The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1906-10-13
SPELLING REFORM.

The advocates of reform, or fonetic spelling
are feeling good these days because President
Roosevelt has Endorsed their spelling of certain
words. Likewise wall comes from those who OBJ
Jec to reforms and want to continue the old meth
cd of spelling. The reforms Endorsed by the pres-
dent comprises about 100 words, printed on chart,
for use by government employees. Most of the words
are spelled exactly as those words have been spelled
for generation or so in this country For in
stance, acknowledgment" has been spelled that way
for fifty years. and to put the re" in would be re-
garded blunder. Leaving the 'u' out of such
words as Hhonor" and "valor" has long been re-
garded the better form, and yet these words are
contained in the chart referred to.
The most startling reform is in such words as
"dropt' instead of dropped" and "pur" instead of
pure" Such words "tho" instead of though
have long been used by advocates of reform spell
ing, and would seem to be sensible. Such reforms
are constantly going any way, and the tendency
is toward the elimination of unnecessary letters
For instance, no one writes plough" nowadays al
though it was not long ago when "plow' would be
considered an innovation. The spelling of "checque"
is still chung to by some, but it is now regarded as
a mannerism, when "check" will do as well.
The press Of this country takes opposite sides of
the question, most of the comments being of hui
morous nature One publication takes it very seri-
ousiy when il Bays:
President Roosevelt has not added to his repu-
tation by making an appeal for spelling reform.
The president has the right as an individual to
adopt the Nasby style of spelling if he chooses, but
he belittles himself by issuing in semiofical form
a proclamation in favor of reforming the English
language"
One sample of that 'deforming"is the word
"skilful" That has been regarded as the correct
spelling of that word for thirty years past. 1t is
so given in the Century dictionary, which also
states that it was formerly spelled skfulle" later
'skillful" and finally "skilfu" 1t is hard to work
u much indignation against the reforming of the
English language which merely leaves off lot of
superfuous letters. To the naked eye there seems
to be much more deformity in "skilfulle' than in
''skilful"
The English press takes the matter very much
to heart, and in some cases becomes hysterical The
Pail Mall Gazette sounds note of warning, say
ing:
"The sort of men who so interferes with the
standard rules of grammar and spelling as to worry
more than his immediate circle of friends and rela-
tions is an anarchist"
The London Standard puts its monocle in It's
eye, and with owlish wisdom emits the following
''How dares this Roosevelt fellow, who is tenn
porarily president of an amiabe republic, presume
to dictate to us how to spell a language which was
ours while America still was savage and undis-
covered country? If Roosevelt likes to meddle with
spelling well and good so long as it clearly is I'M
!
he is creating. When it comes to sentiment about
an Anglo-Saxon hegemony to bolster up an as
sault on the English language we begin to kick
! Our language is our own. We love it and we shall
write it as is proper"
If the owner of the English language who wrote
that had confined himself to the language as it was
while America was still savage and undiscovered
country, he would have referred to Roosevelt as a
wight in the shapep and ikenesse of beeste" In
stead of that he uses good American coinage in
the word ''lick"
The London Leader wakes humorous, and says
"We RELY think Rusvelt and his trends mite leve
us our own langwige. They have not left much
else In sum instances it may be pulling, espes-
hully to formers and the immature skoolboy. but
its orthografy has sertin historical value and we
do not like to part with it. Of kors if Ruzevelt
backed up by Karnegi, SEE hav got to reform oul
spelling we shall hav to- and that vii be the end OF
it. for Karnegi has aw the dollers and Ruzvelt ha:
awl the branes, but awl the same it vii be dasht
hard lines
These London editors tacitly admit that if tht
United States adopts the reform spelling England
must come to it President Roosevelt should heec
their wall and not be too hard ON them.