Press Releases

• For further information, contact the Society's Press Officer:
• Press contact: Vikki Rimmer
• Mobile: 07886 673 412
• Tel: 01322 866 293
• E-mail: vikki@presscontact.co.uk

Press releases are listed below in reverse chronological order.

Press release 2021-04-12

Revised Spelling System Approved

The International English Spelling Congress has voted to select a new English spelling system. Following a series of consultations and meetings, the Congress has voted in favour of Traditional Spelling Revised (TSR) as the best alternative to our current spelling system.

The proposal is that Traditional Spelling Revised (TSR) should be promoted voluntarily to run alongside traditional spelling in the hope that, if it gains sufficient support, it will eventually become the new norm, thereby accelerating access to literacy.

The Chair of the English Spelling Society, Jack Bovill, said:

‘The highly irregular English spelling system has significant economic and social costs compared with those of other languages. The search has gone on for many years to find consensus among those sympathetic to reform on an alternative which will combine better access to literacy with the avoidance of unnecessary change. The Congress has been a painstaking process involving experts as well as members of the general public throughout the English-Speaking World. There will now follow a period of further consultation with members of the English Spelling Society and more widely. It is my sincere hope that the scheme now approved by this Congress, together with the proposed further consultation, will achieve this consensus and gain wide acceptance.’

Traditional Spelling Revised (TSR) is a minimal respell approach to the reform of Traditional English Spelling (TS), based essentially on making English spelling observe its own rules. Its core principles are:

• One sound can be represented by more than one letter or letter combination, BUT
• One letter or letter combination must normally only represent one sound – where that principle is not followed, there must be strict rules indicating which sound is indicated in any particular situation.
• If a rule in TS is reasonably dependable, it is normally carried over into TSR.
• Where a pattern cannot be brought within an existing dependable rule, it is normally respelled.
• A few words are retained with their irregular TS spellings.
• The result is a system that it is not as phonemic as Spanish or Italian but offers one-way phonemicity on the lines of German or French. Depending on the text it respells from 8% to 18% of TS spellings.
• Omission of redundant letters: in words such as (w)rong, (k)night, (g)nash, snor(e) etc. But the otherwise redundant e is retained for the past particle in words such as endowed and blurred etc. It is also retained in words such as bathe to help distinguish /D/ from /T/.
• Spelling changed where the doubling rule is applied incorrectly in TS: Committee is respelled comittee, accommodate is respelled acommodate etc.

Notes to Editors

1. The International English Spelling Congress was sponsored by the English Spelling Society and the American Literacy Council. It held its first meeting on 30 May 2018.

2. The Congress was open to all, whatever their level of expertise.

3. Following the first meeting, authors of alternative spelling schemes were invited to submit their proposals; 35 were submitted and an Expert Commission produced a shortlist of 6.

4. Following three further meetings of the Congress, a vote was held among participants in March 2021 and the result is announced today. The Alternative Vote system was used, and the ballot was administered by CIVICA.

5. The author of the scheme is Stephen Linstead. He spent most of his working life as a civil servant. He has studied several European languages. In his retirement, he lives in Solihull, West Midlands, and now has the opportunity to devote more time to his long- standing interests in law and linguistics. His concern for the reform of English spelling is long- standing.

Examples of words changed

wash becomes ‘wosh’, love - ‘luv’, glorious - glorius, educate – edducate, foot - fuut, good - guud, blue - bloo, show – sho.

Press release 2020-07-01

THE ENGLISH SPELLING SOCIETY invites HOME SCHOOLING PARENTS to help choose a modified spelling system to improve access to literacy.

The English Spelling Society would like parents to examine and to choose between six proposed new spelling scheme arrangements.  The Society, set up in 1908 to improve access to literacy for all,  believe that revised arrangements to the current English spelling scheme will improve the teaching of English and spelling.

