in " machine," and then to tell them that this sound is to be written with a y and the diphthong ai used for something quite different. Again, au is used correctly, as in Greek, Latin, and German, for the sound heard in "round"; this contrasts favorably with' its unphonetic use in Simplified Spelling.

But the alphabet is redundant, since there already exist simpler and better modes of expressing the sounds in English. Of the vowel signs the double a (aa) of Simplified Spelling is readier and more obvious than the new letter ; the same is also true of ie, ce, and ee for the sounds in "chief," " note," and " fete " (cp. also " Beethoven"), for many people habitually write e in Greek fashion, e ; the new letter for u is needless and liable to be confused with r in writing. The new consonants give us nothing of value, whilst they take away much ; th and dh are pho- netically correct and all that we need for ' ' thin ' ' and ' ' then " ; ng is more certain in its outline than the new form and good enough for all practical purposes, whilst sh, zh, and ch are perfectly sound and present no difficulty to child or foreigner. The suggestion about the saving of money fails to take into account the enormous cost of adding these twelve new forms in all kinds and sizes of type in every printing office, not only in this country and the other English-speaking lands, but also everywhere

KORESPONDENS. 49

where English is printed. The argumentum ad hominem tells the other way.

In the case of three other symbols the advantages do not rest with the phonetic alphabet, eu, which years ago I strongly advocated to the S.S.S., and which it has at last adopted, is decidedly better than the fear- some wildfowl sujested. ou, for the sound heard in " soup " has in its favour ancient and modern Continental and also English usage ; its use in Simplified Spelling is arbitrary and improper, but there is no need at all to burden homeborn and foreigner with a new letter for the sound it so uni- versally represents. As to the sound heard in "all," Simplified Spelling is phonetically irrational in writing this diphthong au, but since it is a diphthong whose elements already exist in our alphabet, a new letter for it is both redundant and mistaken. This sound is a combination of those heard in " top-hat," and it is found giving its correct diphthongal value in the word " broad " ; oa, therefore, ought to be used for this sound.

I say nothing of the many side effects on native and foreigner of having to learn and to use 38 instead of the 26 letters of Mid and West Europe ; neither will I dilate on the possible consequences to the legibility of our handwriting. But, if we take into consideration the typewriter and the whole mechanism of business — indexing, &c. — even the most enthusiastic must realize how undesirable and impossible is the scheme. To add fresh signs to those already in use in a language is altogether too serious a matter to be lightly undertaken ; nothing save proved necessity can justify such a course. The phonetic alphabet neither proves the need for new signs, nor satisfies the requirements of true spelling reform.

Spelling reform is a crying need, but it should above all things be rational ; it cannot be right to seek orthographical salvation by such means as those offered us in the phonetic alphabet. Like an ancient king of Israel, this alphabet has " departed without being desired " ; if, indeed, it be true that " no better scheme has yet been suggested," it is simply be- cause none is needed.

[Az our reederz wil not fail tu see, thair iz sum keurius konfeuzhon ov thaut in this leter az regardz kritisizmz ov the S.S.S. skeem. In edeukaited speech the vouel sound herd in " shine " iz not a difthong ov the too in " machine," and the sound ov S.S. au iz not "a kombinaishon ov thoez herd in ' top-hat,' " which wood be a feersom kombinaishon indeed. Why the S.S. eus ov ou shood be " arbitrari and improper," and that ov ee komendabel, iz not at aul kleer. If eu wuns admit the dygraaf az a eusfool ekspeedient, then eu hav no mor kauz for objekting tu the S.S. eus ov ou or ai than tu that ov ie or ee or sh or th.]

A KRITISIZM OV SUR ISAAC PITMAN'Z ALFABET. (Ritn akoordiq tw dhi Alfabet kxld "British.")

VOWELZ.

at far met mate kin keen him not note up pull pool awe. a aa e ee i y i o oo u w ww x

KONSONANTS.

c, dh, q, az in " chance, then, sing " = " cans, dhen, siq."

XI udhur konsonants az in O.S. ; inishal w in " wwd, wwl," ets., aktiq az e

konsonant. N.B. — Laks t, az in " him, iz dotles. " I " az in O.S.

Dheer aar no eksepshunz tw abuv rwwlz.

