DRAFT
The Universal Alphabet
Can one alphabet serve all languages?
PISS by 
 steves-work.html yurabet.html
texting.html weblish.html  webstrdiac.html word-fugitiv-1.html

 teach-phonetics.html syllabics-semivowels.html twain-cadmus.html
 u2alfa.html  unifon-2.html visible-speech.html  yahoogroups.html
Many students of language dream of a universal alphabet that will be able to serve all the languages of the world.  Such an alphabet would enable a novice language learner to read aloud any written language in such a way that he or she could be understood by a native speaker.

With a few hints, this is already possible in Spanish and Italian.  The problem comes when the alphabet is extended to cover not 5 but 12 vowels and at least six combinations or diphthongs.  The IPA  can also be considered as  an attempt to come up with a universal set of sound signs.  See SAMPA for an example of how the same sound signs can be used for many different languages.

Many languages have been romanized, but to what extent have they preserved the same letter sounds? 

With the exception of the letters that arrived late, do they all retain the old Latin symbol to sound relationships?

There is a certain high level of correspondence but just enough difference between the use of the letters in different writing systems to cause some initial difficulty.

English was romanized around 700 bce.  The original Saxon language survives mostly in the most frequent words, typically function words.
Saxon words are now a small percentage of the total English vocabulary.

Although the vowels in many words were shifted around 1400 during the great vowel shift,  75% of the syllables are still consistent with Latin [or continental sound values.  However, only about 40% of the words are.
The first step in a reform would be to reallign the letter shape to sound correspondences in words that have strayed so far from spelling pronunciation that they can no longer be pronounced letter by letter.

dew-freq
 
Allowable deviations include batt for baet and bwk for buk and reed for riid. a is reserved for schwa.  apr is not a substitute for uppr 
If er is used for rr/'r the er in error/air has to be changed to err/eir.
SAMPLE  Wiill yu meet mi in the ruum yu hav designeited az th' pleis to gou. It is olmoust impossibl tu get English reedrz tu see ii as ee
do re mi fa so duzz not agri with fe fi fo fum
[ thou tho tho' ]  Yu akt aez thou ai cann help it.  aI cant eet this fuud it is not gud for mai gutt.
ROMIK [shown above] was an attempt to arrive at a compromise IPA inspired notation. Romik fufillis the conditions established for this project. 

1. one to one correspondence with IPA [International Phonetic Alphabet]
2. an ASCII symbol for every phoneme - no special characters or diacritics
3. diphthongs or combined phonemes represented by combined symbols
4. looks good in print
5. readable without a key

http://www.everydayspelling.com/
 
 
 
Everyday Spelling: 25 Frequently Misspelled Words, Grade 3

too
because
there
their
a lot
Christmas
were
said
went

they
favorite
when
friend
know
that's
upon
with

our
really
friends
then
I
always
finally
again

Return to Grade 3 Spelling Strategies

Sound Patterns
These should start with patterns that can be generalized to a large number of commonly used words, including common spellings of vowel sounds and consonant sounds

Word search puzzle http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/puzzles4.html
List three more consonant blends similar to blunder
http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/begin1A.html
Exercise list http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/exlist.html

<a href="http://gardenofpraise.com/audiofiles/spellsong1.ram">
<a href="http://gardenofpraise.com/audiofiles/111rule.mid">
play  double the consonant rule  if you see er, ing,... dbl the consonant
just the music  "audiofiles/111rule.mid"

play midi

The 1.1.1 Rule
Check the root word.(hop) Ask yourself, "Does the root word have
               one syllable?" (yes) "Does it have one vowel?" (yes, o)
                  "Does it have one consonant at the end?" (yes, p)
       Since you can see all these things, you must double the "p" before
                       adding a suffix such as ed, er, est, or ing 
                           (suffixes which begin with a vowel).

