SR1

For other uses, see SR1 (disambiguation).

Spelling Reform 1 (commonly known as SR1) is an Australian spelling reform proposed by British-Australian engineer, mathematician, and linguist Harry Lindgren in 1969. Its one rule is that the short E vowel (as in bet) is spelt only as E.^[1] For example, friend would become frend and head would become hed. Lindgren believed that English spelling should be phonetic ("this sound is written thus") and that we should achieve this gradually in a step-by-step process. Each step, or SR, would introduce a small, simple, easy-to-grasp rule in order to incrementally adjust English orthography over a couple of generations.^[2] One of his principles was "SR1 and nothing else"^[3] as he believed the public couldn't adopt multiple spelling reforms at once. Spelling Reform: A New Approach (1969), the book he published his reform in, only included the first step, SR1. Lindgren intentionally neglected writing about SR2 and subsequent steps so regulatory bodies could freely plan them in the future. However, he wrote that future SRs should include spelling the other short vowels phonetically as well. For example, /ɒ/ (as in hot) would be spelt only as ⟨o⟩ (e.g. salt → solt and wash → wosh). He believed consonants should also be reformed (e.g. of → ov and nephew → nevew) but advised that they're less urgent than vowels. Each SR would be introduced only once the public had become familiarised with the last.^[4]

SR1 in practice

Lindgren provided the following examples to demonstrate what SR1 would change.^[1]

/ɛ/	Current	SR1
a	any	eny
ae	haemorrhage	hemorrhage
ai	said	sed
ay	says	ses
ea	head	hed
ee	threepence	threpence
ei	heifer	hefer
eo	leopard	lepard
ie	friend	frend
u	bury	bery
ue	guess	gess

In his book, Lindgren claims that SR1 would affect 1 in 165 words (0.6%), with the most common SR1 words being eny, meny, insted and potentially sed.^[1] He would later claim that SR1 affects about 1 in 100 words.^[5] From a compiled list of the top 500 most common words in English, SR1 was found to modify 2% of nouns, 1% of verbs, and 5% of adjectives.^[6] In 1978, one of the most commonly used word lists by teachers in Australia was the Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary; SR1 modifies 1.7% (1 in 59) of its words.^[6]

Examples in writing

The following poem was written using SR1.^[7]

Draw a breth for progress,
Tred abrest ahed.
Fight agenst old spelling,
Better "red" than "read."
Spred the words at brekfast,
Mesure them in bed,
Dream of welth and tresure,
Better "ded" than "dead."

The following is an excerpt from page 23 of Spelling Reform: A New Approach (1969) containing three words modified by SR1.^[1]

In the first place, you will surely agree that enyone who ses it looks awful is talking through his hat. In the second place, the only books at all affected are dictionaries (uni- and bi-lingual) and language textbooks. To them one need only add the SRI list. It can be inserted in books alredy printed; if a book is being reprinted unrevised, the list can be included in the reprinting as a supplement.

Purpose of SR1

Lindgren, once a schoolteacher in Western Australia, became convinced that learning to spell is dull and wasted too much time.^[1][8][9] In his book he claims that pupils devote 500 hours towards learning to spell but only 100 hours would be needed to reach the same standard with reformed spelling (or that spelling lessons could be abolished entirely).^[1] Lindgren argued that making spelling phonetic would help dyslexic children and poor readers,^[10] believing that SR1 would give such children a fair go.^[1][11] His goal was to eliminate illiteracy by reducing spelling's difficulty to less than a tenth of what it is.^[10] Around the time his reform was published, reportedly up to 40% of Australian students left secondary school "virtually illiterate."^[2] Lindgren showcased typical spelling mistakes and oddities that he believed would happen less with phonetic spelling, such as confusing sweet with sweat^[12] and children struggling to spell isosceles and cycle (after learning bicycle).^[1] He also thought that English spelling was outdated and unpredictable compared to other languages, giving precede, proceed, bereave, receive, and relieve as examples of English's irregularity.^[1] Lindgren's step-by-step approach was chosen to cause the least amount of disturbance^[1][2]. He also claims the cost of reforming spelling would be "next to nothing" and would be more beneficial than even, for instance, Australia's switch to decimal currency.^[1]

