English-language Spelling Reform
For centuries, there have been movements to reform the spelling of the English language. It seeks to change English orthography so that it is more consistent, matches pronunciation better, and follows the alphabetic principle. Common motives for spelling reform include quicker learning, cheaper learning, and making English more useful as an international auxiliary language. Reform proposals vary in terms of the depth of the linguistic changes and by their implementations. In terms of writing systems, most spelling reform proposals are moderate; they use the traditional English alphabet, try to maintain the familiar shapes of words, and try to maintain common conventions (such as silent e). More radical proposals involve adding or removing letters or symbols, or even creating new alphabets. Some reformers prefer a gradual change implemented in stages, while others favor an immediate and total reform for all. Some spelling reform proposals have been adopted partially or temporar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spelling Reform
A spelling reform is a deliberate, often authoritatively sanctioned or mandated change to spelling rules. Proposals for such reform are fairly common, and over the years, many languages have undergone such reforms. Recent high-profile examples are the German orthography reform of 1996 and the on-off Portuguese spelling reform of 1990, which is still being ratified. There are various goals which may drive such reforms: facilitating literacy and international communication, making etymology clearer, or for aesthetic or political reasons. Opposition is often based upon concern that old literature will become inaccessible, the presumed suppression of regional accents, the need to learn the new spellings, making etymology less clear, or simple conservatism based on concern over unforeseen effects. Reforms which mainly eliminate needless difficulties ought to take account of such arguments. Reform efforts are further hampered by habit and, for many languages, a lack of a central aut ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Style Guide
A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has multiple other meanings. The standards can be applied either for general use, or be required usage for an individual publication, a particular organization, or a specific field. A style guide establishes standard style requirements to improve communication by ensuring consistency both within a document, and across multiple documents. Because practices vary, a style guide may set out standards to be used in areas such as punctuation, capitalization, citing sources, formatting of numbers and dates, table appearance and other areas. The style guide may require certain best practices in writing style, usage, language composition, visual composition, orthography, and typography. For academic and technical documents, a guide may also enforce the best practice in ethics (such as authorship, research ethics, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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James Howell
James Howell (c. 1594 – 1666) was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas Howell, who became Lord Bishop of Bristol. Education In 1613 he gained his B.A. from Jesus College, Oxford – he was to be elected to a fellowship at Jesus College in 1623, but he was never formally admitted and his place was taken by another in 1626. Until he was 13, he was schooled in Hereford. He went to Oxford at the age of 19. Career After graduation, he had a variety of employments, as an administrator for a glass manufacturer, and in the often combined roles of secretary and instructor to several noble families. As factory agent and negotiator he traveled widely in Europe and learned to speak several languages, apparently with great facility. He also met and befriended numerous literary figures, among them Ben Jonson and Kenelm D ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wootton St Lawrence
Wootton St Lawrence is a small village in the civil parish of Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell, in Hampshire, England, west of Basingstoke. The name is derived from the Old English ''wudu tun'' meaning woodland settlement or farm. History The manor of Wootton (see Manydown) was a possession of the prior and convent of St. Swithun from the time of the Domesday book until the dissolution of the monasteries. The Dean and Chapter of Winchester sold the manor to William Wither in 1649. However, the manor was reclaimed by the church after the restoration and the family received no compensation. The manor returned to the family after the purchase by the Reverend Lovelace Bigg-Wither in 1863, but he sold it to the Bates family 10 years later. Wootton oak timber was used to reconstruct Winchester Cathedral nave c. 1390 by William of Wykeham. Governance Wootton St Lawrence is in the civil parish of Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell with an elected Parish Council and falls within the l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Butler (beekeeper)
Charles Butler (1571 – 29 March 1647), sometimes called the ''Father of English Beekeeping'', was a logician, grammarist, author, priest (Vicar of Wootton St Lawrence, near Basingstoke, England), and an influential beekeeper. He was also an early proponent of English spelling reform. He observed that bees produce wax combs from scales of wax produced in their own bodies; and he was among the first to assert that drones are male and the queen female, though he believed worker bees lay eggs. Biography Butler was born into a poor family in Buckinghamshire, South East England, but became a boy chorister at Magdalen College, Oxford at the age of eight. At the age of ten, he matriculated, taking his BA in 1584 and his MA in 1587. In 1593, Butler became Rector of Nately Scures in Hampshire in 1593 and in 1595 became also Master at the Holy Ghost School, Basingstoke. He resigned to accept an incumbency at Wootton St Lawrence in 1600 and served that rural post until his death on 29 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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St Paul's School (London)
