Howz yor speling? An organisation known as the International English Spelling Congress has just voted in favour, or favor, of major reform.
Apparently, English takes up to three years longer to master than other languages, and the peculiarities of our spelling sytem are at least partly to blame.
The congress is concerned that far too many English words don’t sound the way they are spelt, or, indeed, spelled. Traditional Spelling Revised, or TSR, aims to get rid of silent letters such as ‘w’ in wrong.
If they have their way, rong will soon be right, rite will no longer be rong, and illogical spellings such as colonel, biscuit, yacht, daughter, parliament and knife will all be simplified.