Two years ago, in association with the American Literacy Council, the Society launched the International English Spelling Congress to allow reformers a chance to put forward their alternative ideas for English spelling to the English-Speaking World.  An expert review panel chose six proposals for final debate. (http://spellingsociety.org/iesc-papers)

Jack Bovill, Chair of the Society, says ‘We are keen to hear what parents think about these proposals.  Parents and carers have been on the front line teaching their children over the last three months at home and will have been made more familiar with how difficult it can be to teach English spelling. We would like parents, teachers and anyone interested in improving literacy to take a look at the proposals and to register, if they wish, for the second round of the Congress; this will be held towards the end of this year, (via video conference) and will be a most important debate.’

The Society cites independent research showing that due to its extreme irregularity, English speaking primary school children can take up to 3 years longer to master basic spelling compared with speakers of other languages; also that many of these pupils leave primary school with a poor command of spelling and hence of literacy.  The Society believes that the only way to improve our spelling significantly, and in a lasting way, is to simplify it at source and make it more predictable. 

16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having 'very poor literacy skills and this will have made homeschooling a challenge for many. 

Jack Bovill says: ‘This is multi-generational and affects so many people. Poor literacy affects your chances in life;  it can dictate how much you earn, what careers are open to you and even how likely a person is to spend time in prison. 

‘Over the last 12 weeks we know that parents with poor literacy skills will have had great difficulty helping their children during lockdown.  The Office for National Statistics reports that 2.3 million children did no home learning during lockdown. This is a critical time and we need to look to initiatives that will help people to master English spelling more quickly and without the teacher's red pen - which is ultimately demoralising for children.’ 

The Society propose that the new arrangements would be introduced alongside traditional spelling in the hope that they will eventually replace the current system.

The six spelling proposals can be viewed on the Society’s website along with thumbnail descriptions and poem extracts to illustrate how the schemes might work in practice. 

Link to proposals: http://spellingsociety.org/iesc-papers

Notes

Register here for International English Spelling Congress  http://spellingsociety.org/international-english-spelling-congress-application

The IESC project is now hosting open discussion of the shortlisted proposals on the Society Blog (http://spellingsociety.org/blog) there are separate threads for each of the shortlisted schemes (http://spellingsociety.org/iesc-papers) and also for discussion on the Congress generally.  

Press release 2018-01-30

ENGLISH SPELLING IS BROKEN

PLANS TO FIND A NEW SPELLING SYSTEM ANNOUNCED TODAY

The English Spelling Society announced plans today to host an International Congress with the aim of choosing a new English spelling scheme.

People from across the English Speaking World will be able to participate in an International debate on the difficulties and problems of the current English spelling system.

The first session of the Congress will be held on Wednesday 30th May and will provide a platform for speakers to focus on the irregularity of English spelling, its economic and social costs and what measures may be taken to remedy this. Participants from across the English Speaking World will be able to take part via a webinar.

Following the first session, an Expert Commission will be appointed to choose a short list of alternative spelling systems which will be presented to a reconvened Congress where a final choice will be made. It is the Society's hope that the approved alternative spelling scheme will be promoted to run alongside traditional spelling informally until such time as it gains sufficient acceptance in the English Speaking World. At that stage it will be possible to promote it as a formal alternative to traditional spelling.

The Chair of the Society, Jack Bovill, said: ‘This is not an attempt at top-down regulation. It is a genuine opportunity for ordinary people across the world who have some interest in the reform of our highly irregular spelling to come together and discuss what improvements might be effective and feasible.’

The Congress is the first event of its type and is being arranged in consultation with the Society's sister organisation, the American Literacy Council.

Registration for the event begins today online via www.spellingsociety.org.

Possible spelling test for readers/listeners:

A spelling survey carried out in the US and in the UK showed that more than 50% of people had trouble with some of these words. (Spelling survey details in notes below.)

Choose the correct spelling for the following words:

i.

1. definitely
2. definately
3. definatley
4. definitley

ii.

1. seperately
2. separately
3. separatley
4. seperatley

iii.

1. acommodation
2. accomodation
3. accommodation
4. accomerdation

iv.

1. embarassed
2. embarrased
3. embarrassed
4. embaressed

v.

