PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2738, 5 September 1906, Page 83

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

THE AMERICAN SIMPLIFIED SPELL-

ING LIST.

Several times lately we have heard of the Americanising of our spelling, and often the criticisms English writers have made of the reforms being introduced have not been at all complimentary ; but adverse criticisms will not stay the current of American public opinion. With a Carnegie to finance a Spelling-Reform League, and a President Roosevelt to make official am* reforms agreed upon, it will be useless for js to object, unless we intend the Americans — that word is too wide in its meaning to apply to ,he inhabitants of the United States, but it has acquired that meaning and will fceep it — to develop a language of its own, and therefore a distinctive spelling.

Thinking that this subject will interest many of my readers, I am appending the list which I think has been made official, prefaced with the introduction accompanying it in the journal I obtained it from. It will be noticed that many spellings now made standard in the United States are justified by many of our best writers past and present, so that, to object, is to object to the spelling of Tennyson, Lowell, Browning, Shakespeare — Dowden spells it "Shakspere" — and a score or two of those leading in literature : and if in literature, why not in spelling? Again, most of the forms fixed upon are preferred by one or more of the three greatest pronouncing dictionaries published — all American, and recognised as standards throughout the British Empire. I was going to criticise some of the forms adopted, but shall content myself with alluding to one only — the adoption of "ize" as a verbal termination. The tendency has been to make "ise" do all this work; but "ise" is adopted, I suppose, because, philologically, it is the correct form. Philology, however, 'has not stayed the 'hand in most cases, though "rime" and one or two others have returned nearer to the original. Why not do the same with island (Hand), could, and a few others? These and otheT additional reforms will all come in jgood time. But I said I would not criticise. Here is tha list : —

The "List of Common word's spelled in two or more ways," published by the Simplified Spelling Board, has proved to be an effective argument in, the hands of the advocates of simplified spelling. It contains a selection of 300 common words in which the process of stereotyping irregular or anomalous forms has not prevailed and in which, therefore, a choice still lies open between a simple or normal form, and a less simple or anomalous form.

The list is printed foi the use of teachers, lecturers, writers, and others who may undertake to promote the acceptance and use of the simpler forms in schools, newspapers, and elsewhere.

English dictionaries have shown a progressive simplification of spellings. The progress since Webster's first quarto edition (1828) has been almost systematic, each dictionary going ahead of its predecessor in the extent of simplification.

Of the 300 simple forms included in the list, more than one-half are preferred by Webster's dictionary, more than six-tenths are preferred by the Century, and twothirds are preferred by the Standard; while nearly all the rest, except some of the inflected forma (which are often ignored), are allowed by all three dictionaries as alternative spellings, in many cases held equal in authority or superior in etymological accuracy to the form nominally preferred. The result is, in short, that nearly the -whole list has the sanction of all the dictionaries current in the United States, either as preferred or alternative spellings.

LIST OF SIMPLE FORMS.

Abridgment, accouter, accurst, acknowledgment, addrest (Spenser, Johnson, Milton, Pope, Fitzgerald), adz, affixt, altho (Bunyan), anapest, anemia, anesthesia, anesthetic, antipyrin, antitoxin, apothern (better than "apothegm"), apprize (Goldsmith, Miss Edge-worth), arbor, archeology (Skeat), ardor, armor, artizan. assize, ax. Bans (not "banns") (Gay), bark (not "barque"), behavior, blest, blusht (Shakespeare. Burns), brazen, brazier, bun, bur. Caliber, caliper, candor, chapt, check, checker, chimera, civilize, clamor, clangor, clapt (Bible 1611. Shakespeare, Fuller, De Foe, Lamb, Tennyson), claspt (Stanyhurst, Goldsmith, Tennyson), dipt (Bible 1611, Shelley, Tennyson), clue, coeval, color, colter, commixt, comprest (Tennyson), comprize (Holland, Florio, Henry More), confest (Milton, Dryden, Pope, Gray, Goldsmith, Trumbull), controller, coquet, criticize, oropt (Bible 1611. Pone, Shakespeare, Bunyan, Dryden. Burns, Scott, Tennyson, Lowell), crusbt (Spenser, Bible 1611, Milton. Fuller, Burns), cue, curst (Shakespeare, Drvden, Goldsmith, Pope, Burns), cutlas, cyclopedia. Dactyl, dasht, decalojr, defense, carest (not "carewed") (Burns), catalog, catechize, center, demagog, demeanor, deposit, deprest (Milton, Gray, Burns), develop, diereaLs, dike, dipt (Bible 1611. Milton, Fuller, Pope. Gray, Shen«tone, Scott, Tennyson, Lowell), disoust, dispatch, distil, distrust (Milton, Thomson, Goldsmith. Burns, Lamb, Tennyson), dript (Hacket), droopt (Tennyson), dropt (Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Poee, Burns, Scott, Coleridge, Landor, Mw

Browning, Tennyson, Swinburne, Lowell, Lytton), dulness (lope, Thomson) Ecumenical edile, egis, enamor, encyclo* pedia, endeavor, envelop, Eolian, eon, epaulet, eponym, era, esophagus, esthetic, esthetics, estivate, ether, etiology, exorcize, exprest (Spenser, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Goldsmith).