Public reception

SR1 received promising attention in Australia. Two years after publishing his book, in 1971, Lindgren founded the Spelling Action Society (SAS) in Canberra and published the newsletter Spelling Action to publicise SR1.^[9][13][14] He would also frequently write editorials in magazines and The Canberra Times talking about spelling reform. Dr. L. J. J. Nye wrote a booklet titled An International Language as a World Civilising Influence in SR1 and would later in 1972 also write fiction novel Escape to Elysium in SR1.^[13][15][16] From 1970 onwards, SR1 was used by Kevin Grover in his regular features in The Teachers' Journal.^[13][15][16] Also in 1970, Ross Williams used SR1 in the journal Modern Teaching and newsletter Coffee Talk, both publications of the Modern Teaching Methods Association.^[15][16] Doug Everingham, the former Australian Minister for Health from 1972 to 1975 and member of SAS, began advocating for SR1 by referring to himself as the "Minister for Helth" and his department as the "Department of Helth,"^[13][17][18] which former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam found amusing, naming himself "Gof" and Doug "Dug" in their correspondences.^[14] In 1973, the principle of Murwillumbah High School, Joe Elliot, began publishing weekly school notes using SR1.^[16] Also in 1973, the magazine Canberra Poety announced it would publish issues in SR1 and other reforms.^[19] In March 1975, Mark O’Connor, one of Australia's most famous and accomplished poets, wrote Reef Poems in SR1.^[13][16][20] In 1976, Rosemary Walters wrote in SR1 In the Pub: a guide to the learning resources in the Public Service (A.C.T.) for the Canberra Ministry of Education.^[16] By around 1975, the Spelling Action Society had over 700 members across Australia, making SR1 one of the most popular spelling reforms of the time.^[6] Beginning in 1977, SR1 was used throughout the periodical The ANU Scientist.^[16] In December 1977, Graham Jackson published the fiction novel The Coals of Juniper in SR1^[16], followed by Judith Rodriguez in 1978 with her poety book Shadow on Glass.^[16] Beginning in March 1978, SR1 was used throughout Teacher Feedback, a periodical published by the NSW Teachers Federation.^[16] SR1 made its way to the United States as well, with the American magazine Computers and People having some editorals written in SR1.^[16] In 1980, Mark O'Connor would again publish another poety book in SR1 titled The Eating Tree.^[21] In 1984, the UK-based Simplified Spelling Society, of which Lindgren was a member, adopted SR1 along with four other reforms into its own reform named Stage 1.^[22] This reform became the house-style of the society, with publications and correspondences subsequently written in it.^[22]

Australian Teachers' Federation

In January 1975, the Australian Teachers' Federation voted during their annual meeting on whether Australian schools should teach SR1.^[6][23][24] C. R. Barnfield, the president of the Tasmanian Teachers' Federation, introducing the proposal, argued that English spelling was archaic and learning it wasted time.^[23][24] J. Christiansen, of the Queensland Teachers' Union, agreed, arguing that vowel shifts should finally be recognised in our spelling.^[24] Members from the Victorian Teachers' Federation and South Australian Institute of Teachers opposed the spelling reform, arguing it would be confusing and expensive to adopt.^[24] Dr. J. Vaughan, member of the NSW Department of Education, promised to consider the proposal if it was officially submitted to the department.^[24] The vote succeeded, and the federation went on to recommended state educational authorities and the Commonwealth Schools Commission that English spelling should be reformed.^[23][24][25] The former Premier of Victoria Rupert Hamer and the acting Victorian Minister for Education gave permission for schools to teach SR1 in Victoria, though traditional spelling continued to be used.^[13][23] Starting in the 1980's, the Australian Teachers' Federation went through rebrands and mergers with other unions, becoming the Australian Education Union in 1993.^[26] Their SR1 policy was not carried over.