1. leasion
2. liason
3. liasion
4. liaison 

Define the following homophones:

i. they’re / their / there =

1. in that place
2. they are
3. something that belongs to someone

ii. affect / effect =

1. to influence
2. the result of something

iii. stationary / stationery

1. paper for letter writing
2. not moving

iv. its / it's =

1. it is, it has
2. belong to it (possessive of it)

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Notes for Editors

1. The spelling survey in the USA was carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of The English Spelling Society. A sample of 1,000 adults aged between 18 and 80 years from across the USA responded to the survey. Fieldwork was conducted using an online methodology, and took place between 15th January and 20th January 2009. Data has been weighted to the known population in the USA.

The spelling survey in the UK was carried out by ICD Research/ID Factor on behalf of The English Spelling Society. A sample of 1000 adults aged between 18 and 80 years from across the UK responded to the survey. Fieldwork was conducted using an online methodology, and took place in April 2008. Data has been weighted to the known population in the UK.

2. Press Inquiries should be directed to: Vikki Rimmer 07886673412 vikki@presscontact.co.uk

3. For details of the proposed Congress visit http://spellingsociety.org/international-english-spelling-congress

4. The English Spelling Society was founded in 1908. It is headquartered in the UK but has members throughout the world.

Its objects are:

• Raising awareness and promoting research on the economic and social costs of English spelling
• Providing resources on the development of English spelling and of the movement to update it
• Seeking to open minds to the possibility of an eventual update of English spelling in the interests of improved literacy

To register for the event and to find out more visit www.spellingsociety.org

Press release 2016-11-30

A new study out this week highlights the difficulties students have with English spelling

Research by the Cambridge Research Assessment, to be published on Wednesday 30th November, will detail a lack of overall improvement in the spelling of 16 year olds, and also point to some deterioration in the spelling used by GCSE students. 

Stephen Linstead, Chair of the English Spelling Society says: "The findings provoke little surprise within the English Spelling Society. There is growing evidence that our uniquely unpredictable spelling system has economic and social costs. It is also worth noting that English-speaking children take up to three years longer to master basic spelling than their European counterparts in their native language."

The Society asserts that there was no 'golden age' of English spelling, and the Cambridge Assessment findings merely underline that students continue to have difficulty mastering English spelling due to its high degree of irregularity. 

Are we wasting our children's time and in some cases their life chances by obstinately clinging to our outdated spelling as if it was something of value?

Studies point to roughly one fifth of UK school-leavers being 'functionally illiterate'. There is a desperate need to address this problem as the costs to the individual and to society at large are immense.

An approach being actively considered by the English Spelling Society in cooperation with its sister organisation the American Literacy Council, is to try to open up the question of spelling reform to a wider audience by means of an International English Spelling Congress. For more information on the Congress please visit: www.spellingsociety.org

-- Stephen Linstead is available for interview and comment via vikki@presscontact.co.uk 07886673412

Press release 2016-04-20

Delegates & sponsors sought on #NationalEnglishLanguageDay to help update rules of English spelling

To celebrate National English Language Day, and to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, the English Spelling Society is calling for delegates and sponsors to support their detailed proposals for an International English Spelling Congress which will debate the difficulties of English spelling and look to suggest a short list of alternative spelling schemes.

This coming Saturday is National English Language Day, a United Nations day of observance which celebrates the English Language. It is also, world book and copyright day and this year the 23rd April will be the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. 

The English language is famous for its many quirks and for its irregular spelling system which can make it difficult to learn. 

The Chair of the English Spelling Society, Stephen Linstead said: “We hope that on this, the 400th anniversary of the death of the Bard we can stimulate English language lovers to consider the question of the irregularity of our current spelling system. We think that our proposals for a Congress to debate this issue offers the best chance of getting agreement to improve our extremely irregular spelling, whose economic and social costs are becoming increasingly apparent. Far too many pupils leave school functionally illiterate and studies have shown that English speaking pupils can be up to two years behind their European counterparts in acquiring basic literacy skills. This initiative is not an attempt at top-down regulation, it is an opportunity for ordinary people to have their say and to get the process of reform moving.”

