New-York tribune., 1906-06-29

"SIliPLIFTED SPELLTNG'' FOR SCHOOLS.
a strong effort is being made TO introduce
arbitrary spelling reform into the public
schools of New York. The Board of Public
School SuperintendentS. under the lead of DR..
Maxwell has recommended 10 the Board Of
Education list Of three hundred words 10 be
spelled henceforth in the manner prescribed
by the Simpljfed Spelling Board. Whether or
not 1t is intended that all the textbooks and
reading books used by the pupils shall be re-
eured tO conform TO the same system we are
not informed. but if not, we can perceive a
menace of some embarrassment. That how
ever, by the way. The chief question concerns
the merits Of the suggested changes or pre-
tended changes for we cannot credit the Sim
plified Spelling Board or any present day spell
ing reformers with having brought all these
three hundred words into the form in which
they appear in this list. II would. perhaps be
not altogether Just 70 apply Websters words
to the list and say that what is valuable is not
new. and what is is not valuable" yet
examination OF it certainly suggests that IA
nous epigram.
For about half OF these "simplifed" spellings
q in fact the ordinary spellings of the words.
which for years have heen commonly given in
dictionaries and have been generally, some of
them all but universally, used by educated peo-
pie Few persons in this country ever think,
~
otherwise than they appear in this list such
words as apprize, arbor. ardor, armor assze.
bark. behavior, braZen, Candor. check Chimera.
CiviliZe. clamOr. clangor. color cue daCtyl. de
meanor deposit, era favorite harken honor
legalze sumac and scores of others among
these three hundred. 1t would be grossly dis
ingenious, not TO use a harsher term. to put
these spellingS forward as the product of cur
rent or even recent reform" We do not know
tbat of tIta dc
70 imply such a thing yet that they did would
be a not unfair assumption Otherwise. why
I We're such words put into the list? In Web
ster's phrase. the spellings prescribed for them
are valuable but they are not new any moro
than cat for cat. or dog for dog.
There are others which are new, or at least
new 10 common usage. but which are the re
verse Of valuable. The ending Of certain forms
of verbs with Il" instead of led" was a famil-
lar usage centuries ago and has in our day
been much employed in poetry, especially by
Alfred Tennyson and his many would-be imi-
| tators But we cannot persuade ourselves that
men of taste and discretion will approve the
common use or. indeed, any of such forms
as "carest'' for "caressed" and "kist'' for
! kissed" and "ript' for ripped" and others
winch appear in this list. Some of them-as
! "carest"-would inevitably cause confusion
! through the difficulty of distinguishing them
| from other words of like spelling Our spelling
/ reformers themselves are loudest of all in con-
demnatiOn of the spelling of different words in
/ the same way Why. then. do they propose 10
add to the number? We find 'tost'' in this list.
as substitute, we suppose, for tossed" But
the reformers have already demanded that
toast also shall he spelled "tost," thus max
ing confusion worse confounded
There ara few suggestions in the list which
may be commended, but they are chiefly for the
adoption of one of two alternative FORMS both
of which have long been in use. Thus it might
be well for all TO agree in spelling AK and
"adZ" without a final 'e," and bur with only
one II" and it may be that "er" is prefera BILE
to re" in such words inter" meter" and
the like To spell sulphur and "sulphate
with an ~ instead of ''ph" would be to follow