I'm a foreigner who's lived in the UK for 10 years and my spelling and grammar is often better than that of Brits!

Simplifying English as Dr Smith suggests will only deteriorate the language and a few years from now everyone will use unintelligible text-speak. Don't Brits have any sense of pride?

Jan, Edinburgh, UK

Inability to spell and use words correctly does not suggest a general lack of education. It is an absolute assurance of it.

Terence Fink, Memphis, U.S.A.

I sincerely hope that english speakers are not really "the guardians of the only language of future Earth" ! as per Antonio.

English is a handy 'trade language' but it functions like an invasive weed, replacing local languages which are irreplaceable -- we need more multilinguals, not monolinguals

irina, fairbanks AK, USA

Exception:
Speach for speech

We spell “speak” with an “ea”. We do not have to but we do. Since we do, let us then spell “speech” with an “a” too

To This New Rule:
...so why not just spell the ee-sound simply as “ee”? To ease the switch from current spelling to a more phonetic system

No Thanks.

Mark, Lisle, IL,

An alternative to chaos in spellilng

Surely it is better for some systematic improvements to English spelling to be allowed as variants than increase chaos. For exampl, cut useless surplus letters which often mislead lerners.

Reserch is needed, not just arguing.

Valerie Yule, Melbourne, Australia

Since when has "there" meant the same as "their"? The good lecturer appears to want to mess with the meaning of words too, never mind the lazy attitude to spelling! Just because something is common, doesn't mean it is right.....

AD, London, UK

You can learn to spell some languages in a few hours a good example is modern Turkish used in Turkey, where every sound is represented by a symbol and that is all. Here people do not waste their life to learn how to spell their language.

ebrahim khodadoost, ardebil, iran

That's the spirit. Something is hard, oh well lets not strive and work hard let's just make it easier. This sort of suggestion comes from the same school of thought which thinks that sport is bad for children because they might lose and feel bad.
Life is a challenge, spelling is not a major one.

Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK

I think it's about time that we got together with other English speaking nations and reformed English spelling so that it made a bit more sense. Now it is pretty illogical.

Michael Spencer-Smith, London ,

I cannot believe Andy from London's comment regards the 'influx of foreigners' contributing to poor spelling and grammar! Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't English itself based on 'foreign' languages (French and Latin). Even the number we use are from Arabic. An extremely narrowed minded comment.

Ben, London, uk

Languages are living things, and orthography, as opposed to the mathematical constant of pi, is a convention established by those who use languages.
Orthography is also conservative and lags behind the living, spoken language. So although we need it, we should revise it if it impairs communication

Daisy, Esbjerg, Denmark

The rationale given in the article for the spelling changes (or inclusions, if you will) are largely founded on ignorance of structure, etymology, and pronunciation. Language changes, but we don't need to rush it along.

Lynn Hughes, Bucks County, PA, USA

I run a business in High Wycombe and this might well explain why most of the CVs I get sent are littered with mistakes.

This is so depressing.

Ceri, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

Maybe this idea gives an indication of why Mr Smith is employed at this particular institution rather than a more established university. Just another unforeseen concequence of the national policy to get everyone a university place regardless of their sutability for it.

Anthony, Northampton,

The trouble with adjusting spelling to reflect pronunciation is that we don't share a common pronunciation of the language. As a Scot, I do pronounce the "f" in "twelfth" so why inflict "twelth" on me. And I also know the diference between whales and Wales.

Charles Addison, Gourock,

Why don't you just educate children properly?

Anon, London,

'Their' has a completely different meaning to 'there' hence the different spelling. I completely disagree that we should bow to the poor standards of education by allowing these spelling mistakes into everyday writing, especially for universities and employment. Learn the words AND use a spell check

Leila, London, UK

If todays students are too ilde or stupid to learn to spell properly, then maybe they shouldn't be 'passing' exams. But then again that would upset new labour's targets for education wouldn't it?

Andy, Abergavenny, Wales

1-Ken Smith is not a lecturer of linguistics, therefore his is not an expert view.I assume what he means is that he just can't be bothered correcting spelling mistakes of his students.Ken, may i call you Can? 2-Foreign speakers don't mix up i and e in receive & achieve.We just learn the rules.

Rita, London,

WH Smith would seem to be a good place to buy a dictionary. Unfortunately, they don't seem to stock any, as their till receipt from last Saturday contained a printed message advertising discounts on their - STATIONARY.

geraldine, durham,

As a parent of a primary school child approx 70% of the teachers I have met cannot spell or use grammar correctly, even so far as marking according to this inconsistency when supposedly modelling to children at a vital stage of learning. Kids frequently then leave primary without basic skills intact

georgina, oxford,

Say twelfth aloud and it's obvious why, unlike wealth etc., this is spelt with an f.

polly parish, tenby, wales

NO! Absolutely not. Once you start reducing standards it is the beginning of a very slippery slope to disaster. We already see, even in these columns, people who cannot be bothered to use capital letters and proper punctuation. What next? The hideous "text speak" - "gr8 2 cu" etc. No thanks.

Rick O`Shea, UK,

Another example of British "lowest common denominator" thinking - from a lecturer! The variety of the English language is what enables us to express ourselves with nuance and colour. It's tedious marking common spelling corrections? Why are you not focusing on raising standards instead?

Natalie, London,

I am a bad speller. I frequently make mistakes. On the whole they don't matter as people usually know what I mean. However, some distinctions are necessary. Their, they're and there do not mean the same even though they are hononyms. Neither do to, two and too. Queue for a song, or do I mean 'cue'.

Terry Hamblin, Bournemouth,

While the pi=3 thing is an urban myth, it's a perfect parallel to this absurd proposal to reduce English to idiocy. There's no student in college here in the USA that cannot find--often on line--a copy of Webster's or the OED. And there's no reason why they cannot use dictionaries.

