Although the English language is perhaps the most powerful language in the world, the English spellings cause serious problems. Levels of illiteracy and functional illiteracy are significantly higher in English-speaking countries than in countries using other major languages. And, it's not because the language is more difficult, which it is not. It's because fewer than 7% of the English spellings actually represent the sounds of English speech.
The general lack of correspondence between the sounds of English speech and the way English words are spelled is seriously handicapping the student and adult populations in English-speaking countries all over the world. Research conducted in the United Sates in 1992, and confirmed in 2003, revealed that 47% of the adult population were either illiterate (20%) or functionally illiterate (27%); literacy studies in Canada in the early 1990's revealed the same levels. That's unacceptable. The structure of the English orthography is simpler than most other languages, so if the words were spelled properly, our illiteracy levels should be lower, not higher. And, they will be, once we emend the spellings.
The problems with the English spellings can be traced directly to the laissez faire attitude of the early English scribes, and the use of 93 different symbols in over 300 different ways to represent the 47 sounds of English speech in Modern English. That's a surplus of at least 46 symbols and of over 250 ways to represent speech. For a quick look at how Inglish is going to change things, check out "Inglish in a nutshell:"
Inglish rids the current symbol set of 52 surplus symbols; the ao, ay, bb, bh, cc, ci, ck, dd, dh, ea, eau, ei, eo, ew, ey, ff, gg, gh, gn, k, kh, kn, lh, ll, mb, mm, mn, nn, oa, ow, oy, ph, pn, pp, ps, pt, q, qu, rh, rr, sc, si, ti, ts, tt, ui, uu, uy, wh, wr, and x, and zz. The size of the symbol set is then 41 symbols, the a, aa, ae, ai, au, aw, b, c, ch, d, e, ee, eu, f, g, h, i, ie, j, l, m, n, ng, o, oe, oi, oo, ou, p, r, s, sh, ss, t, th, u, ue, v, w, y, z; 43, after we add the zh for a speech sound not otherwise represented, and the tth to allow us to unambiguously represent the voiced th. Thirty-seven (37 ) of the Inglish symbols represent a single speech value, and six (6), the a, e, h, i, o, and u represent two speech sounds each. The two values of the h are differentiated by position, and the two values of the short vowels are differentiated by placing a middle dot (·) before or after the vowel symbol to isolate their different speech sounds, omitting it where it is not needed.
The word spellings in the following listing identify the speech sounds of the Inglish symbols. Each line identifies a unique speech sound:
- a: - a, a·bet, a·dapta·bul, a·faurda·bul, a·fraed, a·gree, a·hed, a·round, dogma, sema·faur, stigma, etc.
- a: - abroegaet, act, and, angst, bah, bangc, dangul, fabeulus, hav, jaber, lahrd, mahrter, pass, paster, etc.
- aa: - caaree, caareeer, chaaritee, chaarita·bul, daalee, maareee, paaragraf, taaree, etc.
- ae: - aec, aed, baet, chaef, daet, daelee, faed, graev, laeic, maed, naep, prae, stae, wae, yae, etc.
- ai: - air, bair, cair, dair, fair, hair, pair, prair, rair, re·pair, shair, spair, stair, wair, etc.
- au: - auc, bauc, be·faur, cauc, faur, faurc, glauree, jau, maur, paur, saur, staur, thaut, waur, etc.
- aw: - aw, awn, bawl, crawl, drawl, draw, drawn, flaw, jaw, mawl, pawl, rawl, sprawl, straw, thaw, etc.
- b: - bac, bacdrop, bachand, bad, baet, beef, bib, biet, biten, biter, blacbaurd, braez, breef, blast, etc.
- c: - cab, cabreeoelae, cach, cacher, caebul, caes, caev, cair, cartaecer, cashae, ceep, ceepsaec, cid, etc.
- ch: - chad, chader, chaef, chaenj, chaf, chafer, cheetah, cheez, chest, chield, chiem, child, chilee, etc.
- d: - dab, dad, dahcah, dandee, daug, dec, de·cae, diem, dien, diener, diening, dip, doen't, dun, etc.
- e: - bet, cen, enjinir, fret, hem, jem, jender, jentul, just, leter, metric, nest, neuter, tueter, etc.
- e: - be·seech, de·seev, e·clips, e·colojee, e·cono·mee, e·lect, e·rect, re·seet, tele·graf, etc.
- ee: - beech, creec, deel, eezee, freelee, gees, grees, heeded, leeping, meen, neel, peel, reel, etc.
- eu: - cheu, feu, feucher, feud, feudul, feul, heu, meu, meul, peu, peubertee, peubesent, peubic, etc.
- f: - aft, after, auf, bahrf, be·faur, clif, drifter, fahren, faurwerd, foster, floe, frend, frie, etc.