                                    hop + ing = hopping
                                     hop + er = hopper
                                     hop + ed = hopped

The Study Guide

The challenge of spelling:  [rules]

         English spelling rules are often very complex, with many exceptions. 
         If you find spelling to be a particular challenge, here is one strategy to follow:

         As a foundation:

                   Practice your spelling
                   Keep a "spelling notebook" and list words you commonly misspell or have trouble with
                   Keep a list of commonly misspelled English words, or words that may be spelled
                   correctly, but misused (e.g. who's * whose)
                   Keep a list of rules for spelling 
                   This book can also help you build your vocabulary

         As regards important documents you send, or turn in to others:

                   Spell check the document if it is electronic
                   Re-read the printed document carefully for errors: 
                   Pay attention to words you commonly misspell or that are spelled correctly but misused
                   Note these words in your spelling notebook
                   Have someone you trust and respect review the document. 
                   This is often difficult for us since often we get comments regarding text as well
                   as spelling.  But that is a plus, since we don't have to change the text, but rather
                   appreciate the suggestions and go on...
                   If you have a Center for Writing Assistance, take advantage of it

    Using Dictionaries: a dictionary not only contains the spelling of a word!
    It also contains the spelling of its derivatives: plural forms and participles.  Internet resources include

         Dictionary.com, http://www.dictionary.com/ (dictionary, thesaurus, and access to foreign dictionaries)

         Merriam-Webster OnLine, http://www.m-w.com/ (dictionary, thesaurus, look up feature for bad spellers,
         word of the day, word games, and access to vocabulary in 230 languages).

         Since English is so exceptional in its spellings, any dictionary assists you in finding exceptions to the rules of
         spelling.  Alternative spellings, especially British vs. American, should also be noted.

         Spell checkers in word processing:

              Spell check each and every word-processed document as a habit

              Proof-read each document after spell-checking!
              A spell checker will only find words incorrectly spelled. It will not find words correctly spelled but
              misused.

         Common errors:

              from and form: a common typing inversion;
              of, or: another case of mistaken keyboarding;
              to, too, two; there, their; whether, weather: common confusion of usage
 
 

         Remembering a "spelling":

              Check a dictionary for the correct pronunciation of the word.
              This will help you remember how to spell the word 
              Check for the meaning and history of the word.
              This provides additional information 
              Practice spelling the word to yourself before you close the dictionary.
              Write it down or visualize it in your mind's eye. 
              Check the spelling in the dictionary again to ensure that you have learned to spell the word correctly; 
              Learn basic spelling rules (see below) 

    Adapted from "Steps to Becoming a Good Speller" in Basic English Revisited by Patrick Sebranek and Verne Meyer.

Page with the sounds of the letters

 Four Key Spelling Rules

              Write "i" before "e" except after "c," or when sounding like "a" as in "neighbor" and "weigh." When  the "ie/ei" combination is not pronounced "ee," it is usually spelled "ei." 

                             Examples:
                                   ie
                                       fiery, friend, mischief, view, believe
                             Examples:
                                   ei
                                       reign, foreign, weigh, neighbor, weird,
                                       receive

Where does the c exeption come from in the i before e rule.
believe ie = /i:/ no problem.  receive rather than reciev

              If a word ends with a silent "e," drop the "e" before adding a suffix which begins with a vowel: 

                           state--stating; like--liking
 

              Do not drop the "e" when the suffix begins with a consonant: 

                           state--statement; like--likeness; use--useful
 

              When "y" is the last letter in a word and the "y" is preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i"
              before adding any suffix except those beginning with "i": 

                           beauty--beautiful; fry--fries; hurry--hurried; lady--ladies
 

              When forming the plural of a word which ends with a "y" that is preceded by a vowel, add "s": 

                           toy--toys; play--plays; monkey--monkeys
 

              When a one-syllable word ends in a consonant preceded by one vowel, double the final consonant
              before adding a suffix which begins with a vowel: 

                           bat--batted, --batting; prod--prodded, --prodding
 

              When a multi-syllable word ends in a consonant preceded by one vowel, the same rule holds true:
              double the final consonant: 

                           control--controlled; sum--summary;
                           god--goddess; prefer--preferred
 

    Adapted from Basic English Revisited written by P. Sebranek and V. Meyer. 
 

    see also: 

    Burden, Peter, WWlib - Notes on American English, University of Worlverhapton
    http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html, November 17, 2000 

    Jones, Susan, Spelling differences between American and British English,
    http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.htm, Georgia State University, November 17, 2000
 
 

                                      Feedback to improve this page
                                        (please specify which page)

----

Chuck,

I think it is important because so many people want to prove
that the English writing system is either not so bad or 
at least understandable in terms of phonics.

