The
Big Picure
Benefits:
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Whereas only about half of students learn to read now, NuEnglish
will allow virtually ALL students to learn to read (because
the learning process will be extremely fast, and because
the learning process will be so attractive to fresh minds
who are attracted to simple, straightforward structures.
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Learning to read English usually takes 2 to 2 ½ years,
whereas learning to read NuEnglish will take 1-3 months,
thus saving about 2 YEARS of classroom time; thus EVERYONE
will jump ahead about 2 YEARS in school!
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Long-term
benefits are greater happiness, greater employment, greater
productivity, less poverty and less crime.
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Risks:
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- Advocates
of fundamental spelling reform for English may be viewed as
crackpots.
Well-known advocates include Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin,
Issac Pitman [inventor of shorthand], Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson,
President Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Carnegie, George Bernard
Shaw and several prominent linguists.
- NuEnglish
may not grow quickly or grow at all, stranding NuEnglish students
in a sea of traditional English spelling.
The success of NuEnglish will be known within 3 months,
so if it becomes a fiasco, the students can switch over to
traditional English spelling quickly.
- NuEnglish
may not be the “right” spelling reform.
NuEnglish uses the standard 26 letters of the Roman alphabet,
with the only added mark being a macron (long sign), so NuEnglish
is as much like traditional spelling as possible. It is one
of the few reforms that indicates stress, which is important,
especially for foreigners; stress distinguishes words such
as u/shur (usher) and ushur (assure).
- There
may not be enough books and other reading materials in NuEnglish
for NuEnglish readers.
There is a NuEnglish computer program, called Respeller,
that converts traditional spelling into NuEnglish, instantly
and consistently. It will be free to the public and affordable
to publishers, so any book can be made available, quickly
and inexpensively. Also, there will be Web browser and email
browser Respellers to give NuEnglish readers a big window
to the world.
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Costs:
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- Teacher
training
$0—training takes 10 minutes; proficiency comes with practice.
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Workbook
$0—because students write in workbooks, they must be purchased
every year; 1 workbook will not cost more than 2 workbooks that
are used now.
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