{"product_id":"enough-is-enuf-our-failed-attempts-to-make-english-easier-to-spell","title":"Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Easier to Spell","description":"\u003cp\u003eA brief and humorous 500-year language history of the Simplified Spelling Movement from advocates like Ben Franklin, C. S. Lewis, and Mark Twain to texts and Twitter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy does the\u003ci\u003e G \u003c\/i\u003ein \u003ci\u003eGeorge\u003c\/i\u003e sound different from the \u003ci\u003eG \u003c\/i\u003ein \u003ci\u003egorge\u003c\/i\u003e? Why does \u003ci\u003eC \u003c\/i\u003ebegin both \u003ci\u003ecase \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003ecease\u003c\/i\u003e? And why is it funny when a philologist faints, but not polight to laf about it? Anyone who has ever had the misfortune to write in English has, at one time or another, struggled with its inconsistent English orthography.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo why do we continue to use it? If our system of writing words is so tragically inconsistent, why haven't we standardized it with a new phonetic alphabet, brought it into line? How many brave linguists have ever had the courage to state, in a declaration of phonetic revolt: \"Enough is \u003ci\u003eenuf\u003c\/i\u003e\"? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe answer: \u003ci\u003emany.\u003c\/i\u003e In the comic annals of linguistic history, legions of rebel wordsmiths have died on the hill of spelling reform, risking their reputations to bring English into the realm of the rational. This essential guide to language and linguistics is about them: Mark Twain, Ben Franklin, Eliza Burnz, C. S. Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Charles Darwin, and the innumerable others on both sides of the Atlantic who, for a time in their life, became fanatically occupied with writing \u003ci\u003ethru\u003c\/i\u003e instead of \u003ci\u003ethrough, tho\u003c\/i\u003e for \u003ci\u003ethough, laf\u003c\/i\u003e for \u003ci\u003elaugh, beleev\u003c\/i\u003e for \u003ci\u003ebelieve, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003edawter\u003c\/i\u003e for \u003ci\u003edaughter\u003c\/i\u003e (and tried futilely to get everyone around them to do it too). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHenry takes his humorous and informative chronicle right up to today as the language seems to naturally be simplifying to fit the needs of our changing world thanks to technology--from texting to Twitter and emojis, the Simplified Spelling Movement may finally be having its day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis laugh-out-loud journey through our language's chaotic past reveals the forgotten rebels, presidential decrees, and comic failures behind the spelling we use today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRebel Wordsmiths: \u003c\/b\u003e Meet the passionate, and often eccentric, advocates for change, from founding father Benjamin Franklin to literary giants like Mark Twain and George Bernard Shaw.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePresidential Meddling: \u003c\/b\u003e Discover the untold story of how President Theodore Roosevelt tried to force simplified spelling on the U.S. government--and how the press and Congress fought back.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThe Birth of the Dictionary: \u003c\/b\u003e Uncover the obsessive quest of Noah Webster to create a uniquely American dictionary, smuggling his own simplified spellings into its pages.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFrom Texting to Twitter: \u003c\/b\u003e Connect the dots from centuries-old reform movements to the shorthand of texting and emojis, and find out why the Simplified Spelling Movement may finally be winning.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:none\"\u003eISBN-10: 0063360217\u003cbr\u003eISBN-13: 9780063360211\u003cbr\u003eAuthor: Henry, Gabe\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Dey Street Books\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Dey Street Books","offers":[{"title":"HardCover (Apr 2025)","offer_id":45937266065605,"sku":"9780063360211","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0708\/6414\/2533\/files\/9780063360211.jpg?v=1772856705","url":"https:\/\/www.inveni.store\/products\/enough-is-enuf-our-failed-attempts-to-make-english-easier-to-spell","provider":"Inveni","version":"1.0","type":"link"}