bearisgray

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if American English were phonetically spelled?

Of course, "whoever" would have to agree on what letters or combinations of letters would match which sounds

and then

how would we accommodate the various regional differences/accents/dialects that are in the USA?

yngldy

I remember taking a shorthand class and one day the teacher had us take a letter from an person with an extreme Southern drawl. The words and symbols were completely different that one taken from a Northerner. We had fun with that exercise.

ManiacQuilter2

Remember that American English was originally inherited from the British. If you notice a few words are different from our Canadian/British cousins and what is current American English.

misspriss

I often write leaving out the vowels.

Geri B

Yes, that was at one time called speed writing. I write myself notes doing that.......and now of course texting has created a whole new language! Some of it I need translated by gd!

there was, a few yrs ago a radio personality on talk radio that I listened to often. He was a college prof who did the program as a sideline. His guests and topics were interesting and intellectual......always learned something new...his programs on English language and how it was changing, improving or not, evolving were interesting. His name--- Milt Rosenberg. Now that same talk radio is a wasteland!

carolynjo

We are fortunate that Noah Webster took it upon himself to write a dictionary. This led to the standardization of the American English language. Of course we add hundreds of new words each year which go through a rigorous screening before they are added to the dictionary. Rachel Ray, on her cooking show years ago, was honored by the dictionary group for coining the word "EVOO" "Extra virgin Olive Oil". She was presented a new dictionary with her word in it.

Wanabee Quiltin

I can't even imagine it. The regional dialects are so different. When I moved to Idaho, my boss teased me how I pronounced corn and horse. I used an a instead of an o, saying carn and harse.