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Written by fellpony (1646 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
I like the point of stanza three, that's clever. Stanza four misses the point, though, because the F wasn't an F but a long S.
Do you know "I halve a Spelling Chequer"? |
Correct spelling
Written by Josie (2823 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
| The problem with English is that every vowel sound has several different ways of spelling it: through/two/blue/grew etc - only one example of millions. Children need to read a word and hear it at the same time, at least three times (that is the magic number in habit formation). This is why I have put my poems for children on my website with my own clear voice recording accompanying them (at the request of children), to help them with their spelling. Don't let your seven year old see the above spellings please as they make stick in his/her brain. I must do an article on this because I have been a skills teacher all my life. |
Written by punchy (504 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
I like your poem. As a bad speller myself which is so frequently pointed out on this site, it is a pleasure to read your ( oh so easy to read) poem.  |
Written by hutmaster (134 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
I agree with punchy on this; it is so very easy to read. Makes you wonder why all the fuss and hullaballoo about this spelling lark. I heard a radio doc about the falling standards of spelling and punctuation some time ago and the point made there was that the influence of text messaging and emails may make it easier (for some of us, anyway) to accept less formal spelling in the future.
The fact that your poem makes sense despite its unorthodox presentation suggests that there may be a certain snobbery to the 'correct' spelling of words. I don't argue for not teaching 'correct' spelling but would hate to stifle a child's (or an adult's) creativity in pursuit of some ancient idea of how a word must look.
Anyway I enjoyed this. A pleasure to read.
hm |
Written by audrie (454 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
I also tend to agree with punchy and hm on this although I do confess to liking to see the correct spelling. More important, I think, is getting the facts right.
This is a light-hearted plea for acceptance of errors, and it amused me.
We think English is hard to study but when my son had to learn Japanese, he found that there are 9 tones to every vowel! Imagine having to master that! Goodness knows how they interpret that in writing! |
Written by gutterkitty (362 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
| No offence but I feel like I've seen this all before. |
Written by maipenrai (784 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
| DONT DO THIS, THIS A ASULLT TO MY EYES |
Written by stevetroster (1588 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
"Of course, all the townspeople wildly praised the magnificent clothes, afraid to admit that they could not see them, until a small child said: 'But he has nothing on!'."
The Emperor's new clothes: The metaphor involves a situation wherein the overwhelming majority of observers willingly share in a collective ignorance of an obvious fact.
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Written by JohnFHamill (34 comments posted) 9th December 2007 |
I'm not too good a speller myself, although I'm a strong believer in the importance of getting it right. Shakespeare was a terrible speller but he set the standard for english literature. I've never seen a poem done this way before, and it is still easy to read which is clever! |
Written by Fledermaus (3448 comments posted) 10th December 2007 |
| Speaking of this... Who actually decides what is good English? In France they have the Academie Francaise and in the Netherlands and Belgium they have the Taalunie (whom I just as happily ignore btw). Yet for English no such thing exists does there? |
English as she is spoke
Written by fellpony (1646 comments posted) 10th December 2007 |
| The arbiter these days is the Oxford English Dictionary, inheritor of a long line of lexicographers beginning with Dr Johnson back in the late 18th C. There is an annual update of words recognised by the OED which usually makes a small item on the evening news bulletin on Radio 4. Last year I think "hoodie" was one of those recognised. Or was that the year before? |
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