curious spelling of English [OT]

H.W.Fluks@telecom.tno.nl H.W.Fluks at telecom.tno.nl
Fri Jun 17 15:45:03 CEST 2005


Kriton wrote:

> (You are 
> probably aware of the remark, attributed to Bernard Shaw, 
> that "fish" should 
> be spelled "ghoti", combining the "f" from lauGH, the "o" 
> from wOmen, and the "sh" from ambiTIon!)

But on the other hand, "ghoti" should not be pronounced at all,
combining the "gh" from "thouGH", "o" from "jeOpardy", "t" from
"casTle", and "i" from "ordInary"...

> I once read that a very consistent language, in terms of spelling vs. 
> pronunciation, is Hungarian

There are some other languages where the spelling was settled in or
after the 19th century, with the result that the spelling is very
regular. Like Finnish and Turkish.
The problem with English is that it is spelled like it was pronounced
hundreds of years ago (and with Greek that's even longer...).

> When I 
> got hold of a copy of Don's "War of the Wendigo" in Italian, 
> back when the 
> story had not been widely published, I was surprised to 
> discover that with a 
> little bit of effort, and armed only with my knowlege of 
> English, French, and 
> a smattering of Latin that I had learned at school, I could 
> read and enjoy the story.

Yep, I have the same with Italian. And also Danish and Swedish are not
so hard to read when you know Dutch or German.
I also think reading Disney comics is a fun way to learn a foreign
language!

--Harry.
(Ventilator of Shoe - I mean, fan of Scarpa)




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