English spelling is broken. Let's fix it!
English spelling is broken ...
English spelling is broken. Examples like comb, bomb and tomb, or height and weight, abound. And no-one seems to know whether the down pipe from a gutter is a rone, a rhone, a roan or something else.
English spelling has been chopped and changed by countless scribes, printers, invaders and others since the Roman alphabet was first used to write Old English during the seventh century, and it does not match the way we speak today. The English Spelling Society exists to repair our broken spelling.
In this website you can discover the past, present and future of English Spelling:
• Discover the amazing history of English spelling — how it came to be the way it is, and what happened to previous attempts to put it right.
• Find out just how crazy English spelling is today — and how much that costs in economic and social terms.
• See what The English Spelling Society is planning to do — and how you can help.
English spelling is broken. Together, we can do something about that.
Society news
International English Spelling Congress
2021-02-20 Registration for the Congress closed today. Registration brings the right to vote on the final selection of a spelling scheme. Preparations for the vote are under way. The vote will be administered by Civica Election Services (formerly the Electoral Reform Society).
2021-02-04 A short supplementary meeting was held by Zoom starting at 19:00 GMT on Thursday 4th February. The meeting was arranged at short notice with the aim of satisfying anyone who thought they didn't get a satisfactory answer from the previous Thursday's meeting. Each author was allowed 10 minutes, and questions were taken from the floor. The session was recorded: watch it on YouTube.
2021-01-28 The final session of the Congress was held, by Zoom, starting at 19.00 GMT. Attendance was around 40. Each of the six shortlisted schemes was allowed a 20-minute presentation by its author, followed by questions from the floor. The meeting closed at 21.30. The session was recorded: watch it on YouTube.
International news
2021-02-08 — Speller100 A speller for 100-plus languages in Microsoft. More ►
2021-02-06 — ECOVIEWS How do animals get their names? More ►
Education
Many news items are particularly relevant to educators at all levels from primary to tertiary. These stories will be coralled in this section.
2021-02-15 — The need for good spelling is a controversial topic, but not in the classroom For many people, the ability to spell accurately is important and of equal importance is teaching children to spell correctly.More ►
2021-02-12 — Is spelling the bee-all and end-all of the HSC? Unsurprisingly, the mechanics of writing have become the latest cudgel to be wielded in the culture wars. More ►
2021-02-07 — Is this the reason our kids can't spell? HSC students aren't penalised for making basic grammar and spelling mistakes in their final English exam - and experts are calling for a change. More ►
Beehive
Spelling bees are always popular news stories. While the Society does not belittle the hard work that students put in for these events, or deny that they teach useful skills, the fact remains that the mere existence of spelling bees is perhaps the best illustration of the irregularity of English spelling.
Imagine if we had numbering bees, where contestants, instead of spelling out the letters in a word, had to spell out the numerals in a number. "Contestant, spell eighty-five thousand, nine hundred and forty-three." The contestant pauses, and then speaks: "8-5-9-4-3."
The Society looks forward to a day when spelling bees would be just as ludicrous as numbering bees.
No bees today.