Pitman'z alfabet for dhi prezent purpusiz ov rifoormd speliq iz ov no valiw, on akownt ov its 12 streenj simbolz. Pleesiq foor difthoqz amuq dhi leturz ov dhi alfabet iz e disturbiq eliment and ov no iws ; dhe fxl nacurali intw dheer pleesiz in foormiq wurdz. Dhi skym haz no simbol tw reprizent dhi laks i sownd, e sownd rekognaizd in dhi Modern English Dictionary. Dhi furst letur in dhi sampl iz e difekshun from dhi fonetik pnnsipl. Whai not rait e insted ov a ? It konteenz ridundansi. Dhi 'w in " hwic " and u'vo. " fiu " hav dhi seem valiw ; dhi e in " wQter" and U in "jump " xlso.* Whai shwdebi pwt in " jUrncing " ?

* This iz the best we kan doo, not having the presys simbolz.

50 THE PYONEER.

If it iz e part ov dhi skym, it iz e greev fxlt. In dhi wurd " wud " w and u hav dhi seem valiw. I am hapi tw infoorm dhi Rev. Mr. Knowles dhat sue inkon- sistensiz dw not okur in dhi " British " skym. In keesdhat I or eniwun els shwd dizaiur tw meek dhise skym ov vvun sownd wun simbol, it me bi dun bai intro- diwsiq ten nivv simbolz, Pitman'z rikwaiurz thurtyn. I thiqk dhi abuv iz sufi- shent tw sho dhat Pitman'z skym iz not dhi moost purfekt iet invented.

Freire, Chile. HUGO DAVIS.

NCETS AND NEUZ.

The membership ov the Sosyeti nou numberz 2671.

Ser William Ramsay.

We rekord with greef the deth ov Ser William Ramsay. Ov hiz faim az a grait kemist it iz not for us tu speek ; but we shal ever bair him in graitfool memori for the hoelharted suport he gaiv the moovment for speling reform, in which he took the mcest ernest and intelijent interest, az our reederz wer aibel tu gather from hiz valeuabel kontribeushonz tu the PYONEER.

The Neglekt ov Syens. *

" Nuthing proovz mor konkloosivli the lak ov the syentifik point ov veu in the British naishon than the prezent kondishon ov its orthografi." Dr. Macan, at the Konferens on Neu Ydealz in Edeukaishon (Oxford, August, 1916).

G = g or j.

Let the foloeing point its oen moral. A yung laidi boested the naim ov Gillies. The profesor red her naim az Jillies. She protested, but in vain. "G befor / iz soft," deklaird the profesor. If wun aitth ov a kwort iz a " Jill," whot iz a fish'z " gill " ? Thoez sent tu the " gibbet " wer by no meenz soft, but whot karakter iz a " gimlet," or shal we sai " jimlet " ? Whot sound shood be given tu "giddy," and whot tu " ginger " ? If a gilt-wheeld gig iz tu be prezented tu an Eestern poetentait, shoodn't "gilt" and "gig" be pronounst "jilt" and " jig " ? If not, why not? Iz a yung wooman ov the peeriod a " jirl " or a "girl " ? — bairing in mynd that g iz soft befor i in meni werdz. But ofen a chyld, and sumtymz a profesor, iz maid tu look soft when he mispronounsez werdz abserdli spelt. Ar not tym and muni waisted oever such a sistem ov speling ? — HENRY DRUMMOND.

The " oe" Ligateur.

Such ekspreshonz ov opinion az we hav reseevd ar in the main faivorabel tu this ligateur. The advaantij lyz in the eus ov wun syn insted ov too, which iz aulwaiz a simplifikaishon, in ryting az wel az in printing. Moroever, it rekwyrz no fresh typ. Sum ov our reederz hav sujested that we myt in the saim wai maik eus ov ce, substiteuting it for ai ; utherz hav eeven gon so far az tu wish us tu euz the Greek o> in plais ov oo.

The "oo" Difikulti.

Inreesent numberz ov THE PYONEER we hav euzd oo for the long az wel az the short sound, just az we euz eu for the long and short soundz in " teun " and " regeular " respektivli. It apeerz tu giv litel trubel. The oenli kaisez in which ambigeuiti aryzez iz in the pairz which in the oeld speling apeer az " full, fool," " pull, pool," " wood " (or " would "), " wooed." We aulso hav tu pleed gilti tu kontineuing tu spel the O.S. "to " az " tu " ; it wood be aukwerd tu euz " too " heer, az we hav tu euz this for O.S. " too" and " two."

Fynal " -o " or "-oe" ?

We ryt " o, no, so " (and thairfor " aulso "), az theez ar werdz which hav no relaited inflekted formz ; but we ryt " groe, wiloe," ets., bekauz thair ar aulso

NCETS AND NEUZ. 51

such formz az " groez, wiloez." This leedz tu "No, I did not noe it," which looks inkonsistent ; and sumthing mai be erjd in faivor ov ryting os everiwhair, eeven in " oe, noe, soe."

A Neu Speling.

