AMERICAN SPELLING

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 December 1928, Page 9

AMERICAN SPELLING

SET-BACK IN AUSTRALIA.

The advances in Australia of simplified spelling on the American basis have received a severe setback as a result of the decision of the Education Department of Victoria. For some vears simplified spelling has been m force in that State—the omission of the letter “u” in such words as “honour.” and similar changes in other words, the school books reminding one of American newspapers. But from the beginning of the New Year the Department will revert to old forms of spelling, and tho reading books are being rewritten in accordance with this policy. Commenting on the decision, the Director of Education, Mr. M. P. Hansen, said that it had been agreed to revert to old forms because they were still tho standard forms in most parts of the British Empire. “Logic and commonsense are in favour of the use of the newer simplified forms, but usage is against it,” said Mr. Hansen. “After consideration, it had been thought unwise to proceed with an innovation which is limited to so small a part of the British Empire. Very much can be said for the simplified form of spelling, but if it is adopted in our school as standard practice, it should be in the form of an Empirewide movement, which could properly

be started by the authorities of Great Britain. As a matter of fact, there is an active Spelling Reform League in Great Britain at present, but so far its efforts to secure a. general revision of spelling have not been attended with any measure of success. This being so, the forms of spelling given in the English standard dictionaries will be those used in our publications in the future, but scholars who use the simplified form will not be penalised at examinations.”

The majority of the Australian newspapers use the standard spelling, which, as a matter of fact, is in general use throughout the Commonwealth. Tiie move by the Victorian Education Department, therefore, was wise and timely.