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Posted

from a letter written to The Economist mid 1800's. (with a mid-atlantic i.e. british-american accent).

 

"In Year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. 

The only kase in which c would be retained would be the ch formation, which will be dealt with later. 

     Year 2 might reform w spelling, so that which and one would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish y, replasing it with i, and Iear 4 might fiks the g/j anomali wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6 to 12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants.

     Bai Lear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez c, y, and x - bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez --tu riplais ch, sh, and th ridpektivli.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt se Ingliy-spiking werld."   

 

~ Mark Twain.  A plan for the improvement of the English language.

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Posted
6 minutes ago, stilgar said:

Oh, I hate it. 

Think of how I felt typing that out.  I came across it in a magazine with the inability to copy/paste it. xD

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Posted
59 minutes ago, Vela said:

from a letter written to The Economist mid 1800's. (with a mid-atlantic i.e. british-american accent).

 

"In Year 1 that useless letter c would be dropped to be replased either by k or s, and likewise x would no longer be part of the alphabet. 

The only kase in which c would be retained would be the ch formation, which will be dealt with later. 

     Year 2 might reform w spelling, so that which and one would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish y, replasing it with i, and Iear 4 might fiks the g/j anomali wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6 to 12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants.

     Bai Lear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez c, y, and x - bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez --tu riplais ch, sh, and th ridpektivli.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt se Ingliy-spiking werld."   

 

~ Mark Twain.  A plan for the improvement of the English language.

This is why he should've stuck with writing novels and short stories.

Posted
2 hours ago, NewBluntsworth said:

If only there was a way to find famous published quotes on the internet. Alas.

::shakes her cane at you::  Or...::kane::

Posted
1 hour ago, hornedlizardman said:

This is why he should've stuck with writing novels and short stories.

Hah, thankfully this was one of his satirical pieces.

Posted
1 minute ago, NewBluntsworth said:

What does this mean?

it's...just the word cane but formated in accordance to the 20th year outlined in the journal entry above.  My apologies. 

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Posted
37 minutes ago, Vela said:

Hah, thankfully this was one of his satirical pieces.

It makes sense. I must've missed that one. We had a collection of short stories he wrote when I was a kid. I don't remember reading that one in the collection.

Posted
54 minutes ago, NewBluntsworth said:

Oh yeah, I forgot what I just read

Or forget what you read.  "Read" is a funny word - a verb, a noun, past and present tense.

Posted
21 minutes ago, hornedlizardman said:

It makes sense. I must've missed that one. We had a collection of short stories he wrote when I was a kid. I don't remember reading that one in the collection.

Yeah.  This wouldn't have been in something like "Complete Works of," as it was a random entry in a journal magazine at the time.

Posted
1 minute ago, The_annoying_one said:

English is a funny language, anyway.

Too many words mean the same damn thing.

Um, some of those words are called synonyms, sir. Words that look or either sound the same are homonyms. There are two types: Homographs, which have the same spelling regardless of pronunciation, and homophones, which have the same pronunciation regardless of spelling.

Posted
1 minute ago, hornedlizardman said:

Um, some of those words are called synonyms, sir. Words that look or either sound the same are homonyms. There are two types: Homographs, which have the same spelling regardless of pronunciation, and homophones, which have the same pronunciation regardless of spelling.

Still I agree with him 😄

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Posted
7 minutes ago, hornedlizardman said:

Um, some of those words are called synonyms, sir. Words that look or either sound the same are homonyms. There are two types: Homographs, which have the same spelling regardless of pronunciation, and homophones, which have the same pronunciation regardless of spelling.

Be that as it may or may not be that, my original point still stands.

Good day, sir!

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Posted
2 minutes ago, hornedlizardman said:

 

Oh, btw, someone on the boards is pretty convinced I'm you.  And I'm not being meme-y.  Although this reminds me of what I said the other day.

This is the character I referenced:

 Saiunkoku Monogatari | Ran Ryuuren | Fully Fluffy!

Posted
2 minutes ago, The_annoying_one said:

Be that as it may or may not be that, my original point still stands.

Good day, sir!

I actually agree with you. I'm just pointing out what they are. lol

Posted
Just now, Vela said:

Oh, btw, someone on the boards is pretty convinced I'm you.  And I'm not being meme-y.  Although this reminds me of what I said the other day.

This is the character I referenced:

 Saiunkoku Monogatari | Ran Ryuuren | Fully Fluffy!

orly? lulz

Posted
16 minutes ago, The_annoying_one said:

I know. I’m just having a little fun with you. 😛

And having fun is what it's all about.

Well, that and hookers and blow.

Posted

Mid-Atlantic accent wasn't a thing yet in the mid 1800s. It was an affected speech pattern that coincided with the rise of radio and fell out of fashion after WW2.

(Had to be that person)

 

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Posted
7 hours ago, Insipid said:

Mid-Atlantic accent wasn't a thing yet in the mid 1800s. It was an affected speech pattern that coincided with the rise of radio and fell out of fashion after WW2.

(Had to be that person)

 

If it weren't for people like you we'd be rampant with misinformation!  Also, when I think about it...if it really was written by Mark Twain wouldn't it have been more of a southern accent? 

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Vela said:

If it weren't for people like you we'd be rampant with misinformation!  Also, when I think about it...if it really was written by Mark Twain wouldn't it have been more of a southern accent? 

Samuel Langhorn Clemens, aka Mark Twain, was from Missouri. Which if you think about it, can be considered both the South and the Midwest. I guess it depends on the region in which you place the state.

Posted
8 minutes ago, hornedlizardman said:

Samuel Langhorn Clemens, aka Mark Twain, was from Missouri. Which if you think about it, can be considered both the South and the Midwest. I guess it depends on the region in which you place the state.

We'll never know I guess...and that doesn't bother me at all...not at all...nope...

...damn it.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, Vela said:

We'll never know I guess...and that doesn't bother me at all...not at all...nope...

...damn it.

Aw, i didn't mean to cause you distress.

Posted
6 minutes ago, hornedlizardman said:

Aw, i didn't mean to cause you distress.

Oh believe me, this is not you, this is a l l l l l l l l  me, lol.

Posted
2 minutes ago, Vela said:

Oh believe me, this is not you, this is a l l l l l l l l  me, lol.

Yeah, I had to do a research paper on Mark Twain for junior English in high school. I also learned why he chose the name Mark Twain.

Posted
1 hour ago, hornedlizardman said:

There's not a whole lot to tell. I wrote it and I passed.

Wait, actually...I think I know this one.  

...

..

.

nope...it's not there anymore...but something to do with steamboats?  Micky Mouse?  ... ... I think I'm tired again.

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Posted
Just now, Vela said:

Wait, actually...I think I know this one.  

...

..

.

nope...it's not there anymore...but something to do with steamboats?  Micky Mouse?  ... ... I think I'm tired again.

Yes. They would mark the water level relative to the steamboat by saying either quarter twain, half twain, or mark twain. The water line is at the optimal level when they would call out mark twain. He was, if I remember correctly, on a steamboat on the Mississippi river near his native Hannibal, Missouri, and heard this and decided that it would be a good pseudonym.

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Posted
2 minutes ago, hornedlizardman said:

Yes. They would mark the water level relative to the steamboat by saying either quarter twain, half twain, or mark twain. The water line is at the optimal level when they would call out mark twain. He was, if I remember correctly, on a steamboat on the Mississippi river near his native Hannibal, Missouri, and heard this and decided that it would be a good pseudonym.

THANK you.

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