Oh my God....

[Miakou]

Not only has the American public lost interest in literacy, but so has the media.

Push For Simpler Spelling Persists

I don't get it. They say that by making the words easier to spell, the illiteracy rate will drop. Honestly, I don't see how that would work, because I can't even read half of this article.

So, do you think the illiteracy rate would drop if the spellings of words were simplified?  

[Jewlz2007]

No, it would simplify everyone's mind. Scary eek .

Lord help anyone who writes that way....  

[BlindingTwilight]

Wow, it took me forever to read that article. I had to say some of the weird spellings outloud to try and understand what the word was. That's pretty sad, especially at this point of my life.

Well, first off, I'd like to say that I, personally, wouldn't call that a simplified version of spelling. I think it's just another way of spelling certain words. I think if they started putting that into action, illiteracy rates would rise because of the majority of people in the country who are over 10 years old that learned to spell the way we currently spell. I don't think "simpler spellings" are worth reteaching the whole nation.
Besides, I think the way we spell now is just fine the way it is.

They may as well tell us all to learn Japanese. Them and their phonetic alphabet. stare Ha ha, just kidding. I love Japanese. heart  

[DarkElf27]

Gee. Got to love their logic: 'Lets make literacy rates go up, by lowering the standards of literacy!'  

[Miakou]

I think the worst part is the fact that the writer made it seem that she was dissappointed that the idea doesn't seem to be catching.  

[Ame Yuki Kaze]

[Insert Orwellian rant here!]

That's truly disappointing.  

[Aramethea]

That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen!! Oh my god, I had to stop reading after the first four sentences. (Though I have to say it sort of reminded me of Chaucer.) This is the dumbing down of America, my friends. I cannot remember the last time I was so discouraged. People can't even spell simple words the way they're supposed to be spelled as it is. And the "story" doesn't take into account regional dialect differences, I'm sure. So that brings a whole other aspect of "simpler spelling" - every different regional dialect would have their own spelling of words. To my mind that pretty effectively cuts people who have a language in common off from each other. It's just so stupid. People who can't spell to begin with will push for this. Is nothing sacred anymore?  

[Ghurdrich]

Oh wow... When I read that, I literally almost cried. That's horrible. You know, I am generaly a peaceful person, but that article made me want to kill something. It made me want to kill something with fire. I can't even bring myself to write any more lest I vomit....

-Ghurdrich out  

[Smesshie Muffins]

That is wrong! I couldn't even finish reading it. That is all gibberish in my eyes. I may have spelling issues at times but that is just ridiculous! Just because our language is "complex" doesn't mean we have to simplify it to illiterate being! I think I'm going to cry D;  

[Litia_Echo]

They're so stupid! They might also be trying to make a point, people really should try being smart, instead of making stupid look smart! haha.  

[ilovemaryjayne]

eek I didn't know people could spell like that! It's terrible!
In my opinion, I don't think this will help kids any more than leaving it be. Kids don't like it because it's BORING not because it's hard! I loved learning about spelling and grammer, but that's just me. I couldn't read half of that article anyways...  

[[Calypso]]

Has America truly sunk this low? It has to be a joke.

 

[Bard of Nirvana]

That's awful. Reading that made me sick to my stomach! Spelling English words is not that difficult (expecially compared to other languages. Look at French!). People that agree to something like this are lazy and ought to be shot. Stupid people should never be allowed to breed for this purpose. stressed

If the standard is lowered what will other countries think of us? Let me tell you.

Foreigner 1:"Look, those blasted Americans are at it again!"
Foreigner 2: "What did they do this time."
Foreigner 1: "They're so bloody lazy that they had to change the spelling of words to look like something a three year old wrote."
Foreigner 2: "They defile their language!!!"  

[Rhiannen]

The one consoliing note in the whole ridiculous debacle is that it took everyone I know so long to read/decipher the article that the idea of this "catching fire" is fairly remote.

Thank whatever powers that be for small favors.