Teeching Inglish fonics and reeding is no simple task. Thair ar so meny exceptions to the rule that it makes students nervis to try thair hand at reeding. Whatever the reesons for such diversity in our spelling, it dus make Inglish seem slightly ridicewlis. Take the last werd of the last sentins, for example: "ew" is ewshaly prownounsed like in the werd few, but it is allsow used in a werd like drew whair "ew" is the long "oo" sound like in moon, as opposed to the short "oo" sound like in book. And along similer lines, thair is the confewsing "ow" sounds - the "ow" of low and the "ow" of now, bowth of wich hav uther letters that can doo the job, like "o_e" as in hope, or "oa" as in boat, and "ou" as in cloud.

Take the three words I have used in the first paragraph whair I have used "ow" - prownounsed, allsow, bowth - and apply the uther alternatives. They cood beecum proanounsed, allsoa and bothe, whair "th" is a single sound, althoa too letters, and soa the majic-e rool applies. If wee can use these alternative letter combinaitions, then wy on erth doo wee hav to hav additional choises?

And then thair ar the simply bizzar practises, as in werds like through, though, thought, thorough and tough, wair "ough" is pronounced diffrently for eech werd. Or werds wair thair is an "e" attached to the end that dus not serv the majic-e perpis, like live, love, have and come. Wood these werds be so diffrent if thay wer spelt liv, luv, hav and cum? Maybe! But it wood sertinly make my job a lot eesier.

Do not dout (notice the absins of the ridicewlis "b") my affection for my langwij, wich I luv teeching, lerning and ewsing, but my simpathy for uthers trying too doo the same has increesed the longer I hav had to teech it. Althoa, lerning to reed and rite Chinese has shoan mee hou comparitivly lojical Inglish is.

4 May 2004

Dion Marc Delport

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