Tom, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Great idea, except he assumes that the minority who cannot learn to spell correctly will suddenly be better able to remember the variant spellings. In future why learn or achieve anything at all ? Let's just become illiterate and ignorant and do manual labour for the rest of the world. Sheer genius.

ash, freetown,

Great idea!

Other languages have a formal commission to periodically modernize them.

In English, modernization is supposed to come informally, through widespread use.

If these spellings are widespread, dictionaries should recognize them.

Keith S, Winnipeg, Canada

What a fine proposal. When he's at it, why don't he go simplify some more subjects. Many people find maths hard, and this should be easy to correct. History could also be modified to suit as it is not only hard to memorise such things, but some of the things there could be rather awkward as well...

O, Manchester,

The English language has already murdered for years by BBC presenters (who regularly use adjectives instead of adverbs).

Schoolchildren have a duty to learn how to spell - why penalise those who do but telling those who don't it doesn't matter? Blame the teachers, many of whom can't spell!

Guy Strathray, London,

Why are we constantly accepting the lowest common denominator? What good will it do to have professional people who just write rubbish? Perhaps the students whose standards are so low shouldn't be in higher education. The dumbing down of everything will just afford the country a worse service.

judy, Liverpool, England

It is disturbing enough that the majority of a generation cannot spell thanks in no small part to the internet and instant messaging, but for that inability to be legitimised in this way is an insult to those of us that do use the language correctly!

Ben Adamson, Manchester, UK

Hello,
In 1987 Dr.Christopher Upward speaking at Aston University, Biringham ,Uk gave us a lecture on Reformed spelling and had a Journal called the Journal of Simplified Spelling.
All would not accept his ideas as it is not easy to give up tradition and probs. like 'would 'and 'wud' would arise!

Iris Devadason, Bangalore, India

Andy,

I am a foreigner, and I can say I was very suprised when I came. These are not spelling errors that an educated foreigner who speaks English as a second English would commit.

Grace, London,

As the guardians of the only language of future Earth, it behooves us to adhere to the rules! Permit a gradual variation over time - "program", not "programme", & a few other simplifications legitimis(z)ed, by usage in major populations, rather than the murky pool of uneducated SMSing youth.

Antonio, Estepona ,

That would be like a cleaner saying they are fed up of cleaning other people's mess up. "We should just leave it, because it'll only get dirty again tommorrow."

All this article says is that one individual in a University is fed up of his job and should be looking for a new one.

Jake, lancashire, uk

re. Andy
I think lots of foreigners, speak and write better English than most English folks. As they have to learn the grammar at school and Enlish people don't.
But I'd agree with txt talk being a part of the problem

Kristina, London,

In answer to Hannah of Oxford: I taught at Durham U. for many years, and was always encountering misspellings of various kinds, despite our intake of a majority of independent school students. Spelling rules are to some extent arbitrary (cf. alright/all right) and remembering them is a knack.

Oliver Dickinson, Haxby, U.K.

Wot a silly example of dumming down by a profesor from Hi Wikkem. Y wood peeple chooze a university wear the profesors carnt bee bothered enuff with there students even to corect there spelling? Maybee they should have been tort properly in the furst place at skool. Dum and dumer in deed!

Elizabeth, Slough,

I'm sure Bucks New University have been saying that their University is a "Center of Excellence" educating high-calibre graduates of the highest standard...

I guess they really will not be happy with Dr. Smith getting their University splashed across the papers for the wrong reasons.

Tim, manchester, uk

Most graduate employers bin applications with such spelling errors, because they betray a lack of attention to detail, lack of effort and lack of professionalism. So good luck to New Bucks Uni students looking for anything other than McJobs when they graduate!

Rob, Southampton, UK

Maybe it is more indicative of the two tier system of education would a top university have the same problem? There are students who can spell and write. Does this admission by a lecturer make 'Bucks New University' a third world type of university evident in Britain? Take anyone who is breathing

Hannah, Oxford, UK

The influx of foreigners and the overuse of text messages only contributes to the problem.

Andy, London,

While he's at it, why bother teaching criminology correctly. If the university professors have such low standards what's the point of having a degree?

Chris, Derby,

why are we bothered ? for such a state of affairs after so much obsession with education as created people who lack teh basic in everything including spelling, maths, repsect and manners and social conscience...in other words we and our young and future are in a state of degeneration

t Trebilcock, manchester, uk

Bianca: Was it 'laziness over rigour' when we changed from roman to arabic numerals, when we decimalized our currencies, when we moved from typewriters to computers, and from candles to electric liting?
Did not logic hav a place in those changes? So with regularized spelling.

Allan, Christchurch, New Zealand

If da comp skool sistum aint bad enuf awreddi, dis geeza wanna av evri appl to av is own manditri maggit wen it leaves primary school. The educational establishment has so little moral fibre that when presented with a challenge, its first inclination is to surrender. Winston would have been proud.

Alan Gooch, Honiton,

I am lost for words. This new proposition advocates laziness over rigour.

Bianca Summons, Maidenhead, UK

So all of us who were brought up to spell correctly might now have to change our habits?

Heaven forbid we should also accept fink for think, sumfink for something or even worse aks for ask.

What next? Text speak to replace the Oxford English Dictionary?

Paul Ritchie, Southampton,

Brilliant! We could then have a similar scheme for arithmetic, whereby (for example) instead of the rigid insistence that 2 + 2 = 4, we could agree that 2 + 2 equals anything between 3 and 6 or 7 (to be negotiated). And, following the legendary state legislature, we could define pi as exactly three.

Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,