The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-10-17
SPELLING AND WORD FORMS.

english Spelling and Spelling Reform. BY
Thomas r. Lounsbury, LID, l.. III. ID,
Emeritus Professor OF English In lale
University Published by Harper ~
Brothers, New York,
This book is in Il way defense OF
.hc simplifcd spelling movement, but
1t rejects that spelling as matter OF
practice 1t is worry keen in criticism
,f those who object to the socalle ed
iimplificd spelling, charging that Tor
the most part they are uneducated'
orcjudiced Ounces. In all this Mr.. Louhs
bury is no doubt quite correct; and vet
he docs not ovcrcstimato the lnerha
which the spelling reformers, so'cal!co,
5nd ir impossible 10 overcome. lruee
IL is. of course. that good many or
he words which the simplfed spoilers
urge upon MS for reform are ALREADY
accepted by Il large portion OF Wit
.ng and reading public, especially IL
America. and vet the spelling reform
ors not content with this and not
dauuted by their lack of prevailing
egainst an iudi tterent and scofhng puo-
lie. arc urging upon that pubic 4 mass
If changes i'm spelling that can IN no
wise be accepted. II IS true that great
writer's of the English language have
spelled tho words in tho retormers
lists as The reformers now want the
English speaking world 10 spell them;
but it is also true that those authors
md others have INDUCED in such amaZ
ing vagaries in spelling that the cita-
tiou of their uso Of gwen form ior
E word carrics absolutely no authority
whatever. because the oblcctor can 9t
once turn TO dozen other words
spclled by that same autbor in way
that no one would think now of fol
lowing; az that fhc presumed authority
OF ono or another nf the old English
writers counts for nothing. 1t IS quite
true, as shown by Professor Iouns
bury. that English spelling is illogical
accidental. the fruit Of ignorant, raise,
and perverted notions. II is true, also,
that the Fcrncb, more logical than we,
have undertaken to reduce the spell
ing of theip' language 10 logical form
and have failed therein. Much more
is il To he excused. therefore. that the
English mind. not having that logical
sternucss. refuses TO listen, Tor the
most part. 10 the spelling reformcrs.
Tho fact is that the English language
has discarded a good many forms that
have been i'm use in the language for
centuries. and il would be impossible
10 take them up again. Take. for in.
stance. the case of dropping the GU
i'm honour. colour and the like, and also
,he termination in thcatcr, fiher, etc,
or Ger in the place of '|rc.N In a
good many words of this kind, the
american usage conforms readily 10
the dropping Of the gu and the
ire but much further than that 1t
j. not willing. at present, 10 go 80
far as the use OF tho clipped terminal
''5' in such words rs ''attackcd = IN.
stead of the so-called regular terminal
"cd - is concerned, III" tendency for j
long time has been toward the weak.
eniug of tho verbs By the .so.calicd
regular termination. Ii is unfortunate
thai this tendency prevailed in The
English language. The best that can
be said about il is that il had IFS in
coption in the same idea that the spell
ing rcformcrs arc now working upon.
that is. reducing the English language
20 regular forms SO that foreigners
could easily acquire its use 1t was
u great mistakc so far rs English was
concerned. and does not seem to have