The National tribune., 1890-10-16
SPELLING REFORM.
Ideas By Oar CORRESPONDENTS.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: While in con-
versatiOn with four sehoolmarms about spell
Ing reform and the new digraph characters for
ing" etc, suggested that there were already
too many characters, and that the final "e" in
monosyllables to designate long sound to tho
preceding vowel might DO dispensed with by
using an apostropho after the vowel. and thus
represent tho long sound without tho long
mark over the yowels "a"H ~" i""o," while
tho long or namo sound Of "u !" being properly
n diphthong sound, light well be represented
by an apostrophe, like tho Greek aspirate or
letter " / " preceding 10, thus leaving TO each
It's most common or short sound without desig-
mating mark; also that tho Shorthand obtuse
sound of "e," ii !" gu and "y" is sufficiently
indicated by the succeeding letter or" without
the use of either of them, and that they might
BIO dropped entirely without ambiguity what
ever resulting; also, that %" and * might
well be spared from tho lower CASE Il spoke
MS an old typesettor standing beside case, and
give more room for the IS" and "j's" along
the left side of the case; &c" or III " being an
equivalent to %" aud {" cs," "ks or " gz" the
equivalent to "x" that either of these letters,
so rarely used, would scarcely be missed; and
in order to illustrate my idea proceeded to set
1t up at the case, composing and compOsiting"
ii on the spur of tho moment, to show how +
would look. Under tho circumstances per-
haps, / peppered the paper with too many
but as the sChoolmarms said they could read it
quite as readily as that of tho reformers using
a distinctive and new character for each vowel
sound, | concluded TO send it on to you TO see
what you would say TO it, not that advocated
IL as system, but presented ii as a suggestion
to reformers that the true direction might BIO
in reducing rather than adding to the charac-
ters of the printers lower case. Let them
look back to the printed matter of a century
ago. inclosed, and notice that the digraphs have
been discarded, and they may perceive the diff
Guilty of adopting any new characters with the
consent of printers, and that, perhaps, tho
true line of reform should be towards reducing
and simplifying tho use of such characters as
we have agree with you that tho adoption
of any system should be gradual aud can be
brought about best and most quickly by tho
united action of our daily and weekly news
papers, and that with their help it will "do it
itself." A. STUART. Dracut, Mass.
REMARKS
While many of our correspondents ideas are
correct, we must disagree radically with his
assertion that there arc too many characters in
our alphabet There arc too few. All orthoe-
pists agree that there arc from IS to 45 dis.
tinct elementary sounds in our language. We
should have a character for every ono of them.
To attempt TO express our words by fewer will
be to continue tho present absurd system OF
spelling. As our correspondent says, we should
drop q and 4, which are utterly useless. We
should then add from II to 81 new letters.
Our scheme for such An alphabet would be
this:
PRESENT LETTERS.
Keep b. q. + b, ], X, !, m, n. p r, I, v and z
for their present sounds-14 in ALL
Is. Let represent CHI. as in which.
16. Lot < always be hard, as In glove.
IL. Let always be soft, as ia sister.
ls. Let y always be a eonsonaut, as In yell
10. Let W always be a consonant. as In we'll.
20. Let always be long. ms in fato.
81. Let Q always be long, as in feet.
~. Let always DO long, as In llc.
%. Lot o always be long, as in hole.
q. Lot u always DO long as ia mule.
NEW LETTERS.