Howdy

[JO 753]

I like the idea uv this place!

I've been a member uv the Skeptics Society Forum since it began in 2005. Great forum, but, like your charter states, the societyz founder and many uv the memberz are not proper skeptics.

About me:

JO 753 iz my real name, I'm a white male middle age fart, live in America, started a campaign to introduce an english based international spelling system called Nooalf, think Obama iz great, drive a hoopty rig 72 Chrysler New Yorker, self employed az a mechanical engineering super genius and am impatiently awaiting seazon 4 uv Breaking Bad.

[NinjaPuppy]

Welcome!

[JO 753]

Thanks. Kool avatar! Looks like my cat, JeRE, who likes to slash at my face.

[NinjaPuppy]

[Craig Browning]

I couldn't help but crack up when I saw this line. . . "started a campaign to introduce an english based international spelling system. . ." after seeing so much text-styled faux-language in your post -- iz vs. is, etc. While I applaud phonetics I also believe that language has established guidelines and proven rules for very specific reasons... I think they call it COMMUNICATION or some such silliness.

Pardon my rant here, but I'm just old fashioned in the sense of believing we need to actually EDUCATE young people rather than encourage them to be lazy (which seems the unfortunate agenda of today's public education system).

Again, pardon my brashness in that I would like to welcome you to the fun & games but would likewise encourage you to actually use proper spelling so those of us that are a bit older and stubborn than you can better understand what you may be trying to convey.

[JO 753]

Hi Craig.

Rant Pardoned. Az you woud expect, I get this all the time.

You hav the lazyness thing backwardz, actually.

Imagine you're a 5 year old in kindergarten and the main educational authority figure in your life iz telling you that disorganization, innefficiency and contradictions are fine & dandy. Woudnt this give you a good excuse to not clean your room wen mommy told you to?

I agree that our educational system haz major problemz, but its nothing new. Perpetuating & enforcing traditional english spelling iz the biggest wun.

[Arouet]

Dude...

(that's it.)

[Craig Browning]

[JO 753]

There, they're and their are all perfectly differentiated in speech by context, so wut makes you believe it duznt work wen ritten?

The lost difference argument failz thru comparison with existing spelling also. How many wordz can you find in the dictionary that hav more than 1 definition? Sumtimez they are related to sum degree, but very commonly, they are completely different. I dont know how lexicograferz decide wen to write a new entry or just another numbered definition, but it makes no difference. Different definition = a different word. On top uv that, there are wordz that are spelled the same yet pronounced differently also! Live & live. Wind and wind.

If you really want to debate this seriously, Craig, you shoud read Krazy JOz Bad Lojik Skeet Shooting Club at nooalf.com first.

About Spanish, yes; Nooalf coverz spanish better than its own spelling duz. Since english haz more soundz than most other languagez, Nooalf can be used to spell many uv them quite accurately. Spanish haz 24 soundz but it haz 26 general exceptionz/comprimizez to the fonetic ideal, so, even tho its a miracle uv perfection compared to regular english spelling, its a laffable mess by my standard.

About respect, I understand the perception, but its not the product uv reazon. People alwayz rezist change. They also adapt to wutever circumstancez they grow up in, no matter how bad. Regular english spelling iz like a neglected catchbasin! A kaotic stew uv wutever glop and chunks accumulated over the centuryz. I believe the disregard for lojik people hav iz at least partially due to growing up with english spelling.

[Craig Browning]

No debate about it, in the real world -- the EDUCATED and functioning world in which PROPER communication is required (HINT: That's the bulk of society) your concept will be and probably is being ignored as well as mocked -- it's STUPID! It encourages stupidity alongside lethargy and most unfortunately, it adds to the whole Dumbing Down of the U.S. in particular and probably much of the UK (primarily English speaking nations).

You are most likely the sort that has always enjoyed going against social norms; anything to gain attention and stir controversy. I'm all too familiar with this type of persona and have never found it to be something that should be taken even half-way serious; as they say, it's a cry for attention and little other. Unfortunately we have two generations in this country that have a very strong self-will and faux-humanitarian attitude; the extremes of pacifism and liberal/socialist points of view that more or less condone anything and everything so long as it's vegan, green, and anti-national pride, law & order, a parent's obligation to actually control their children, etc. Hell, half the people in that group want to outlaw our right to have pets let alone domestic farm animals that couldn't survive in the wild. In other words, yuppies who have their heads firmly up their asses and think they are smelling fresh air and freedom.

I'll not go any further on this issue in that you will never convince me and probably not the greater majority of mature society, that this supposed "language" is viable and "better". I will point out one big thing you and the others that support this silliness, seem to ignore; people with difficulties mentally with understanding and deciphering common language get exceptionally frustrated and even depressed when it comes to this sort of ridiculousness simply because it is harder for them to translate and comprehend the statements made. I happen to be in such shoes, though not nearly as severe as others out there who suffer from ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, and a number of physical health conditions that affect memory and comprehension skills. In my case we're talking about physical brain damage due to various accidents in my early years (more than a dozen concussions) as well as MS. My father faces these same difficulties because of diabetic dementia and on-set Alzheimers; then there's the simple issue of age itself and have general difficulty when it comes to reading and understanding the message.

This system has but one purpose and it's not a good one.

[ProfWag]

Your spelling is too much like phonics which, unfortunately, I'm not a fan of. I believe it set me back at least a couple years when learning to read and write. it confused me and I believe must confuse others.
There is a standard English that is learned throughout the world, primarily for business purposes. Changing the spelling of words would do little to help America, in my humble opinion.

[JO 753]

[Craig Browning]

My own dyslexia is difficult to track simply because I lived with it for decades prior to it being "recognized" and investigated, like others of my generation, I learned to adapt and create my own way of working around it. I'll add, my eldest step-son was one of the primary case studies for ADD/ADHD in the late 70's and early 80's (seen as an "incurable" case) and yet, without drug therapy and using what his mother and I had learned over the years dealing with our problems, the boy managed to develop his own form of compensation -- he's now a district manager for Wal*Mart.

One of the "secrets" when it came to Shane's issues was genuine Montessori teaching methods (we actually had "nuns" from India that had studied as 2nd generation direct line teachers from the system developer, not the commercial B.S. that's so abundant in the U.S. and parts of Europe). The other "trick" we used was allowing puppets to teach. . . sounds strange but kids in this category can relate to puppets and magic in a very unique way that makes them more receptive to learning key life & function skills such as language arts and mathematics.

I'm all for anything that makes learning more effective and simple, but what you propose as a "language" is about as practical as learning Klingon.

[Arouet]

Actually learning Klingon gets the edge. Learning Klingon will make you a freak to most people, but extremely cool to a pretty sizable group of geeks. Learning this weird form of English will make you a freak to pretty well everyone.

Sorry to make fun, OP, but I can't realy imagine a more fruitless cause to get caught up in. There is next to no chance of this catching on. My advice: find a new cause to promote, this one is a dead end.

[JO 753]

I see it az an opportunity!

Billionz are earned worldwide teaching regular english spelling by skoolz, literacy training products, teacherz and tutorz. They are all pushing a bad product. So I shoud be able to get rich selling a superior product!

At the very least, wen the alienz finally decide to reveal themselvez and take over the planet, I will be able to say 'I wuznt with them! Look! I tried to fix it!' and they will probably put me in charge.