In one sense it doesn't make any difference what the truth is.
People will use what supportss their opinion.

The original source is probably Paul Hanna.  It is also quoted in
Crystal.  I came accross it in a recent book on the Art of Spelling
where Edna Furness was given as the source.

I eventually want to take each phoneme and show how many ways it
is spelled and the count for each of the way.
I have started this at http://www.unifon.org/uu-29ways.htm

The data clearly shows that English does have some statistical regularity:  Four spelling patterns account for about 75% of the
traditional English spellings.

You might even be able to show that on the average, four spelling
patterns account for 85% of the traditional spellings.

Perhaps we should advocate a spelling reform with four patterns per sound and see how far this would get.  The same people who say that 
English is regular and predictable would probably be the first to object to just 4 spellings per sound. 

Most people would probably want six spellings per vowel sound and three spellings for consonants. 

Regards,

Steve
file:///C|/My Documents/spell/art-spelling-mvs.html


Gus rote:
<< 
  > Vowels: For those long, use ai as in 'daisy' but ay at word ends; ee in
'feet'; ie in 'belie', but pronoun I, also y before 'ing' & at 1 syllable
root word ends uninflected; oa in 'oath'; oi in 'oil' & ou in 'out' but oy &
ow at root word ends; oo in 'booth'. But the prior ai, ie, oa & oo sounds
are spelled a, i, o & u, tho not before multiple consonants or 1 & a vowel
not e.  
  >>
I understand what you ar saying, but I hav tu acnollej that you seem tu be 
useng a kiend of shortcut speech which mite be dificult for others tu follo.  
"Vowels: For those long, use ai as in 'daisy' but ay at word ends; ee in
'feet'; ie in 'belie', but pronoun I, also y..."
Perhaps if you puht this intu tabel form or owtlined it it wuhd better convay 
what you want tu explain.

Vowels:
    Long vowels:
            A -  use 'ai' as in "daisy".
                - use 'ay' at the end of words (convay).
            E - use 'ee' medeally as in "feet".
            I - use 'ie' terminally as in "belie".
                - use capital I for the first person singuler.
                - use 'y'...

All this helps me tu understand how consiseness or brevity is so important tu 
you.  You think this way.  The fewer the number of rules the better it is for 
understanding.  Fewer words ar better.  Fwr letrs best.  Am I correct in this 
interpretashen?

It is fasinateng how the way we think can be so influenshal on how we aproach 
simplifieng speling.  It is allso interesting how differantly we can think.  
I am a rules and prosedure person.  Ron is a visual and rime person.  Ze is 
a, is a... Wel, maybe Ze is a touch and feeling person, which is hard tu see 
in speling.  Doug seems tu hav a broad visual and lojical vew.  Allan likes a 
mix of brevity and visual clarity.  And so on... I hope that we can 
incorporate the moast important features of these aproaches intu a composit 
speling skeme.  At least I hope that owr differant perspectivs and ways of 
thinking abowt speling can contribute tu solushons tu the problems of the TS, 
and not continue tu impede owr progress.  --  Pete B.

 
changes:  add ie, move rr to the bottom, add ea. for long e.
since i is either short or unstressed, it can be used.
i. is short .i. is normally unstressed.  .y is normally unstressed terminal
e only needs to be distinguihsed from A.  den=den or dane
 
