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.
  
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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.
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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''.

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