John Dewey had a good idea though. I learned Spanish in high school. To this day if you give me a Spanish word that I am unfamiliar with I can tell you the pronunciation with a very few exceptions. Give me an English word that I don't know, though, and I will have to give you my best guess.
On 10/9/2012 8:08 AM, Ann Parsons wrote:
Hi all,"Why can't the English teach their children how to speak..." My Fair LadyActually, the movement toward a standardized spelling started with Wicliffe in the 1300's. Wicliffe published one of the earliest translations of The Bible into English during his life-time.Another reason for the difference in spelling is because English, unlike French or Italian or German, is a polyglot language. English has words in it from: Greek, Latin, Celtic, German, Norse, French, and Arabic. When folks moved to America Iroquois and Algonquin and other Native American words were added. When the Brits conquered India, we got Hindi and Tamil words added to British English. When the Japanese came to California and the Chinese did too, we got words from their languages mixed in with the Spanish. Oh, this here English of whatever flavor, has more words than any other language known, and it's spelling rules are a bear to learn. It always amazes me how native speakers of other tongues have become fluent speakers of English.Ann P.
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