 
Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence Table - 17 Truespel Vowels
*starred-vowels have two values, blue vowels are not listed in the-alfubet
short voulz
laung voulz
kumbbiend
 a - at, ax, cat, ash  ae - sundae, aep [ape]  air - hair, stare  aar - are, far, star
 e - edge, elephant, elbow  ee* - eel, tree, street  er* - her, berd [bird]  eer - ear, fear
 i -  it, itch, index, pin  ie -  pie, siet [sight]  or - for, shor [shore]  uer- tour,  ier- ire, fire
 aa - aaks[ox] kaat [cot]  oe - toe, koet [coat]  au - auto, cost, long  oi - oil, boi [boy]
 u* - up, uggoe [ago]  ue - blue, yue [you]  oo - hook, cood [could]  ou - out, our, house
*u and er can be stressed (hurt [hert]) or unstressed as in other [uther] and sofa [soefu]
The phonograms in blue are vowel-consonant combinations and not included in the Truespel alphabet
or is an abbreviated version of oer/aur and air is an alternate traditional version of aer/er. 
Since or, air, and er  are ambiguous and not obvious combinations, they must be isolated.
or could be oer, air could be aer or er - these combinations require clarification.


 


otter, go so sew slo slaw


 soundspel









Thaet moatersaikal gang nau raidz baisikalz. SS
That moetersiekul gang nou riedz biesikulz.  TRU
That motersikel gang now rides bisikels.      RITE

ea has acquired a number of different interpretations
beak biek
break breik
tea, tease ti, tiez
bread OK - ext. e alt. bred
leading OK, alt. ledding

Tha initial taesk set for this egroup waz tu cam upp with aen ASCII IPA nowteishan. Tha chaart abuvv waz aen atempt tu consaisly illusstreit hau tha taesk mait bee acheevd.  Ai hav not insistad thaet tha noteishan bee adopted, but ai hav insisted 
Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue  wrote [p. 84]
If there is something certain about English pronunciation if is that there is almost nothing certain about it.  No other language in the world has more words spelled the same way and yet pronounced differently.  Not one of the 26 letters can be relied on for consistency.
 
heard beard herd bierd
road broad road brod brawd
five give faiv giv
fillet skillet fillet  skillet
early dearly erly  dierly
beau beauty bo  byuuty
steak streak steik  striek
ache mustache eik  mastassh 
low how lo hau
doll droll doll  droal
scour four scour  for
grieve sieve griev  siv
paid said peid  sed
break speak breik  spiek

chough  chuff   thistle - thhissal

The word for the study of pronunciation has two pronunciations in English
ortheopy

The IPA differentiates 52 sounds, 26 vowels and 26 consonants pl 86
The American Heritage dictionary lists 45

Dr. John R. Pierce at Bell Labs detected more than 90 separate s ounds for the letter t.

wash worsh

mints and mince sound the same

no p in glimpse same root as gleam

stand orig stad as stood [stud]

The tendency to compress and mangole words was first formally noted in a 1949 article New Yorker by John Davenport who gave it the happy name of Slurvian.  Baltimore balemer
eagle iggle tiger tagger water wooder power mower paramour store stewwer clothes are clays orage juice is arnjoos bureau is berro.
 
 
 
 

Avinor [4June2000] Saundspel phonology forum

Many students of language dream of a universal alphabet that will be able to serve all the languages of the world.  Such an alphabet would enable a novice language learner to read aloud any written language in such a way that he or she could be understood by a native speaker.

This is already true for languages with a real alphabets.  A person with the grapheme-phoneme correspondence table can read aloud written Italian or written Spanish or written Russian. 

The dream of a universal alphabet goes beyond this to an alphabet key that would work for everyone. 

In one sense this has been done.  IPA and its ASCII analog Sampa have such an alphabet of at least 60 characters or phonograms.  With this alphabet, they can write 20 different languages.

The MORE speling solushen:
present - acsent on first silabel (vowl long).
pressent - acsent on seccond silabel (dubbel C).
prezant - acsent on first silabel (by defalt).
 

IPA does the same. 

Revision in the keyboard
Ii Ee Aauu aa=y? au=Y Oo ? uUMV
ai=F  Y
er=D  R
no schwi, 
TAnk Y very muK  ts=c

 

15k
shavian-ipa-keybaord-16
 

 , simping4pb@aol.com
 , stbett@yahoo.comjurgenb@acay.com.au
 , fyi@americanliteracy.com
 , ron.footer@btinternet.com
 , elizabethk@pacbell.net
 , guyotten@lineone.net
 , peterw@trade-exchange.co.nz
 , jerry.dicker@btinternet.com
 
 
 

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