English-language spelling reform: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:50, 25 August 2025

Latest revision as of 11:01, 25 August 2025

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[[File:Portrait_of_Noah_Webster.jpg|thumb|[[Noah Webster|Noah Webster's]] reforms to [[American and British English spelling differences|American spelling]] are the most successful to date.]]

Many proposals have been made to change to the system of [[English orthography]] with the aim of making it more consistent and closer to [[English language|the spoken language]].<ref>{{cite book |author=David Wolman |title=Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling |date=2009 |publisher=HarperCollins}}</ref> Common motives for spelling reform include making learning quicker and cheaper, thereby making [[English language|English]] more useful as an [[internationalInternational auxiliaryEnglish|international language]].

[[List of language reforms of English#Spelling reforms|Reform proposals]] vary wildlywidely in the scope and depth of their changes. While some aim to uniformly follow the [[alphabetic principle]] (occasionally by creating new [[Alphabet|alphabets]]), others merely suggest changing a few common words. Conservative [[List of language reforms of English#Spelling reforms|spelling reform proposals]] try to improve the existing system by using the traditional [[English alphabet]], maintaining the familiar shapes of words and applying existing conventions more regularly (such as [[silent e]]). More radical proposals might completely restructure the look and feel of the system. Some reformers prefer a gradual change implemented in stages, while others favor an immediate and total reform for all.

Some spelling reform proposals have been adopted partially or temporarily. Many of the spellings preferred by [[Noah Webster]] have become standard in the United States, but have not been adopted elsewhere (see [[American and British English spelling differences]]).