The "Yorkshire Telegraph and Star" the uther dai reported the kais ov a gerl charjd with steeling several "nine-carrot" ringz. We hav herd ov the good red gceld, but this vejetairian deskripshon iz novel. The saim report staits that the gerl woz " obtaind in kustodi" — not a bad malapropizm.

Az in the daiz ov Nehemiah.

" Lyk aul moovments it haz gon throo vairius staijez ov opozishon. When Nehemiah woz reebilding the waulz ov Jerusalem, he went throo three ov theez staijez, and thai ar fairli tipikal — abeus, ridikeul, and a wilingnes tu parli. The 1 Simplified Spelling Board ' haz had the abeus, it haz had the ridikeul, but it iz nou priti wel in the staij whair sensibel peepel ar wiling tu parli and konfer. The Board iz no infalibel groop ov men with an yron-klad proegram and an egzekeiitiv pouer tu poot that proegram intu efekt.' It iz a groop ov men, eminent in arts and leterz and syens, hoo ar ernestli trying tu bring about sum mezher ov lojik and regeulariti intu the kaios ov our English orthografi." Mr. de Witt C. Croissant, General Field Agent of the Simplified Spelling Board.

Suport from South Africa.

From the "Rand Daily Mail" ov August 11 we lern that the Transvaal Teachers' Association reesentli paast the foloeing rezoleushon : —

That in the opinion ov the Transvaal Teachers' Association no ytem ov edeukaishonal reform iz ov mor importans than a reesonabel simplifi- kaishon ov English speling ; that the need for such reform iz speshali felt by the teeching profeshon ov South Africa ; that this Association beleevz that modifikaishonz kood be maid in the prezent sistem which wood rektify its werst deefekts without mateeriali transforming the riten langwij.

NEU MEMBERZ. Aneual Memberz. Kernel Ser William Serjeant, C.B., St. Benet's Abbey, near Bodmin,

Cornwall.

Mrs. Dorothy Dick, Old Brewery House, Stratford-on-Avon. Dora F. Kerr, P.O. Box 565, Kelowna, B.C., Canada. Schumpeter, St. Margaret's, Hewlett Road, Cheltenham. Jessie M. Wood, Wyards, Banbury Road, Stratford-on-Avon. Misez L. C. Tindal Atkinson, Hoswell Grammar School for Girls, Laun-

ceston, Cornwall.

Annie P. Barrie, Benthill, Bent Road, Hamilton, Scotland. Winifred G. Brown, The High School, Monmouth.

D. E. Coutts, Secondary School, Croxley Green, Herts. Dorothy Done, N.F.U., 37 Garner's Lane, Davenport, Stockport. Mabel N. Hewlett, 62 Seymour House, Compton Street, W.C.

E. A. Machon, 30 Alliance Avenue, Anlaby Road, Hull.

F. Moore, 118 Emmanuel Road, Balham, S.W.

A. L. Phillips, Secondary School, Woodhouse, Sheffield. P, T. Reid, 2 Pembroke Studios, Pembroke Gardens, W. Rosalind Warters, 43 Queen's Road, Alton, Hants.

Mesrz. James Chayton, Chile, South America.

Edward Copley, B.Com., 19 Derby Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport. Stewart Dick, Shakespeare Memorial, Stratford-on-Avon.

B. Vosnjak, 16 Granville Place, Portman Square, W. Guner Beresford Montagu, 44715, R.F.A., B.E.F., France.

52 THE PYONEER.

PRES KUTINGZ.

Joon, Jooly, and August.

LETERZ THURCELI IN SIMPATHI WITH SPELING REFORM \ver publisht in : Aberdeen Free Press (3 leterz), Bedford Record (3 leterz), Hull Daily Mail, Newcastle Journal, Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, Yorkshire Post.

ARTIKELZ STRONGLI ADVOKAITING SPELING REFORM apeerd in : Aberdeen Free Press (leeder and artikel), Commercial Education, London Teacher, Modern Language Teaching (2 artikelz), Oregon Teachers Monthly, Pitman's Journal, School World, Spectator, Staffordshire Teachers' Yearbook, The Varsity.

REFERENSEZ TU SIMPLIFYD SPELING wer maid in the foloeing paiperz : Daily Sketch, School Government Chronicle, Scotsman, Sydney Bulletin, Yorkshire Herald.

