Spelling bee protesters? Believe it

[The Straight Story]

Spelling bee protesters? Believe it

WASHINGTON - The nation's capital always draws its share of protesters, picketing for causes ranging from health care reform to immigration policy.

But spelling bee protesters? They're out here, too.

Four peaceful protesters, some dressed in full-length black and yellow bee costumes, represented the American Literacy Council and the London-based Spelling Society and stood outside the Grand Hyatt on Thursday, where the Scripps National Spelling Bee is being held. Their message was short: Simplify the way we spell words.

Roberta Mahoney, 81, a former Fairfax County, Va. elementary school principal, said the current language obstructs 40 percent of the population from learning how to read, write and spell.

"Our alphabet has 425-plus ways of putting words


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37496186/ns/us_news-life/

[arbusto_baboso]

1. The teabaggers should be out there protesting this.

After all, things like "proper spelling" always tend to make them look like ginormous idiots.

[JuniperLea]

2. y shur! lets dum down! woot!

thuh rest uv us shud jes relurn sos thees idjits wohnt fel so bad

[joeybee12]

3. So, if they get their way, whose gonna re-write every single freaking book ever written

in English?

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. good grief

[Echo In Light]

5. Inconsequential...i, n, c, o, n .....

[nickinSTL]

6. "...current language obstructs 40 percent of the population...

...from learning how to read, write and spell."

I HIGHLY doubt that spelling is the primary block here. JMO.

[texastoast]

7. Are they tea bees?

My money says yes.

[mitchum]

8. Fuk yeh!

[Echo In Light]

9. ha...(if what you're referencing is what I *think* you are)

[Blue-Jay]

10. .

/quick & dirty

[Chulanowa]

11. Well, they have a point

The English language is sloppy.

At work, we have the OSHA posters in English and Spanish.
English says "Lift with your legs"
Spanish says "Use the muscles in your legs when you are lifting"

Spanish takes more words, but provides a much clearer picture of what you're supposed to do.

Also? Ghoughpteighbteau. Look it up.

[HughBeaumont]

21. Potato.

Learned that in Etymology. I remember that ghoti is pronounced "Fish" as well.

[JBoy]

12. The US has already done enough damage to the Queen's English, thanks.

Dropping the "u" from words like colour and neighbour.
Changing "re" to "er" in words like theatre and centre.
Changing "defence" to "defense".
Changing "cheque" to "check", etc...

Canada tends to use about 80% British spelling and 20% American spelling for words where there is a difference. As a result, I'm equally able to drink either "draught" or "draft" beer.

[Odin2005]

14. American English usage and pronunciation is actually more conservative than British English.

We still have the old "If I were" subjunctive and have "gotten" as a past participle. Most Americans don't drop their Rs and don't glottalize everything to hell.

[awoke_in_2003]

15. then there is laser vs lazer. nt

[Odin2005]

13. English has the most idiotic spelling of any European language.

Our spelling most represents how English was pronounced 600 YEARS AGO. Then there are BS "etymological" spellings like "debt" and "psychology". And we still use the digraph "gh" even though English (outside of Scotland) lost the velar fricative (as in loch and Bach) ages ago.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. Were they moving

in an anti-clockwise direction whilst picketing?

[TheManInTheMac]

17. One time in Akron I saw people protesting a parking deck.

No kidding. A parking deck. Not a parking deck being built, but a parking deck that already existed.

[FLPanhandle]

18. Strange, it didn't seem to obstruct 40 percent of the people in I grew up with.

What do they want? Text talk?

[Initech]

19. Thes ppl r dum, lets go nucular on them asses!

[WestSeattle2]

20. My God! A retired public school principal continues the effort to

dumb down America even in retirement. Why am I not surprised?