Criticism

SR1 drew criticism from both linguists and the public, causing big debates in papers such as The Canberra Times and Sunday Mail.^[27] When the Australian Teachers' Federation recommended that schools should teach SR1, several public figures initially supported the proposal but backtracked after public backlash.^[28] It was used to mock the Whitlam government and Australian Labor Party, of which Everingham, the "Minister of Helth," was a member of.^[29] People called spelling reforms like SR1 vandalism of English and said it would sever etymological roots and semantic links.^[2][30] Some feared SR1 would diminish the beauty, richness, and flexibility of English and disconnect us from old literature.^[31] Others simply thought it was ugly^[32] and ridiculous.^[33] Other spelling reformers disagreed with SR1's approach,^[34] with some claiming that one small adjustment at a time wasn't enough^[31] and others protesting that ⟨gh⟩ spellings should be fixed first instead of short ⟨e⟩.^[27] Another critique was that spelling homophones the same is confusing.^[35] Critics further argued that it could alienate Australia from other English-speaking countries countries if they refused to partake in the spelling reform.^[32][36][37] They also expressed that it's impossible to spell words phonetically anyway as English speakers around the world often pronounce them differently.^[38][39] Spelling reformers like Lindgren were also criticised for being arrogant and imposing.^[27][38][40]

Outcome of SR1

Despite enthusiasm in the 1970's, and many writers and editors voluntarily practising the spelling reform, SR1 has had no long-term success in Australia. SR1 faded from the public consciousness over the next few decades, and with Lindgren's declining health and death in 1992,^[9][14] and despite Everingham briefly becoming the editor of Spelling Action, the SAS and its newsletter ceased to exist.^[14] The Simplified Spelling Society (now English Spelling Society) has since moved on from SR1 and Stage 1.

Phonetic A and B

In Spelling Reform: A New Approach (1969), Lindgren also published two lesser-known phonetic writing systems for English alongside SR1. They are more advanced than SR1 as they completely revolutionise English orthography instead of only standardising /ɛ/. Lindgren bases these two reforms on New Spelling by Walter Ripman and William Archer. The following excerpt is from Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, which Lindgren uses to demonstrate Phonetic A and B.

If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be by Christian example? Why, revenge.

The examples of Phonetic A and B used below are directly from Spelling Reform: A New Approach (1969).

Phonetic A

Phonetic A introduces no new letters or diacritics. It simplifies English's vowels so they are consistent and match other languages like Italian and German. Lindgren repurposes the apostrophe to represent schwa, arguing this will simplify confusing suffixes, such as ⟨-able⟩, ⟨-ible⟩, ⟨-er⟩, ⟨-or⟩, ⟨-ar⟩, ⟨-ence⟩, and ⟨-ance⟩, and will also help indicate stress, such as purf'kt vs. p'rfekt. Double letters are removed.

• Short vowels (except /ʊ/) are spelt the same: /æ/ → a, /ɛ/ → e, /ɪ/ → i, /ɒ/ → o, /ʌ/ → u, /ʊ/ → oo
• Diphthongs become: /eɪ/ → ei, /aɪ/ → ai, /ɔɪ/ → oi, /oʊ/ → ou, /aʊ/ → au (die → dai, lay → dei, how → hau, coy → koi)
• Schwa is replaced with an apostrophe (seven → sev'n, quiet → kwai't, society → s'sai'ti, committee → k'miti, arose → 'rouz, you → y')
  • Words ending with ⟨-r⟩ suffixes use ⟨r⟩ instead of an apostrophe (colour → kulr, grammar → gramr, sister → sistr, officer → of'sr)
  • However, apostrophes are removed if they're unnecessary or the consonant cluster doesn't exist: s'sai'ti → ssai'ti, k'miti → kmiti, horror → hor'r → horr, fences → fens'z → fensz, chorus → ko'r's → ko'rs (it's safe to spell committee as kmiti since /km/ doesn't occur in English)
• Long vowels are also indicated with an apostrophe: /ɛə/ → e', /ɪə/ → i', /aː/ → a', /ɔː/ → o', /ɜː/ → u' (story → sto'ri, fairy → fe'ri)
  • But if the long vowel isn't followed by another vowel or if the word ends with the vowel: /ɛə/ → er, /ɪə/ → ir, /ɔː/ → or, /aː/ → ar, /ɜː/ → ur (tar → tar, sort → sort, fare → fer, weird → wird, tart → tart)
  • Long ⟨e⟩ is also written with an apostrophe: /iː/ → i' (lean → li'n, lien → li''n)
  • Long ⟨u⟩ is written as: /uː/ → uu, /juː/ → yu
• Consonants and digraphs become: q → kw, x → ks or gz, wh → w, /k/ → k, /tʃ/ → c, /z/ → z, /s/ → s, /dʒ/ → j, /ŋ/ → ng, /ð/ → dh, /ʒ/ → zh, /j/ → y (quiet → kwai't, axes → aksz, is → iz, church → curc, gem → jem, ink → ingk, finger → fingger, this → dhis, vision → vizhn, million → milyn)
  • Syllabic consonants are spelt on their own (handsome → hansm, little → litl)
  • ⟨-ed⟩ when pronounced as /t/ is spelt as ⟨t⟩ (stopped → stopt)
• Hyphens indicate letters are pronounced separately (engage → engeij → en-geij, lighthouse → laithaus → lait-haus)
• Article ⟨a⟩ when unstressed is fused with the following word (An apple and a pear → 'N apl 'nd 'per)

