Merkins

Sun Oct 22 03:06:07 UTC 2006

Sean,

Oh please tell me all about IBM's Writing to Read system.  The idea is to
teach kids phonetics first using a simple phonetic system.  The kids need to
know only 40 sounds to read and write in that notation.  They could do it in
first grade with a keyboard before they learned to form letters.  Transition
to tradspel was not a problem.  Thousands of kids participated as opposed to
the few hundred kids in Clakmannanshire using synthetic phonics that is
changing the way England will teach their children.  I recall that Princeton
ETS said Writing to Read worked.

You can contact me off line if you like.  I'm sporting truespel as the way
to go for teaching reading using IBM's Writing to Read as the proof of
concept.  Unfortunately Writing to Read used a few special symbols, while
truespel does not.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.

>From: Seán Fitzpatrick <grendel.jjf at VERIZON.NET>
>Reply-To: grendel.jjf at verizon.net
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: Merkins
>Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:33:31 -0400
>
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       =?iso-8859-1?Q?Se=E1n_Fitzpatrick?= <grendel.jjf at VERIZON.NET>
>Subject:      Re: Merkins
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>And didn't LBJ used to say "Mur'cans"?
>
>The Writing to Read program is indeed very good.  I worked for IBM in a
>company town when the kids were little (early '90s).  They were typing
>charming little phonetically spelled stories long before they would have
>been able to write them.  After two years the orthography was pretty much
>standard English, but the stories were not so charming.
>
>Seán Fitzpatrick
>Jesusland—Faith, Hope, and Dubya-MDs
>www.logomachon.blogspot.com/
>-----Original Message-----
>
> >From: Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>
> >Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >Subject: Re: Merkins
> >Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 22:27:04 -0400
> >
> >---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>
> >Subject:      Re: Merkins
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>----
> >
> >At 12:40 PM 10/19/2006, you wrote:
> > >I don't think changing traditional spelling (tradspel) is doable.  Ted
> > >Roosevelt in consort with Andrew Carnegie tried and couldn't change a
> >word,
> > >even through an executive order.  Webster was the last success, at
>least
> >in
> > >USA.
> > >
> > >So the only thing possible to influence is pronunciation, keeping it
> > >consistent with tradspel to help learners by maintaining letter sound
> > >correspondance.  But I see no mechanism to do that except for our
> >schools.
> > >Now that "phonemic awareness" (Stanovich) is seen to be the "single
>most
> > >important attribute exhibited by successful readers" (to paraphrase),
> >there
> > >may be more action in that area.  I think the trend away from phonics
>in
> >the
> > >past for early reading teachers has fostered disparate pronunciations.
>I
> > >advocate for USA English the Writing to Read approach by IBM of the
>80's,
> > >only using truespel, which has no special symbols.
> > >
> > >"Merkins".  Is that an Ausy term?
> >
> >No, no--'Merkins' is a tried and true American English
> >pronunciation!  Listen to Newt Gingrich (if you can stand to), and you'll
> >hear him call us "Mer(a)kins" (I'd put a schwa in there).  It's
> >Philly/Baltimore/east Pennsylvania dialect, and maybe more (NJ? Del?).
>The
> >first syllable is the same as in 'Murray'.  Recall our
> >Mary/merry/marry/Murray discussion a while back?  Another problem with
>the
> >alphabetic principle--people just won't obey it!
> >
> >
> >
> > >Tom Z
> > >
> > >
> > >>From: RonButters at AOL.COM
> > >>
> > >>Do you advocate, then, quite different spelling conventions (more than
> > >>the=20
> > >>trivial differences that we now see) for the England, Scotland, Wales,
> > >>Irela=
> > >>nd,=20
> > >>Jamaica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, etc.? Or should
> >they
> > >>a=
> > >>ll=20
> > >>have to speak Merkin? It seems to me that this would make English a
>MUCH
> > >>mor=
> > >>e=20
> > >>DIFFICULT language to learn as a 2nd language.
> > >>
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