A cock-simple way of simplifying spelling was proposed last week in the London Times. Arising out of a discussion of Basic English (TIME, Aug. 16; Sept. 20), a letter-to-the-editor purported to quote the great Elizabethan, pipe-smoking Sir Walter Raleigh, who spelled his name three different ways (Ralegh, Rauleygh, Rauley) but never Raleigh. "Sir Walter's" simple suggestion: spell any way you like.
The quotation (supposedly from a letter to one Mrs. F. Gotch in 1598, but obviously modern):
"I have growen wery of spelynge wordes allwaies in one waye and now affect diversite. The chief vertew of my reform is that it makes...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
