it would be really ridiculous if it weren't so serious. At present
the German speaking countries try to make a change in some
spellings (orthography). The first since more than 90 years.
You wouldn't believe what these changes caused a kind of earthquakes.
Harro
>It looks like the Germans thought that one up, I wonder if Harro had
>anything to do with it! :-)
>Roy Hunter
>Co-Chairman
>ANGFA of North America
>visit the ANGFA website at:
>http://www.angfa.org
>reach me at:
>roy at angfa.org
----------
> From: chris drew <drews at webgate.net>
> To: Rainbowfish List <rainbowfish at pcug.org.au>
> Subject: [RML] Double SPAM!!
> Date: Thursday, May 08, 1997 5:17 AM
>
> Don't laugh too loudly when you read this:
>
> Do You Know European?
>
> Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EEC (now
> officially
> the European Union, or EU), the European Parliament has commissioned a
> feasibility study in ways of improving efficiency in communications
> between
> Government departments. European officials have often pointed out that
> English spelling is unnecessarily difficult. For example: cough, plough,
> here, hear, bow, bough, through and thorough. What is clearly needed is
> a
> phased program of changes to iron out these anomalies. The program would
> be
> administered by a committee of top level staff chosen by the
> participating
> nations.
>
> In the first year, for example, the committee might suggest using "s"
> instead of the soft "c". Sertainly, sivil servants in all sities would
> resieve this news with joy. The hard "c" could then be replased by "k"
> sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. This would not only klear up
> konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters and
> keyboards
> kould be made with one fewer letter, a signifikant saving.
>
> In the sekond year, bekause of growing enthusiasm, it will be announsed
> that the troublesome "ph" would henseforth be written "f". This would
> make
> words like "fotograf" twenty persent shorter in print.
>
> In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted
> to
> reash the stage where more komplikated shanges are possible. Governments
> would enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a
> deterent to akurate speling.
>
> We would al agre that the horible mes of silent "e"'s in the languag is
> disgrasful. Therefor, we kould drop thes and kontinu to read and writ as
> though nothing had hapend.
>
> By this tim it would be four years sins the skem began and peopl would
> be
> reseptiv to steps sush as replasing "th" by "z". Perhaps zen ze funktion
> of
> "w" kould be taken on by "v", vitsh is, after al, half a "w". Finaly, ze
> unesesary "o" kuld be dropd from words kontaining "ou". Similar
> arguments
> vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.
>
> Kontinuing zis proses yer aftr yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli sensibl
> riten stil. Aftr tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls or difikultis and
> evrion vud fin it ezi tu understan esh ozer. Ze drems of ze E.U. vud
> finali
> kum tru.