DEURING the Konferens ov Teecherz ov English, held at Stratford-on-Avon, Prof. Rippmann maid a konvinsing pleefor Speling Reform, which woz reported in Birmingham Post. A noetis aulso apeerd in the Newspaper World kon- serning hiz reesent remarks tu the Publicity Club ov London on the dezyrabiliti ov reform. ^

THE foloeing jernalz gaiv prominens tu the fakt that Speling Reform haz reesentli been diskust by vairius Edeukaishon Authoritiz : Dudley Herald, Newcastle Journal, Rand Daily Mail, School Government Chronicle, South Wales Daily News, Western Press, Wolverhampton Express and Star.

ARTIKELZ ON THE PRONUNSIAISHON ov ENGLISH wer publisht in Birming- ham Post, Child, Schoolmistress, School World, Star.

SPESHAL ARTIKELZ konserning the deth ov Ser William Ramsay and hiz advokasi ov speling reform wer noeted in : Daily Mail, Glasgow Herald, Man- chester Guardian, Newspaper World, Times, Westminster Gazette.

GRATIFYING REVEUZ ov the sekond edishon ov the Ferst Rcedcr wer given in: A. M. A., Child, Highway, Secondary Education, Teachers' Times.

IN komenting on the Joon number ov THE PYONEER, the " Educational News " sez : " This number iz so interesting that wun kood wish tu see a kopi sent tu everi skool. Kritisizmz and sujestionz abound, and sum troothz euzheuali ignord ar freeli ventilaited."

EDITORIAL NOE.T.

IT haz been desyded tu publish THE PYONEER kworterli until pees iz restord. The Editor'z adres iz 45 Ladbroke Grove, London, W.

THE PYONEER iz sent graitis tu aul Memberz ov the Simplifyd Speling Sosyeti. The aneual subskripshon for Asceshiait Memberz iz a minimum ov wun shiling, that for Aktiv Memberz a minimum ov fyv shilingz. Mor muni meenz mor pouer tu kari on the kampain.

Reederz ar erjd tu aply for leeflets seting forth the aimz ov the Sosyeti. Theez and aul uther informaishon wil be gladli sent by the Sekretari ov the Simplifyd Speling Sosyeti, 44 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.

AMONG your friends and acquaintances there are thinking people

who care for

Efficiency and Economy in Education

YOU SHOULD ASK THEM

whether any of the following objections to a reform of the spelling have occurred to them : —

O i. It would interfere with the growth of the language and obscure the derivation of words.

O 2. To give the same spelling to such words as right, write, and rite would lead to confusion.

O 3. A spelling according to the sounds assumes the existence of a standard speech, which we do not possess.

O 4. Language constantly changes, and a spelling in accordance with the sounds would be always changing, which would be intolerable.

O 5. The present spelling is beautiful, and any change would make it ugly.

YOU SHOULD ASK THEM

whether they have realized the following advantages that would result from the adoption of a rational spelling : —

A i. Much of the child's brief education time would be saved. A 2. Spelling would be taught in a reasonable way.

A 3. The teaching of our language and literature would be im- proved ; other school subjects would also benefit.

A 4. The English language would spread rapidly throughout the Empire, and might become the language for universal inter- course.

YOU SHOULD ANSWER THEM

by using the arguments that by this time are doubtless familiar t^> you; or, if you prefer it, send a post card to the Assistant Secre- tary, S.S.S., 44 Great Russell Street, London, W.C., ashing for one or all of the pamphlets in our Objections Series (Oi — O$) and cur Advantages Series (Ai-—A^)t which deal briefly but convin- cingly with all the points that have been enumerated.

THE FERST REEDER IN SIMPLIFYD SPELING STANDZ FOR PEURITI OV SPEECH.

For stryking rezults in leeching reeding tu yung children euz

THE FERST REEDER IN SIMPLIFYD SPELING.

The sekond edishon iz the rezult ov an eksperiment in a Scottish Skool, whair children hoo wer taut for TEN munths from the Reeder and for FOR munths in ordinari speling red and spelt az wel az children hoo for NYNTEEN munths had been taut on konvenshonal lynz oenli. A KLEER AND PRESYS ENUNSHIAISHON iz the rezult ov the speech training provyded by the FERST REEDER.

PROEZ AND PCEEMZ. PRYS 6d. EECH.

ORDER from the Simplifyd Speling Sosyeti, 44 Great Russell Street, London, W.C.

" We hav peroozd with much keuriositi and interest ' A Ferst Reeder in Simplifyd Speling,' publisht by the Simpiifyd Speling Sosyeti and we konfes we ar konsiderabli imprest with the merits ov ' this litel book, prepaird for children hoo ar just begining tu reed books.' The introduk- shon ov the book intu skoolz seemz wel werth eksperiment."

SECONDARY EDUCATION.

Redeust termz tu teecherz hoo euz the book in klaasez.

C. F. Hodgson & Son. Printerz, Newton Street, London. W.C.