Editing 1069: Alphabet
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An {{w|orthography}} is a standardized system for using a particular {{w|writing}} system (script) to write a particular language, including rules of spelling. English orthography is rather infamous for being rather complicated, due to the tendency to adopt words from other languages - each with their own incompatible orthographies - wholesale and keeping both the spelling and the pronunciation, hence the English "system" might better be described as a Frankenstein mix of multiple different orthographies. Unsurprisingly, {{w|English-language spelling reform}} has been a common topic of discussion over the years. | An {{w|orthography}} is a standardized system for using a particular {{w|writing}} system (script) to write a particular language, including rules of spelling. English orthography is rather infamous for being rather complicated, due to the tendency to adopt words from other languages - each with their own incompatible orthographies - wholesale and keeping both the spelling and the pronunciation, hence the English "system" might better be described as a Frankenstein mix of multiple different orthographies. Unsurprisingly, {{w|English-language spelling reform}} has been a common topic of discussion over the years. | ||
β | So faced with this opportunity, the hooking up could wait. Restructuring the alphabet and creating a sensibly regular English spelling is the chance of a lifetime, and would make history, making Cueball immortal in the sense of living on forever in memory | + | So faced with this opportunity, the hooking up could wait. Restructuring the alphabet and creating a sensibly regular English spelling is the chance of a lifetime, and would make history, making Cueball immortal in the sense of living on forever in memory as the alphabet-fixer. |
In the title text Cueball muses on the limits of his newfound grant. Does he get to remove letters entirely or just rearrange them (like putting U and I together)? Then he mentions "the 'k/c' situation" specifically because that "situation is ridiculous". This is about the use of the letter <nowiki><c></nowiki> which doesn't have a unique sound on its own, most often representing a {{w|Voiceless velar stop|'k'-sound}} or an {{w|Voiceless alveolar sibilant|'s'-sound}}. Combined with an <nowiki><h></nowiki> it usually makes the {{w|Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate|'ch'-sound}} as in ''chair'', although sometimes it might simply make 'k', such as in ''character''. In more than a few cases they even make a {{w|Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant|'sh'-sound}} like in ''champagne''. [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Words_with_the_letters_ch_that_sound_like_sh see more examples here]). So a reasonable change Cueball might make is to replace <nowiki><c> with <k> or <s> and keep <c> only followed by <h></nowiki>, or perhaps even making <nowiki><c></nowiki> on its own pronounced as the 'ch' as in ''chair''. | In the title text Cueball muses on the limits of his newfound grant. Does he get to remove letters entirely or just rearrange them (like putting U and I together)? Then he mentions "the 'k/c' situation" specifically because that "situation is ridiculous". This is about the use of the letter <nowiki><c></nowiki> which doesn't have a unique sound on its own, most often representing a {{w|Voiceless velar stop|'k'-sound}} or an {{w|Voiceless alveolar sibilant|'s'-sound}}. Combined with an <nowiki><h></nowiki> it usually makes the {{w|Voiceless palato-alveolar affricate|'ch'-sound}} as in ''chair'', although sometimes it might simply make 'k', such as in ''character''. In more than a few cases they even make a {{w|Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant|'sh'-sound}} like in ''champagne''. [http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Words_with_the_letters_ch_that_sound_like_sh see more examples here]). So a reasonable change Cueball might make is to replace <nowiki><c> with <k> or <s> and keep <c> only followed by <h></nowiki>, or perhaps even making <nowiki><c></nowiki> on its own pronounced as the 'ch' as in ''chair''. |