The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1877-07-18
SPELLING REFORM.

] me OrtnOHrapny u TIC EutuEV
( very short Spelling Bee-But Little
Z Unenimity Amongst the Reformers
some Curious Specimens OF the
New nguaE-.
Baltimore American OF Saturday.
Yesterday morning the National
Spelling Reform Association, embracln
educators from various parts OF the coun-
try, met in the same apartment OF the
Johns Hopkins University IN which the
Pathological Association held its sessions.
There were about fifty persons present,
most of them visitors curious to hear
what might be said Many of the philo-
loglsts were absent, and some who at
tended were ve-y cautious in speech, and
showed plainly that they had not an
Astounding faith in.the PRACTICAL utility
of a new mode of spelling. The pre-
yailing impression seemed to De that
while the public mind was not prepared
for such q reform, yet it was needed, snd
could probably be made partlcsb!e. 1t
was conceded that the anomalies OF the
English language were so great That
sudden change - purely phonetic print
would SO materially change the appearance
OF the printed page Is to seriously inter-
fere with the ability 10 raad 1t. A prep
arslion is thus needed before such ad-
vance can be made This preparation is
the installing OF phonetic principles in
such \ way as to overcome prejudices,
which are deep-rooted and oftentimes
more firmly fixed in proportion to the
weakness or ignorance OF the mind. To
prepare the way for this reform, 1t was
thought, extremes would have to be
avoided, settled ideas organized, and
public sentiment satisfied. Language ap.
peals primitively to the ear, but rs only
five sounds II the language are spelled
as they are pronounced, the eye is now
the chief organ used in learning TO read.
DIsCU ssIEG THE SUBJECT.
Professor Marsh, the president of the
Association, being indisposed, Professor
:. ). Haldemen was called to the chair,
and Professor l.. II. Barlow, of Lafayette
College, Pa elected secretary. Profess
sor Whitley read the report on "Spei!
ing Reform, from the Pathological As
snci"tion; which WAS adopted. Mr. j.
@. n well, of Philadelphia, said he did
40 want his children to be tempered by
old rules OF spelling and thought the
Association should take decided move
towards bringing about a change. Pro
f.sscr Hademsn made some remarks on
the idlosyncrsces Of the present method,
but said the Association should proce d
cautiously. The dictionary Itself wa,
tul of mistakes The walters ut the
Mansion House, in Druid Hi! Park, on
the previous evening asked him If he
would have some tomatoes, and he won
dered where they got that pronunciation,
except it might have been in Africa The
trmt and It's photography came from the
Portuguese, who call them tom ahLoes.
+ Webster gives both pronunclauone, and
SAWS tomatoes are of American origin
Editors american
Professor n. b. Webster, Of Norfolk,
Va. said that his experience rs acf-
or ne had taught 1000 puplls, and ever
oneot them had .ost two years of time III
learning to spell by the old rules, making
an aggregate of years equal to the estl-
mated age of the world
SOME SHECIMEEs.
Several specimens of phonetic systems
we're presented and considered, but none
of them were fully favored. Professor
Haldeman was not entirely satisfied
with the Auglo-SaXon primer by Eliza
beth Berdman BurrZ, in which spelling
was taut by pronunslashon and pronun-
sisshon tsut by spelling Among the
Jew speciu ems that can be produced IN
ordinary type is the following:
"Bv the fonetIc alfabet chield mae be
taut the art OF reeding, not tieuently but
wei, beth in fonetic and in Ordinery
buks, in thre munths-ay. otn in twenty
eurz ov Truro instrucshOn-a task which
IL rairly acomplsbt in tire yeerZ oy toll
bv the nld alfabet. WhOt father or
teecher will not gladly haIi and erAestly
wurk for this graft boon of edeucsshon-
this powerful mssheen for the dlteuZhon
OF nolei."
Here ia one of Professor Trademarks
specimens, which lucky can be repro
duced by lnverting certains types, in
which position be means TO impart to
LucUl u Pt'ul'"i ''N'N'
.hsl dhi touelIc AlisOel II traild NEE bI
int dhi art ov riidrt, not tluentlr bot UeI,
both III tonetLc And nrdInerI BUGS, III
thrii months.-ar on al tnentI aUrz ov
tn 70 Iustrucosran.-r tasc UhUrtr n
eeerlI AaompuJt IN THRU Jiirz ov lou bal
din 90 bl abet. UhU6. iaad ner D.
tiiLrsr NJ not glvd heel vud ernestr
Uorc Tor dbLs greet bun ~ eoJuceer5n, =
dhrs pauertul marlin for dhl ortJqIeu Nv
LQledJ.
Here Is something proposed by that
idealist, Stephen Pearl Andrews:
Bi dhe tonet'ic sltabet a chld me bl
tot dhe art ov riding, not tiiu,entli but
wei, both in fonet'ic and ordiner'i buks,
in thr munths-ai, otn in twenti aurz ov
sh.uro lnstrurshun-a task hwic IS rarr
accomplish IN tnri yirz of toll bi dhe DIN
oliabeL Hwot ladher or tIcer viii not gladn
mel and ernestH work Tor dnis gret bun
tn edyuk shun -dhiS pauertul mashln
for dhe difu'zhun ov LOlej.
Some twenty other specimens were
submitted equally rs full of new tangle
accents, and interspersed with Greek and
other characters.
barbara FreiIchic.
81 H,nulaS. in TN. Ilila Week "