 

The English Spelling Society Congress will appoint an expert Commission which after consultation will produce a short list of alternative spelling schemes for presentation to a reconvened Congress.

It is the Society's hope that the approved alternative spelling scheme will be promoted to run alongside traditional spelling informally until such time as it gains sufficient acceptance in the English Speaking World. At that stage it will be possible to promote it as a formal alternative to traditional spelling.

The Congress will consist of physical meetings in the UK and USA but with a large number of delegates participating by video link. Applicants from throughout the English Speaking Word will be eligible to apply to become a delegate.

Shakespearian spellings: no 'ed' just 'd': "curld, disposd, performd, perishd; wrackt." He used 'i.e.' instead of 'y' here: "daies, denie, libertie, marrie, quality" and instead of 'i' he used 'y' here: "cabyn, lyes, poysonous, raysing, toyle."

The English Spelling Society (formed in London in 1908) are in the process of seeking funding for the event. Mr Linstead added: “We were lucky enough to have been kick-started as a Society in the early 20th century by support from philanthropists concerned with spelling improvement. We hope that today’s philanthropists will support our work to improve the situation for the millions of children and adults who find the current spelling system difficult, if not impossible, to learn.”

 

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Notes for Editors

1. The English Spelling Society was founded in 1908. It is headquartered in the UK but has members throughout the world.

The English Spelling Society is an organisation with a worldwide membership which tries to address these problems by:

• Raising awareness and promoting research on the economic and social costs of English spelling
• Providing resources on the development of English spelling and of the movement to update it
• Seeking to open minds to the possibility of an eventual update of English spelling in the interests of improved literacy

2. National English Language Day: April 23 marks the anniversary of the birth or death of a range of well-known writers, including Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Maurice Druon, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Haldor Kiljan Laxness, Manuel Mejía Vallejo, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and William Shakespeare. For this reason, UNESCO's General Conference chose this date to pay tribute to books, the authors who wrote them, and the copyright laws that protect them.

3. Press Inquiries should be directed to: Vikki Rimmer 07886673412 vikki@presscontact.co.uk 

4. For details of the proposed Congress visit http://spellingsociety.org/international-english-spelling-congress.

Press Release 2015-01-07

Proposals for an International English Spelling Congress

The English Spelling Society, working with the American Literacy Council, has today announced its proposals for an International English Spelling Congress.

The task of the Congress will be to appoint a Commission of experts charged with drawing up a short list of proposals for an improved English spelling system.  Congressional delegates will then choose one system from the Commission's short list.

Stephen Linstead, Chair of The English Spelling Society said: “The intention is that the preferred new system should run alongside traditional spelling as an informal alternative and, if it gains sufficient support among English speakers, eventually replace it.”

Delegates to the Congress will be chosen from throughout the English Speaking World and global participation will be facilitated by video conferencing.

The English Spelling Society has long campaigned for awareness of the inherent problems associated with an irregular spelling system and has illustrious past supporters including Sir James Pitman MP, George Bernard Shaw and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

Stephen Linstead, who became Chair of the Society in 2013, added:  “The case for updating traditional English spelling is based on the growing evidence that our extremely irregular spelling system has a substantial economic and social cost.  When you consider the damning statistic that English speaking children take up to two years longer to acquire basic literacy skills than their counterparts in some other European countries and that 1 in 6 people in the UK are functionally illiterate with children no better at spelling than their parents’ generation, then there is a very strong case for re-evaluating English spelling.”

The Congress is planned for late 2015 or early 2016; funds are currently being sought. The venue is to be finalised. 

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Notes for Editors

1. To view a short film on spelling reform (90 seconds) please see here:

 http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30698266

2. The English Spelling Society was founded in 1908. It is headquartered in the UK but has members throughout the world.

3. Press Inquiries should be directed to: Vikki Rimmer 07886673412 vikki@presscontact.co.uk 

4. For further details of the proposed Congress visit www.spellingsociety.org: > spelling in the news > IESC.

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                                See separate page for more details on the proposed Congress.