The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1909-02-25
POOR. SPELLING IS COMMON
AMERICAN TONGUE IS TO BLAME
FOR the DEFICIENCY.
Simple Words That Men Of Affairs
Fall Dowa On-Good Stenorrapher
hsgs Dictiosary-Sample Of the
ssnash

] neSs Dfcttonary-Sample OF TIN
"0ugh."
! Were you taught from the BLUE
Back Speller," or according to the
most approved methods? 1t really
makes little difference. for If it comes
to test you will find you cannot spell
even the words used in your workaday
world. Your vocabulary would be
limited. indeed, were you to confine
yourself strictly to the words you can
write correctly.
If you are fond of betting, wager the
next friend you meet any amount you
can get him to cover that he cannot
spell three o:d:n:ry words correctly.
Choose, for instance, religious. sacri-
lesiols and parallelogram" 1t will he
Il shame TO take the i)ney.
Not long ago friend caught me at
this game. thought before that l
coald spell. Since then I have been
getting even trying it on the ether
fellow. Out of seventy-tive persons.
lrcn of affairs at that-one even an
editor-not one succeeded in spelling
all three of the words mentioned. On
ly five of the seventy-five spelled two
of the three right. The majority
failed on all.
From time to time educators have
claimed that the men and wo ~
have earned tier diplomas OF
deficient in this one nransh.
net so surprised that tfe.se fc
to pass mus ter. but the fist f.
older crowd, trained in the
fashioned way, al'"ost had NJ
to where thought might
we'll kiss my wagered g :.;ti
by. Most of them boosted, "Y
catch me. l was raised on
bees and the Blue Back 6
However, they did no better 4
rest.
Of course, there is sorewh~'
trick in having the word 'sacrii"
follow religious" but you w:
almost as many persons missre..!'"
the first and third as the second word
If you care TO carry the exr&:imen:
further try words heard often enough,
but seldom written by the luyman.
'membranous Group, Spinal men:.l-
gifts" for instance. You will not Won
der that Il good stenographer does not
dare to get two feet away from die
tionary.
Why. l heard a we'll educated bust
ness man ordering a cypress tank
over the phone and spelling it Isl.
prus."
Where does the faui. lie? Is it the
way we are taught? The truth OF the
matter is the trouble is in our Ian
guage. More than Gle great thinker
has tried to intr.:,::ce an American
language. a German-Gnglish language.
and so on. See Elias Moler, George
Wiihers. DR.. Van Clark and others.
Gladstone estimated that one day
thousand million people would
speak the English language. Japan
seriously considered its adoption at
one time. The chief reason it did not
was because our etymology and Or
biography is the most difficult in the
world.
Take, though the rough cough and
hiccough plough me through" and i'm.
agine you are foreigner. Read it az
1t is spelled. Then read 1t as the first
"ough" is pronounced. Vary it by
reading it through as the next ough
is pronounced, and so on.
One writer on the subject has tried
to work Us up to the point Of enlarg.
ing the alphabet to forty letters. and
has experimental at some length
with teaching and writing these char.
acters.
The more one thinks along this sub.
feet, the deeper it gets. and the less
likely one is to scoff at reformers who
want us to spell our words more sim.
ply, to drop superauous letters here
and there. Say as the little girl who
was turned down. at school for SPELL
ing chimney "chimley,' We'll, that's
the way it ought to be spelled any
way"