The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-02-04
srrLLrns AND srrLLIna.

" @ec eH~Athb HsNSN FHo&Feas III th0 way of making converts to their plan. although most observing people will admit that some changes are badly needed It Is true that there has beeh gradual and very decided change in this respect since the days of chaucer. for example. He is sometimes called the father of English poetry. who wrote some five and half centuries ago. and if we take up a copy of his works. printed just as they were when they first appeared in printed form.
 we feel inclined to smile at the ab- surdity of the orthography and con struction. In fact. we sometimes need lexicon to show us just what was intended by some of his uncouth words.
 And yet. when we come to exam inc our present language without fa- vor or-prejudice we are forced to ad- init that some of our present day spelling Is almost as absurd as chau- cer's was. Ours is congiomerate language. which in the course of it's evolution has received additions and substitutions from almost every lam suage and dialect under the sun. un- til now 1t requires a very learned man. indeed to say what words are original English and what are acquir- ed.
 One result of this absorption from other tongues Is that in many in- stances these 'loan words' retain the form and orthography given them in their native home, so that our present language Is about the worst medley that could we'll be imagined. We have words spelled alike and pronounced differently, other words pronounced alike and spelled differently and stfil others which are spelled and pro- nounced without any apparent regard to reason or sense, There really seems to be no possible defense for some of the spelling and pronunciation now in use. and one might think that it's prin- cipal object is to worry the school children and perpiex the elders.
 For all this, we are bound to ad- init that some of the examples hand ed out by the simpiined spelling ad. vocates seem about as absurd and in- ccngruous as anything we already have. or as any of the specimens of chancsr.s time. None pf us can deny that changes and improvements are, badly needed. Take any newspaper or book paragraph and study the words In 1t and any one will be sur prised to see how great proportion of the words have useless letters in them Leaving out the absurdity of using different spellings for words with the same pronunciation. and the other absurdity of different pronun- citation, for words of the same orthography, and considering the waste of time in learning the present style. and the other waste of time in writing and printing, we find enough. to conyince any one that there Is much need for, change and improve meat,
 Badly needed asfthis change plainly is. however. any attempt to bring 1t about at once must fail. Those who advocate it cannot build a. Procrus- tean bed and force all words to meas ure- exactly up to iS Such radical changes asssthey advocate cannot be established and forced on the English speaking people all at once. Even those who are urging change do not in, all respects agree by a great deal, and even if ali of them should come to a fun and complete agreement, and settle on . change that would ems brace all worda in common use, they cannot expect or hope ito have their recommendations adopted at once. All great revolutions move slowly and this will be no exception. We both need and want better, . simpler. more rational system of orthography and accommodations; also .. much more consistent one than that now in use, but in our judgment we must be pa- tIet and have 1t come to us gradually and experimentally we may also say. It cannot be spread over the country at one motion,s as one spreads A blanket on the bed.