The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-07-16
rBalttf,aore American os SstItrt1ay.I


!. RIous g sPEeIaENs OF TIE NEW 1Asau4GE. 4 i.
i lBalf,haore Americans Of sstaraayJ I'D
: Yesterday morning the National Spelling
i Reform Association. embracing. educators
/ from various parts OF the country, met in
the same apartment OF the Johns Hopkins
Universityih In which the Pathological Asso-
citation held its sessions. There were about
fifty persons present, most. Of them visitors,
curious to hear whatimigbt be said. Many
offtbe philoIogistsc were absent, and some
and showed plainly that they had not
| an Astounding faith In ! the, practical
utility f.of a. new mode Of i spelling
The prevailing impression seemed to
be that while the public mind was
not prepared for such reform, yet 1t was
needed, and could probably be made practi,
cable. It was conceded that the anomalies
OF the English language were so; great that
q sudden change to!a purely phonetic print
would SO materially change the appearance
OF the printed page as to seriously interfere
with tile ability to read it. A preparation
is thus needed before such advance can be
made.l This preparation is the instilling OF
phonetic principles in such way as to over
come preiudices, 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, it was
thought, extremes would have to be avoid
ed, settled ideas recognized, and public gen.
timent satisfied. Language appeals primi-
lively to the ear, but as only FIVE sounds in
The language are spelled as they are pro-
nounced,. the eye is, now the chief organ
used in learning. to read. ~, s.ss,
DISCUSSING THE SUBJECT
Professor March, the president OF the as
soeiation, being indisposed, Professors. 5.
Haldeman was called to the chair, and Pro
fessor E.; II. Barlow, OF Lafayette College,
Pa, elected secretsry. Professor Whitney
read the report OH ssSpelling Reform "
from the Pathological Association; which
was adopted. Mr. j. C. Newell, Of Phila-
deiphia, said he did not want his children
to be hampered by the old rules of spelling,
and thought the Association should take a
decided move towards bringing about a
change. Professor Haideman made some
remarks on the idiosyncrasies OF the present
method, but said the Association should
proceed cautiously. The dictionary itself
was full iof mistakes. The walters at the
Mansion House, in Druid Hill Park, on the
previous evening asked him if he would
have some tomatoes, and he wondered
it might have been in Africa. The fruit
and its photography came from the Portu-
guese, who call them tom ahtoes. Webster
gives both pronunciations, and says t0md-
toes are OF American origin.-Edit0rS Ame-
ricdn.
Professor N. B. Webster, OF Norfolk, Va,
said that in his experience as teacher he
had taught 1900 pupils, and every one Of
them had lost two years of time in learning
to spell by the old rules, making all aggre-
gate OF years equal to the estimated age OF
the world. :.
SOME SPECIMENS.
| Several specimens Of phonetic systems
were presented and considered, but none Of
them were fully favored. Professor Halde-
man was not entirely satifed with the An
glo-Saxon primer by Elizabeth Berdman
Burnz, in which "speling is taut by pro-
nunsiashon and pronunsiasbon taut by
speling." Among the few specimens that
can be produced in ordinary type is the fol-
lowing: H" ..,....., ..l..
.By the fonetic alfabet chield may be
taut the art ov reeding, not fleuently but
wei, bnth in fonetic and in ordinery bmks,
in thre munths-ay, ofn in twenty ourz ov
tburo instrucshon-a task which liz rairly
acomplisht in thre yeerZ ov toll by the eld
uitauct. w uoI laehSl W ioo
gladly hail and ernestly wurk for this graft
boon to edeucashon-this powerful masheen
for the difeuzhon oy nolei."
Here is one of Professor Haldeman's spe-
cimens, which luckily can be reproduced
by inverting certain types, in which posi-
ton he means to impart to them peculiar
sound. ia. ~. +: -. '.a-E
bal dbl fonetIc Alfabet traild NEE hi tat
dhi art oy riidIl, not fluentlr bat Uel, both
III fonetIc vnd nrdIuerI bucs, IN thrii
months.-aI, Din an tUentI aUrz oy tn 70
Iustrucocran.-- tasc UbUItr IL reerlIAoom-
putt IN thrii Jiirz ov toll bal dhi 90 d d Al
abet. Uhuot faadher Or titrsr M not glad
heel vud srnestlI Usrc for dllIs greet bun tU
edJuceersn,-db paUarful marlin for dbl
dIfJqeu ey, ,nQledI. - - .:,
Here IS something proposed by that ideal
ist, Stephen Pearl Andrews -
Bi dhe fonet/ic alfabet a cid. me bi tot
dhe art ov riding, not fiu,entli but vel,
both in fonet<ic and ordineri buks, in thrl
munths-ai,I Iofn in. twenti aurz ov th'uro
instrucshun-a task hwic il ra.rli acom-
plsht in thri yirz ov toll bi dhe. old alfabet.
Hwot fadher or ticer will not giadli ,hei and
ernestli work for dhis gret bun tn iedyu-
ktsbun--dhis pau.erful mashin> for dhe
difu>zhun ov nolei. .H!TL = E3tHI..
Some twenty other specimens were sub
mitted equally Is full Of new-fangled ac-
cents, and interspersed with Greek and
other characters. IN EJ-I ai.iElsih 1H
~, ,yr, - Yrr Ttot-