The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-07-01

spelling REFORM hNeEHA"h SUI ENbApAA'
A German teacher informs q CORE.
spondOnt Of the Boston Journal Of q very
interesting movement in the direction Of
spelling leiorm lately undertaken in Ger.
many. The following extract gives a SUI
dciont idea of The reform and the progress
it ia making:
''These are the composition books"
the teacher said, handing the CorGespon.
dent q little blue covered, otliCiRl.loOkilg
affair. You will find the spelling different
from the ordinary German you are aCcus'
toned to zee. We are undergoing q
spelling reform in Germany. The
Government has sent instructions to all
the schools, all Government offices
and all institutions OF q public
nature, 10 strike from German photography
certain supeItluOus letterH. For example,
Instead OF Their, Thurm aud With, we
are ordered to strike out tbs h and spell
them Tier, Turn, aud Writ, The changes
are not humorous, but they are very gen.
sral. The reform will be effected mostly
through the schools. Authors and pub
liaaers will be the last TO adopt II, A long
time will therefore eIapse before the OBJ
iect is accomplished and although grown
people, already Crystalized in forms oil
writing, will, oil course, reject IL altogether,
yet by drilling q whole nation OF Children,
and continuing this drill for years, the re-
form must inevitably be wrought, and the
entire photography freed from useless, bur
dening letter..
apo the scholars lind much trouble In
writing the new styleP" | asked.
mot the slightest. On the contrary, Il
naturally comes eRsier,-ior now we spell
"a We pronounce. Here 10 a book with
not q single error in the last composition
Here is another with only one. II Is only
y year since the orders came from Berlin,
and yet every school in the land Is teach.
ing the new method. Clerks fresh from
the schools will sdOpt it in their writing;
public officers may use nothing else all
public documents appear In 1t; and Ito
very recognition and enforcement by the
Government will give II q powerful im.
petns. II 10 great blessing to the school
children and 10 the language as we'll; and
when you English do the same thing with
your own speech; and FREQ it from such a
worthless army Of struggling, do.nothinH
letters, nothing eau prevent the fulfill
ment Of the prophecy OF our " Jacob
Grimm, WhD said that English would be.
COM the universal language"
In commenting on this letter the Boston
Journal maniIests u decided disposition 10
join in the movement for spelling reform
in this country. II gays:
An interesting point iu tho very inter
eating letter Wo publish today, In COntln'
uAli0n otihe series concerning the German
sCROuIs, Is that which relates to the
spelling reform in Germany. In our own
country II little, though it Ia but very
little, has been done by popuIar" consent,
aud We have completely discarded the
letter u" in the spelling OF such words III
''COlOr," "lAbOr," aud all that ClapB, There
Is q growing tendency also to discard
dIuble letters when 1t can be done, snd
we 1nd suCn words as "COunCIlOr, ""travel,
lug" n9d 10 forth, almost III frequently 81
We lud councillor, travelling, and the
llKe. Such IeiOrmJ here, however, are the
result OF popular I pinion, while the reform
in Germany ID a government idea and will
be speedily accomplished. The principle
undertaking VI it IL the disCarding Of all
useless lGllerp, and the method Of forward
lug il il TO require the reformed spelling
" be used ia The preparation Of public
documents and u DO taught In the public
BCnoUle. Aa g result the old method oil
spelltug will pass away As the present and
snCCeediug generations come TO the front.
The journal (sAys the Chicago Tribune
does not fully state the progress making
in the direction Of spelling reform in this
country, There Is not only "a tendency"
TO discard double letters in such words as
councillor" travelling" etc., but the
spelling Of these words has become almost
universal In America. "Iravellpg' and
"%counCilor" are the recognized Dpellings.
The next step will BIO 10 discard the whole
brood OF double %Consonants when one Ia
silent, a. In "shall," twill" "well," "sell,i
%"fall," wall" "hall," add" "egg,'
glass;" "pull," Success" "express,'
"mesS," pass" discuss" ETC., etc. We
spell gas" "alag," yea" fulfill" why
not also "glau," "bles," "iul," "aI," twill
ninO