SoundSpel

SoundSpel is a regular and mostly phonemic English-language spelling reform proposal which uses the ISO basic Latin alphabet.

With roots extending as far back as 1910[2] but largely complete by 1986, SoundSpel was developed "in response to the widely held conviction that English spelling is more complex than it needs to be.

"[3] The American Literacy Council has endorsed the reform[4] because anglophones can easily read it.

[5] Additionally, according to its proponents, "[SoundSpel] is fully compatible with traditional spelling and can be mixed with it in any proportion desired.

In the early 1960s, Sir James Pitman developed the Initial Teaching Alphabet, which would become one of SoundSpel's predecessors.

[7] In 1969, Godfrey Dewey improved upon Ripman's and Archer's work, producing World English Spelling.

Dewey and Edward Rondthaler, a prominent typesetter and CEO of the International Typeface Corporation, corresponded from 1971.

The Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling reads: "[F]urther fine tuning [of SoundSpel] is [now] appropriate.

Recommendations are welcome from all—phoneticians, linguists, educators, publishers, those with a special interest in the subject, and, very importantly, the public at large.

Where ⟨-y⟩ would be visually awkward, a double consonant marks the end of the syllable (as in millyon for 'million' and compannyon for 'companion').

If both the visual recognition of a name and its correct pronunciation are important, the latter will be given in SoundSpel but in square brackets [ ].

It was on th furst dae of th nue yeer th anounsment was maed, aulmoest siemultaeniusly frum three obzervatorys, that th moeshon of th planet Neptune, th outermoest of all planets that wheel about th Sun, had becum verry erratic.

Sieentific peepl, however, found th intelijens remarkabl enuf, eeven befor it becaem noen that th nue body was rapidly groeing larjer and brieter, and that its moeshon was qiet different frum th orderly progres of th planets.

Scientific people, however, found the intelligence remarkable enough, even before it became known that the new body was rapidly growing larger and brighter, and that its motion was quiet different from the orderly progress of the planets.)

[680 characters] We mae nowadaes be chaery about uezing th wurd 'jeenius', but we stil hav a guud iedeea whot is ment bi it.

But thaer ar uthers, manifestly prodijus, performing offen at extraordinerrily urly aejes, a varieety of feets so complex that th muezical laeman cuud hardly imajin, eeven with th moest desperat laebor, acomplishing eny of them, whiel eeven muezishans ar astonisht and we then reech for th guud, handy, vaeg Enlietenment wurd and caul them jeeniuses.

But there are others manifestly prodigious, performing, often at extraordinarily early ages, a variety of feats so complex that the musical layman could hardly imagine, even with the most desperate labour, accomplishing any one of them, while even musicians are astonished: and we then reach for the good, handy, vague Enlightenment word and call them geniuses.