Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-26

result is ubiquitous phonetic ambiguity,
owing to the inpossibility Of discerning
where one word ends and another be-
gins.
In a monosyllabic language. in which
no syllable of like form and tone or In
Election can possibly have more than
one well defined meaning, no ambiguity
can arise, even II the words stand en-
| tirely alone. II we utter in English
the sound SEEN who on earth can tell
| whether scene or seen Is rneant?"
In translating the dictionary-l,71
| pages in all-into the monosyllabic
vocabulary, Mr.. Stevens overlooked not
i a single word-from the commonest of
everyday articles to the most insignif-
cant protozoan or cryptogam.
Every tangible shade of thought,
whether verbal, adjectival or subStan ti-
val. is represented by its own appro-
priately toned or infected syllable.
New Language Time Saver.
When it is remembered that such
! long words as circumstance, representa-
/ ton, investigation, notwithstanding,
ETC., are expressed by single syllable
Of one to three letters, 1t seems that
much time, labor and material would
be saved by adoption of the new speech.
The grand underlying standard OF
literary perfection Is conciseness," he
pointed out ut is not only violation
Of linguistic propriety, but actually an
| insult to the intelligence of ones reader
or nearer TO use single superhuous
syllable"
Deeming it expedient that universal
language should be absolutely uni
versal Theoretically as well as ETY.
mologically," Mr.. Stevens has embodied
! in his language all the consonants and
vowels found in any Of about 80 varie-
ties of modern speech.
The magic alphabet" embraces all
these sounds and will make for uni
form pronunciation, even among per-
sons Of varying nationalities.
The alphabet consists OF ordinary
Gothic small caps, lower case and few
slightly modified characters.
THE magic alphabet Is so simple,
logical and methodical that English
speaking peoples should be able to learn
to write and pronounce each character
in a very short time" Mr.. Stevens said
The only possible stumbling blocks are
the French ''u' and the fricative g" "
and "g," which may have to be heard
TO be initiated.
English Spelling Disgrace"
my idea Is that this alphabet should
| first be adopted by the Anglo-Saxon
nations in writing English, thereby do
ing away with the present chaotic or
| biography, which is such a hindrance
to the current pronunciation OF our
language and such potent cause Of
prevalent illiteracy.
THE spelling of the English language
Is really disgrace to civilized people.
ITO compel children to struggle with
| an absurd mode of designating sounds
such as prevails in English Is an out
| rage. When child is told that word
! must be spelled otherwise than 1t Is
! pronounced, its reasoning powers are
discouraged, its senses stultif1ed, its in
! tellectual faculties warped at the very
/ time when they should be directed into
methodical channels. II Is our duty,
for the sake Of the rising generation
alone, to provide a sensible. palpable
means Of spelling words, not to speak
! Of the fact that millions Of citizens of
| foreign. as well as native, origin find it
! impossible to fathom the intricacies of
our photography.
The English system is not only
/ hopelessly unable to spell the words
Of the language, but 1t Is even impos-
sible to represent any given word there
| in with any degree Of accuracy.
Suppose we take, for instance. some
foreign word which does not even con-
tain any sound unknown to US, such
as the Spanish word 'rayo, in which
the first syllable is like the English
rye and the second like ca in 'oat
Shall we write 1t rye-oh, RIO, rie-ow,
reigh-oa, righ-ough. ruy-oe or reye-
eau, taking as basis the words rye
oh, rite so, height oat, right dough
buy toe and eye beau? Is there a per-
son in the United States or England
who can deny that system like this
Is an abomination and an tnfamy?
Encourages Bad Spoilers.
I'm my opinion, a person who wins
a prize at a spelling bee deserves less
credit than a man who misspells words
provided he writes them Theoretically
correct The former has performed
mere parrot-like, mechanical memorial
ton, while the latter has at least used
his mother wit in combining letters
to represent the sounds of the words
as he hears them.
The idea. as advocated by some, Of
remedying the evil by gradual reform
altering a few words at time while
still reserving the inadequate Latin
alphabet, might as we'll be relinquishec
as a practical irnpossibility. Such a
- a a a a a a a a a a