I have designed this blog in a manner that some purists (or some groups) will likely be trying to find issues with, first. Ad hominem attacks will surely come. They will, for instance, try to shift the focus from the language to the teaching and the teacher. If I am complaining, surely I AM a teacher who is not able to teach! And, you are able to lead? Vested interest groups and purists might attempt to criticize the odd comma or the odd typo. They never make any mistakes! Out of desperation, they might take issue finally with some of the facts and sources given. Of course, I am not against criticism and it is likely that the odd errors will have crept in here and there, but there is no debate when it comes to declaring English spelling a mess. This is a well accepted fact in linguistic circles. However, beyond the hubrus, incontrovertible proofs will emerge.
I have tried hard to use simpler, accessible language to make it accessible for as many people as I can, but I felt that sometimes it was necessary to show that I couldn't be dismiss as some amateur either.
As a teacher with more than 25 years of experience, I am no amateur. Granted, I don't have a PhD attached to my name! Does that make me a dummy? I think I've seen enough students struggling with reading and wasting their time and energy learning English spelling rules to be convinced that there are systematic issues. English spelling is too IRREGULAR and ILLOGICAL, making reading excruciatingly difficult. It isn't phonetic like many languages. It means that English-speaking students can take as much as 2 more years to learn how to spell or read a word. While spelling is not usually a big issue, being able to read is. The percentage of illiterate people and people with dyslexia in Commonwealth countries is unbearably high. This does not need to be. Think how more productive people and these countries could be. Unless one has a good to great visual memory, one will always struggle. Anyone whose parents are not that educated, literate, or anyone who is a second language speaker will struggle even more! English spelling is too complex because it is not phonetic! It doesn't need to be that way! Many languages have reformed their spelling to make it more logical and phonetic. There are millions of people who cannot read and be productive members of our society! What a shame! And what about foreign 2nd language students who might opt for Spanish or Chinese, challenging English as the number one world lingua franca, eventually? No one has to put up with such a blatantly backward system! (I thank Wikipedia for making part of this web possible.)
