Definition:
A simplified version of English spelling that omits letters not needed to represent pronunciation. A Cut Spelling handbook is available at the website of The Spelling Society (TSS).
See also:
- The Chaos
- Noah Webster's Plan to Reform English Spelling
- Orthography
- Spelling Reform
- Writers on English Spelling
Etymology:
Coined in the 1970s by clinical psychologist Valerie YuleExamples and Observations:
- "Cut Spelng is a relativly new concept for modrnizing ritn english. It exploits th discovry that redundnt letrs cause lernrs th most trubl, and it therfor ataks that dificlty by removing those letrs. Typicl of th resultng spelings ar: det, iland, burglr, teachr, doctr, neibr, martr, acomodation, dautr, sycolojy. Few letrs ar actuly substituted, wich mens that the apearnce of text is chanjed far less than if evry sound wer respelt acordng to a fixd set of sound-symbl corespondnces. If u ar reading this, u wil hav been able to do so without much dificlty and without any practice or instruction at al."
(Christopher Upward, "Teaching Literacy First, Traditional English Orthography Second." Psychology, Spelling and Education, ed. by C. Sterling and C. Robson. Multilingual Matters, 1992) - "Recently, The Simplified Spelling Society has proposed 'Cut Spelling,' a system for making the spelling of English more economical and regular (see Upward 1988). . . . [This movement has] not met with much public enthusiasm, and it is worth asking why. The most common argument is that the range and complexity of English spelling represents the rich and glorious history of the language. To change this would be to lose an essential part of our tradition. . . . But we suggest that this argument hides a more pernicious tendency for those who do acquire the conventions of spelling to protect something that has the function of discriminating in their favor."
(Romy Clark and Roz Ivanič, The Politics of Writing. Routledge, 1997)
Also Known As: CS, cut speling
