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fantastic_jackieNot short at all like my other ones, but this is just too cool and funny to pass up.
Beware: Below is an English Language & American History geek out. You have been so warned. ;)
Ever wonder why there are differences in spelling between US and UK English? Well, I didn’t learn the why yet, (aside from being different countries, of course), but I did discover an episode in 1906 involving Theodore Roosevelt and an organization called the Simplified Spelling Board.
Today is the former President’s birthday, and he was mentioned in my 2009 calendar of Forgotten English. As POTUS in 1906, he issued an Executive Order for the Government Printing Office to adopt 300 reformed spellings as issued by the Simplified Spelling Board. Furthermore, he directed that the report be copied and distributed throughout the government and implemented.
The SSB, also founded in 1906, was on a mission to reform spelling, which was, apparently in that time, not too crazy an idea. Spelling in English throughout history has changed and encompassed several variants, and their good intentions mission was to standardize the language.
Well, it didn’t go over well. Roosevelt was ridiculed for it by not only Congress, but the general public and the Press.
“Nuthing escapes Mr. Rucevelt. No subject is tu hi fr him to takl, nor tu lo for him to notis,” was the quote of one publication regarding the issue. Even the New York Times said they would treat any of the reformed spellings issued from the government as misspellings, and would correct them!
Congress, outraged over his attempt to pass this via executive fiat without even consulting any approval from them, as well as incensed at the lack of authority in the Constitution for the POTUS to oversee such things, went as far as to pass a joint resolution that expressed their disapproval of the Order.
Even the Supreme Court stated that they, too, would refuse to use the reformed spellings.
And so it was that President Roosevelt had to retract his Executive Order. It was never officially enacted, though many of the spellings were already commonplace and did eventually come to be the standards in American English anyway.
Some of the spellings were…
More here: http://www.johnreilly.info/trlist.htm
I just have one question: What kind of control freak did he have to be to place such attention as POTUS on English spellings?? LOL
Beware: Below is an English Language & American History geek out. You have been so warned. ;)
Ever wonder why there are differences in spelling between US and UK English? Well, I didn’t learn the why yet, (aside from being different countries, of course), but I did discover an episode in 1906 involving Theodore Roosevelt and an organization called the Simplified Spelling Board.
Today is the former President’s birthday, and he was mentioned in my 2009 calendar of Forgotten English. As POTUS in 1906, he issued an Executive Order for the Government Printing Office to adopt 300 reformed spellings as issued by the Simplified Spelling Board. Furthermore, he directed that the report be copied and distributed throughout the government and implemented.
The SSB, also founded in 1906, was on a mission to reform spelling, which was, apparently in that time, not too crazy an idea. Spelling in English throughout history has changed and encompassed several variants, and their good intentions mission was to standardize the language.
Well, it didn’t go over well. Roosevelt was ridiculed for it by not only Congress, but the general public and the Press.
“Nuthing escapes Mr. Rucevelt. No subject is tu hi fr him to takl, nor tu lo for him to notis,” was the quote of one publication regarding the issue. Even the New York Times said they would treat any of the reformed spellings issued from the government as misspellings, and would correct them!
Congress, outraged over his attempt to pass this via executive fiat without even consulting any approval from them, as well as incensed at the lack of authority in the Constitution for the POTUS to oversee such things, went as far as to pass a joint resolution that expressed their disapproval of the Order.
Even the Supreme Court stated that they, too, would refuse to use the reformed spellings.
And so it was that President Roosevelt had to retract his Executive Order. It was never officially enacted, though many of the spellings were already commonplace and did eventually come to be the standards in American English anyway.
Some of the spellings were…
| Old Spelling | New Spelling |
| Centre | Center |
| Cheque | Check |
| Clew | Clue |
| Colour | Color |
| Oesophagus | Esophagus |
| Aesthetic | Esthetic |
| Phantasy | Fantasy |
| Gaol | Jail |
| Licence | License |
| Partisan | Partizan |
| Practice | Practise, v. & n. |
| Through, thro', thro | Thru |
| Waggon | Wagon |
| Woe | Wo |
More here: http://www.johnreilly.info/trlist.htm
I just have one question: What kind of control freak did he have to be to place such attention as POTUS on English spellings?? LOL