- g: - aget, a·gloe, agra·vaet, gad, gaej, geld, get, getoe, giv, given, giving, goed, goel, goet, etc.
- h: - habit, hac, hach, had, haft, hagerd, hah, hem, hert, hip, hoecs, hoez, hoel, hum, husul, etc.
- h: - ah, bah, bahr, dah, duh, oeh, oeh-oeh, uempah, uh, uh-oeh, uh-huh, etc.
- i: - bib, bin, bit, din, diner, dither, fig, him, hiz, liter, mith, nit-pic, pristeen, sis, etc.
- i: - abi·gael, abaurti·sied, activi·tee, adi·tiv, ali·ment, condi·ment, multi-graend, sescwi·senteneeeul, etc.
- ie: - bie, die, flie, glied, hie, hieer, ie, ied, ieer, ies, lie, lieing, plie, plied, plieing, shie, etc.
- j: - aej, aejed, aejing, a·just, abjuer, be·jueld, bujit, bujited, chahrj, ga·rahj, inject, injer, etc.
- l: - ael, aeling, a·paul, baul, cauldron, daelee, eelee, finalee, gali·vant, hardlee, land, launch, etc.
- m: - admieer, a·miss, ampir, em, empieer, flaem, homi·lee, imateur, jam, jamba·ree, maejer, miener, etc.
- n: - an, band, chin, en, endir, enee, ensue, flint, in, ino·sent, inter, intermitent, maen, minee, etc.
- o: - bond, con, docter, don, fond, got, hop, job, josul, loc, mocing, not, poteree, stop, top-noch, etc.
- o: - abdo·men, abso·luet, aco·laed, a·cro·matic, aero·nautic, agrono·mee, bieo·nomic, cahrdeeo·gram, etc.
- oe: - boel, coeld, doe, foelder, gloe, hoest, hoetel, joecer, loecaet, moeter, noeshun, poeshun, etc.
- oi: - boil, coild, doilee, foil, gahrgoil, joist, loiter, moist, poiz, poizon, troi, troica, voil, etc.
- oo: - booc, cooc, cood, good, hooc, hood, looc, nooc, shooc, shood, stood, tooc, wood, etc.
- ou: - blous, bout, broun, cloun, clout, droun, drout, flout, grous, grout, handout, selout, stout, etc.
- p: - apt, bop, choper, coper, dolup, dropd, fliper, groeper, plaster, poester, practis, topul, weep, etc.
- r: - aaroe, a·fahr, ahrt, a·riev, bahr, cahrpet, driev, driven, feeler, greev, ha·rass, hahrder, daur, etc.
- s: - aster, a·stern, baets, beest, bieson, boest, does, foes, foster, goest, hoest, jest, leest, pees, etc.
- sh: - ash, a·shaur, a·sheur, cashir, dashd, fashun, gush, hush, mash, nosh, posh, shue, shut, wish, etc.
- t: - at, a·tend, be·tween, chater, dasterdlee, dauter, feet, great, hiet, liet, niet, peet, tuet, etc.
- th: - bath, bethel, brauth, clauth, die·theeist, eether, fifth, lath, moth, naurth, south, etc.
- tth: - a·nu·tther, baetth, bahtther, boetth, bredtth, fahrther, fe·tther, le·tther, u·tther, etc.
- u: - but, buter, cup, dun, fungus, gupee, hum, nut, puter, rut, sputer, tub, wunder, yupee, etc.
- u: - abju·raeshun, aju·tant, aj·vant, altoecuemu·lus, averdu·poi, blaschu·la,
- ue: - baara·cueda, blue, chue, drue, flue, gluecose, huemever, iglue, mued, nued, prued, stuedent, etc.
- v: - a·vast, a·venj, avenue, bievalv, cavern, clever, faever, giv, hav, jiev, laev, lavatauree, etc.
- w: - aw, awn, be·wair, dimwit, faurwahrn, waever, werds, we·tther, wich, wie, wig, wont, wuen't, wut, etc.
- y: - yac, yahrd, yaht, yanc, yap, yeest, yeling, yeloe, yern, yet, yir, yoega, yoeman, yonder, yuc, etc.
- z: - adz, az, blaez, craezee, daez, fraez, hazerd, lizerd, moezee, noez, o·poez, raez, raz-ma-taz, etc.
- zh: - ahrbi·traazh, azheur, baezh, beezhue, baurzhwah, fizhun, feuzhun, leezher, lezher, mezher, plezher, etc.
A very positive aspect of the Inglish spellings is that, except for the aa, ae, tth, and zh, each Inglish symbol represents a speech sound or speech sounds it represented in the English spellings. Also, the Inglish spelling rules are simple enough: Inglish eliminates all silent letters, including the second letter of doubled consonants, then drops the magic-e, so that all words can be spelled according to their speech sounds.