I almost feel like English should start from scratch with spelling, There are basically no consistent rules at all. I think we should assign spelling to kindergartners who actually follow the rules of English and spell things like they should be spelled.

Quinoa -> Keen-wa

Ballet -> Baal-Eh

Design -> De-zine

etc.

  • HexBroke [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    5·
    8 months ago

    Baffling or confusing spelling like “mould” or “cheque” or “gaol” or “draught” got changed based on what words rhymed with them. “Mould” became “mold” because “mold/mould” rhymes with “cold,” not “could.”

    I don’t agree these were fixed, just smeared the shit around a bit differently. Mould rhymes with the first part of shoulder or boulder, for example.

    Cheque is not confusing, but if you decided it was the you ought to turn antique into antick, opaque into opak, plaque into plack, etc.

    Logic did used to be logique, incidentally.