Mark twain biography samuel langhorne clemens november 30, 1835 april 21, 1910, better known by his pen name mark twain, was a famous and popular american humorist, novelist, writer and lecturer. A plan for the improvement of english spelling by mark. Mark twain biography and list of works mark twain books. A new approach, the australian linguist harry lindgren proposed a stepbystep reform. This delightful collection of twains favorite and most memorable writings includes selected tales and sketches such as the celebrated jumping frog of calaveras county, how i edited an agricultural journal once, jim bakers bluejay yarn. A chronology listing date, place, and title of speech or type of engagement completes the. Projects to reform the spelling of american english predated the declaration of independence. The term spelling reform refers to any organized effort to simplify the system of english orthography. In a september 1906 speech, twain argued that the reforms would also help new immigrants assimilate. English, french, spanish, interlingua, latin though im not good at it, and breton it would be irish, but breton is about the same and the spelling makes sense german is fine, if you get rid of the bits mark twain didnt like. Before the spelling book came with its arbitrary forms, men unconsciously revealed shades of their characters and also added enlightening shades of expression to what they wrote by their spelling, and so it is possible that the spelling book has been a doubtful benevolence to us.
Explanatory notes describe occasions, identify personalities, and discuss techniques of twains oral craftsmanship. As early as 1768, benjamin franklin published a book called a scheme for a new alphabet and a reformed mode of spelling. Some bright indian or filipino will write a book of interna. Originally published in 1976 and reissued in 2006 after many years out of print, mark twain speaking assembles twains lectures, afterdinner speeches, and interviews from 1864 to 1909. I think mark twain would have had fun with the internet. And even earlier proposals to reform british english had led jonathan swift, in 1712, to condemn what he called the foolish opinion advanced of late years that we ought to spell exactly as we speak. A few really bright people have taken a stab at it without success. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Andrew carnegie, the richest man in the world, gave more than seven million dollars to this movement in the early part of the twentieth century. Twain mentions how uncomfortable it is to only receive compliments when one is the guest of honor, so he critiques carnegies pestiferous ideas about spelling reform. Colorful, irreverent, romantic, skeptical, a master of comic asides, a bittersweet humorist, and an unflinching critic of human pretensions, mark twain speaks to us across time with verve and wisdom. It has also and probably more accurately been attributed to one m. Mark twains remarks about the irregularities and irrationality of spelling in the english language. A plan for the improvement of spelling in the english language.
I find it comically bizarre that americans and britons are united in opposing spelling reform and yet happily spell differently from each other. Ghoti is a creative respelling of the word fish, used to illustrate irregularities in english spelling and pronunciation. Englishlanguage spelling reform wikipedia republished. Also, thats when you see some of the most influential names picking up the mantle for spelling reform, like mark twain, andrew carnegie, melvil dewey, and theodore roosevelt. This reminds me of the german spelling reform a decade or so ago. I suspect that if it happens, it will come from a country where english is the second language. He did not write that piece of scaremongering drivel. The expeditions were often out of meat, and scant of clothes, but they always had the furniture and other requisites for the mass. Included among the boards original 26 members were such notables as author samuel. A great book for both students and those who enjoy the author. And due to the generational difference, never shall the twain twains meet. I am a great fan of mark twain and thoroughly enjoyed the writings and rewritings of his insatiable humor.
Mark twain on german and english musings from the chiefio. Bill bryson explores spelling reform over the centuries in his book, mother tongue. Mark twain is not related to shania twain, unless her name is also a pseudonym and her real family name is clemens. The first time i was in egypt asimplified spelling epidemic had broken out and the atmosphere. The first, spelling reform step 1 sr1, called for the short. The alphabet and simplified spelling by mark twain. The simplified spelling board was founded on march 11, 1906, in new york. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Complete biography of mark twain, a plan for the improvement of english spelling.
Man in white the grand adventure of his final years, michael shelden focuses on the last 40 months of twains life, when he was an. Over the years, organizations such as the english spelling society have encouraged efforts to reform or modernize the conventions of english spelling, generally without success. The alphabet and simplified spelling wikisource, the. However, this did not catch on, because franklin required the. Mark twain books biography and list of works author of. Properly attributed lectures include simplified spelling which was written in 1899 which is a satireresponse of another essay written by george bernard shaw and cadmus which satirized writing reforms with a story of ancient greece and egypt. But if you think the point of either article is that spelling reform is impossible, then you miss the point. Its a miserable spelling system and an utter disgrace common sense. Traditional spelling, he maintained, keeps them back and damages their citizenship for years. As much as twain would have loved it, pitmans phonographic alphabet never caught on.
Mark twain gave this speech at an event honoring andrew carnegie, who helped found the simplified spelling board. The argument that english spelling should be overhauled is nothing new, of course. On the occasion of the centennial of his death, oxford is issuing a paperback set of our landmark 29 volume collection, the oxford mark twain. Mark twain quotes author of the adventures of huckleberry. Katzs book, mark twains america, gives a fascinating inside glimpse into the writer using rare illustrations, vintage photographs, maps, and more. Mark twain, also known by his full and proper name as samuel langhorne clemens, was an american author. The only kase in which c would be retained would be the ch formation, which will be dealt with later. I have had a kindly feeling, a friendly feeling, a cousinly feeling toward simplified spelling, from the beginning of the movement three years ago, but nothing more inflamed than that. A plan for the improvement of english spelling youtube. Mark twains autobiography by mark twain, page 68, gabriel wells.
Everything that we were achieving at the time helped inspire simplifiedspelling enthusiasts into thinking that they could pull this thing off. For example, in year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. Mark twain did, however, present several lectures mostly in his 70s on the topic of spelling reform. Definition and examples of spelling reform in english. There are so many quotes that remain from mark twains life, that really do make us think. The word is intended to be pronounced in the same way f, using these sounds. Text of a speech given by mark twain at a dinner for andrew carnegie at the dedication of the new york engineers club, 9 december, 1907. Some of this information comes from the research of kenneth ives, who has published it in a book called written dialects. Andrew carnegie, martin luther king, george bernard shaw, mark twain, henry the fifth, joan of arc and others appear in dreams to a modern english teacher and relaunch an unstoppable spelling reform movement that is spreading thru the world. He lived from the years 1835 1910, living a long and rich life. For the love of physics walter lewin may 16, 2011 duration.
Mark twains spelling reforms michigan state university. Mark twain anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Satirist, novelist, and keen observer of the american scene, mark twain remains one of the worlds bestloved writers. Samuel langhorne clemens november 30, 1835 april 21, 1910, more widely known as mark twain, was a well known american writer born in florida, missouri. Spelling reform faces many arguments against the development and implementation of a reformed orthography for english. The irregular spelling of very common words, such as is. Public acceptance to spelling reform has been consistently low, at least since the early 19th century, when spelling was codified by the influential english dictionaries of samuel johnson 1755 and noah webster 1806. History of spelling reform this is a history about spelling reform efforts in the u. Mark twain on spelling a plan for the improvement of english spelling by mark twain. For a while, it seemed as if every famous writer and scholar had jumped on the spelling bandwagon. The only kase in which c would be retained would be. Why then this internet urban legend, if you will, that mark twain wrote this is a good question. Mark twain simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
A plan for the improvement of english spelling by mark twain for example, in year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. A plan for the improvement of english spelling by mark twain. Interest in reforming english spelling continued to gain momentum on both sides of the atlantic. No respect for a man who can spell a word only one way. Benjamin franklin and mark twain were both advocates for.
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