If y' prik 's, duu wi not bli'd? if y' tikl 's, duu wi not la'f? if y' poizn 's, duu wi not dai? 'nd if y' rong 's, shal wi not rivenj? If wi 'r laik yu in dh' rest, wi wl rizembl yu in dhat. If 'Juu rong 'Kristyn, wot iz hiz hy'mil'ti? Rivenj. If 'Kristyn rong 'Juu, wot shd hiz sufr'ns bi' bai Kristyn egzampl? Wai, rivenj.

Phonetic B

Lindgren considers Phonetic B to be the more efficient and attractive reform. It is largely similar to Phonetic A but uses three French diacritics (acute accent ◌́, grave accent ◌̀, and circumflex ◌̂) to replace digraphs and indicate vowel length. For example: radio → reidiou (Phonetic A) → rédiô (Phonetic B). It also allows more words to combine.

• Short vowels are the same as Phonetic A except for /ʊ/: oo → ú (good → gúd)
• Diphthongs become: ei → é, ai → á, oi → ó, ou → ô, au → â (lion → lai'n → lá'n, lay → lei → lé)
• Long vowels become: e' → è, i' → ì, a' → à, o' → ò, u' → ù (fairy → fe'ri → fèri, palm → pa'm → pàm, haul → ho'l → hòl)
  • Long ⟨e⟩ becomes: i' → ì (lean → li'n → lìn)
  • Long ⟨u⟩ becomes: uu → û, yu → yû (moon → muun → mûn)
• Consonant digraphs become: /ŋ/ → n̂, /ð/ → d̂, /θ/ → t̂, /ʒ/ → ẑ, /ʃ/ → ŝ (shut → ŝut, this → dhis → d̂is, ink → ingk → in̂k, vision → vizhn → viẑn)
• Words are also fused:
  • Unstressed articles a, an, the and to with the following word ("The way" → D̂wé, "To a better" → Tú'betr)
  • A preposition and a personal pronoun ("From me" → Fr'mmì, "To you" → t'yû)
  • Finite verb and a preceding or following personal pronoun or unstressed there ("She likes me" → Ŝiláksmi)
  • A verb or verb with pronoun and not or n't ("We have not" → Wih'vnot, "Haven't we?" → Hav'ntwi?)
• Hyphens can be omitted as the digraphs are defunct (lait-haus → láthâs)

If yprik's, dûwinot blìd? if ytik'l's, dûwinot làf? if ypóz'n's, dûwinot dá? 'nd if yron̂'s, ŝalwinot rivenj? If wir lákyú in d̂rest, wiwl rizemb'lyú in d̂at. If 'Jû ron̂ 'Kristyn, wot iz hiz hy'mil'ti? Rivenj. If 'Kristyn ron̂ 'Jû, wot ŝd hiz sufr'ns bì bá Kristyn egzampl? Wá, rivenj.

See also

• List of reforms of the English language
• Cut Spelling
• Handbook of Simplified Spelling
• C. J. Dennis
• Traditional Spelling Revised
• SoundSpel