Fagot, fantasm, fantom. favor, favorite^ fervor, fiber, fixt (Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Cowley, Dryden, Thomson, Thiriwall), flavor, fulfil, fulness.

Gaze, gazel, gelatin, gild (not "guild"), gip. 3 y. glose, glycerin, good-by, gram, grip! (Milton, Tennyson). Harbor, harken. hcapt (Shakespeare, Jon* son, Milton, LowelH, hematin, hiccup, hock (not "hough"), homeopathy, homonym, honor, humor, husht (Sl»akespeare, Dryden, Wilson, Lytton), hypotenuse. Idolize, imprest (Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Burns, Cary), instil, jail, judgment.

Kisr (Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson, Milton, Goldsmith, Lamb, Tennyson). Labor, lacrimal, lapt (Hooker, Tennyson, Low«ll, Lewis, Morris), lasht (Spenser, Shakespeare, Quarks), leapt (Shakespeare, Johnson, Addison, Collins, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Mrs Browning, Swinburne), legalize, license, licorice, liter, lodgment, lookt (Spenser. Shakespeare^. Jonson, Milton, Bunvan, De Foe), lopt (Shakespeare Jonson, Milton, Young), luster. Mama, maneuver, materialize, meager, medioval, meter, mist (not "missed") (Shakespeare, Milton, Bunyan, Lowell), miter, mixt (Bible 1611. Shakespeare, Ba«on, Jonson, Milton, Addison, Pope, Shenstone, Lowth), mold, molder, molding, moldy, mullen.

Naturalize, neighbor, niter, nipt (Spenser, Shakespeare, Pope, Shelley). Ocher, odor, offense, omelet - opprest (Sptenser, Jonson, Milton, Dryden, Pope* Thomson, Goldsmith, Burns, Byron, Tennyson), orthopedic. Paleography, Paleolithic, paleontology, paleozoic, paraffin, parlor, partizan, past (not "passed") (Shakespeare, Dryden, Pope, Lowth, Goldsmith, Burns, Tennyson, Fitzgerald), patronize, pedagog, pedobaptist, phenix, phenomenon, pitrmv. plow, polyp, possest (Spenser, Shakespeare, Jonson, Hooker. Raleigh. Milton, Fuller, Addison, Pope Gray, Goldsmith, Lowell), practise, prefixt, prenomen. prest (Spenser, Milton, Dryden, Pope. Goldsmith. Burns, Tennyson. Lowell. Fitzarerald). nretehse, preterit, pretermit, primeval, protest (Sptenser, Shakespeare, Jonson, Pope, Lamb), program (Scott, Sweet), prolog, propt (Dryden, Pope, Burns, Tennyson, Lowell), pur. Quartet, questor, quintet. Rancor, -r-«^pfc (not **«r«-f>^ve«3**) T s?az^_ T*o©gP— nize, reconnoiter, rigor, rime, ript (Cowper), rumor.

Saber, salrrjpter, savior, savor, scepter, s«ptet, sepulcher, sextet, silvan (Scott), simitar, sipt (Lamb. Tennyson, Jon son), sithe. Skilful, skipt (Shakespeare, Milton), slipt (Shakespeare, Hooker, Jonson, Tennyson), smolder, snapt (Lowth, Coleridge), somber, snecter. splendor, stedfast (Bible 1611. 1906\ sept (Milton. Bunyan. Pone. Goldsmith. Burns. Scott, Jano Aust«"nvson). «topt fShakesneare. Milton. Thomson. Goldsmith. Scott. Jane Al -n, Tennyson). streat, striot (Shakespeare. Puller, Bunvan, Pooe, Richardson. Gokbmith, Burns. Lamb, Tennyson. Lowell), subpena, succor, suflfixt. si tl fate, sulfur, sumac, supprest (Hooker. .Tonson. Fuller. Pope), surprize (Fuller. Thomson. Shenstonc, Goldsmith. Jane Austen), synonym. Tabor, t&nt {Tennyson). teazel, tenor, ♦ heater tho (Evelyn. Bunvan), thoro. thorO' fare, thorolv. thru, thruout. tint (Milton, Pope, Somer^ille). topt, tost (Milton. Dryden. Ray, Thomson. Shonstone. Burns, ■Whittier, Lowell), tranesrrest (Hooker), trant. triot (Shakeeveare, Shcnstone, Landor). tumor. Valor, vapor, vcxt (Shakespeare. Milton, Pope. Thomson. Tennyson, Longfellow. Lowell*, visor, vizor, wagon, washt (Putenham. Spen'ver. Shakosneare. Hookor). whipfc '(Rhakcspeare. Fuller. Pone. Scott), whisky, wilful, winkt. wisht (Swn«er. Shakespeare. Jonson. Milton), wo. woful woolen, wrapt (Jonson. Milton. Fuller. Drvden. Burns, Pope, Cowper. Scott. Lowell. Fiske).