(''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = High Master , head = Sally Anne Huang , r_head_label = Surmaster , r_head = Fran Clough , chair_label = Chairman of the Governors , chair = Johnny Robertson , founder = John Colet , specialist = , address = Lonsdale Road , city = Barnes , county = London , country = United Kingdom , postcode = SW13 9JT , local_authority = , urn = 102942 , ofsted = , staff = c. 110 , enrolment = c.950 , gender = Boys ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alexander Gill
Alexander Gill the Elder (7 February 1565 – 17 November 1635), also spelled Gil, was an English scholar, spelling reformer, and high-master of St Paul's School, where his pupils included John Milton. He was the author of an English grammar, which was written, however, in Latin. Life He was born in Lincolnshire 7 February 1565, admitted as a scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, in September 1583, and earned a B.A. in 1586 and an M.A. in 1589. Wood believed that he was a schoolmaster in Norwich, where he was living in 1597. On 10 March 1607-8 he was appointed high-master of St. Paul's School, succeeding Richard Mulcaster. Milton was among his pupils from 1620 to 1625. entry "GILL, ALEXANDER, the elder" He had two sons, George and Alexander (b. 1597), and a daughter, Annah. George Gill would eventually become ordained. In 1628, his son Alexander was overheard drinking to the health of John Felton, who had stabbed George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham was a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Bullokar
William Bullokar was a 16th-century printer who devised a 40-letter phonetic alphabet for the English language. Its characters were in the black-letter or "gothic" writing style commonly used at the time. Taking as his model a Latin grammar by William Lily, Bullokar wrote the first published grammar of the English language, in a book titled ''Brief Grammar for English'', which appeared in 1586. Works * , ** facsimile edition: ** facsimile in Bullokar (1977) ** transcription at Plessow (1906)pp. 237-330* ** transcription at Plessow (1906)pp. 1-212* ** transcription at Plessow (1906)pp. 213-235* ** facsimile in Bullokar (1977) ** transcription at Plessow (1906)pp. 331-385* ** transcription at Plessow (1906)pp. 386-390 See also * History of English grammars The history of English grammars begins late in the sixteenth century with the ''Pamphlet for Grammar'' by William Bullokar. In the early works, the structure and rules of English grammar were based on those of Latin. A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chester Herald
Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an Officer of Arms, officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office of Chester Herald dates from the 14th century, and it is reputed that the holder was herald to Edward, Prince of Wales, also known as the Black Prince. In the reign of King Richard II the officer was attached to the Principality of Chester, which was a perquisite of the then Prince of Wales. In the reign of King Henry VIII the title lapsed for a time but, since 1525, the office of Chester has been one of unbroken succession, as a herald in ordinary. The heraldic badge, badge of office is taken from the arms of the Earl of Chester and in blazoned as ''A Garb ensigned of the Royal Crown Or''. On 22 September 2017 The Honourable Christopher John Fletcher-Vane was appointed to the office. He was Portcullis Pursuivant from 2012 to 2017. Born in 1953 in Cumbria, the second son of William Fletcher-Vane, 1st Baron Inglewood, he was for many years a barrister in Newcastl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Hart (Chester Herald)
John Hart (died 1574) was an English educator, grammarian, spelling reformer and officer of arms. He is best known for proposing a reformed spelling system for English, which has been described as "the first truly phonological scheme" in the history of early English spelling. As an officer of arms, John Hart held the title of Chester Herald between 1566 and 1574. Spelling reform Hart is the author of three known works on grammar and spelling: an unpublished manuscript from 1551 titled ''The Opening of the Unreasonable Writing of Our Inglish Toung''; a printed pamphlet titled ''An Orthographie'', published in 1569; and a practical reading primer titled ''A Methode or Comfortable Beginning for All Unlearned'', published in 1570. In these works, he criticises the contemporary spelling practices of his day as chaotic and illogical, and argues for a radically reformed orthography on purely phonological principles. His goal was to introduce a spelling system with a one-to-one relation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thomas Smith (diplomat)
Sir Thomas Smith (23 December 151312 August 1577) was an English scholar, parliamentarian and diplomat. Early life Born at Saffron Walden in Essex, Smith was the second son of John Smith of Walden by Agnes, daughter of John Charnock of Lancashire. The Smiths of Essex are said to be descendants of Sir Roger de Clarendon, an illegitimate son of the Black Prince. He was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he became a Fellow in 1530, and in 1533 was appointed a public reader or professor. He lectured in the schools on natural philosophy, and on Greek in his own College. In 1540 Smith went abroad, and, after studying in France and Italy and taking a degree in law at the University of Padua, returned to Cambridge in 1542. He now took the lead in the reform of the pronunciation of Greek, his views being universally adopted after considerable controversy. He and his friend, Sir John Cheke, were the great classical scholars of the time in England. In January 1543/4 he was appoi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dutch Language
Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' is a separate but somewhat mutually intelligible daughter languageAfrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , . Afrikaans was historically called Cape Dutch; see , , , , , . Afrikaans is rooted in 17th-century dialects of Dutch; see , , , . Afrikaans is variously described as a creole, a partially creolised language, or a deviant variety of Dutch; see . spoken, to some degree, by at least 16 million people, mainly in South Africa and Namibia, evolving from the Cape Dutch dialects of Southern Africa. The dialects used in Belgium (including Flemish) and in Suriname, meanwhile, are all guided by the Dutch Language Union. In Europe, most of the population of the Netherlands (where it is the only official language spoken country ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |