Spelling is a tool by which one records his thoughts and ideas; therefore it is a vital part of life. To fulfill its task successfully, spelling must be accurate. Spelling is that tool by which the happenings of the past are revealed to the present and are preserved for the future. For any individual who attempts to transfer his thoughts and words by symbols onto paper, correct spelling is a prime essential. It follows, then, that to develop perfect habits of spelling in order that perfect transcriptions of thoughts might be made is the duty of the teacher. This duty has been attempted by teachers for many generations. But it is an established fact that the goal has not been reached, for there is a stupendous number of misspellings in the written work of students in high schools. Many methods have been advanced for correcting this incompetence in spelling; when these were tried, they have failed to secure the coveted goal. In some instances the cure has aggravated the disease. Successful abolishment of this handicap baffles the teaching profession. In a course in American pronunciation recently conducted at North Texas State College, the teacher presented the fact that there are factors in the English language which tend to become stumbling-blocks to the attainment of perfect spelling. For the first time it became evident to this writer that certain elements within the language might be the cause of the spelling problem. Therefore, the readings for this thesis were undertaken for the purpose of finding the logical causes for poor spelling habits and with the hope of discovering a workable remedy.

This sociolinguistic diploma thesis focuses on the implementation of spelling reform in Austria. Practical research is based on the theory of language management. The thesis describes also developmental path to the spelling reform through the entire 20th century. The work aims to shed light on the issues and barriers associated with the implementation of spelling reform, i.e. the last phase of language management. Regarding methodology, it was conducted qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with participants in the process. Representatives of secondary schools and newspapers were chosen for the research. The obtained data is analyzed in comparison with the discourse concerning the spelling reform in the German-speaking area. Keywords Language management, language planning, spelling reform, Austria, secondary education, print media

<p>Although the British and the Americans use the same language, i.e. English, the differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling between these two varieties doubtlessly exist. However, this paper deals particularly with the spelling differences between British English and American English since spelling seems to cause confusion and problems to the learners of English the most. The American spelling is considered to be informal; therefore, the essay focuses on the standard British English spelling of words through, night, light, and high and their equivalents in American English, i.e. thru, nite, lite, and hi. This study investigates how extensively the British and the Americans use the standard and the informal spelling of these words in different written sources such as newspapers, magazines, leaflets and advertisements, and books. In addition, the collocations of these particular words are investigated. In order to do this quantitative research, the Collins Cobuild corpus material was searched and analyzed. The results of this study reveal that the informal American spelling of these four words appears in British texts more often than in American texts. However, the informal spelling tends to appear in non-American sources when speaking about America or American cultural phenomena.</p>

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:25:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4012.pdf: 1212209 bytes, checksum: b058fb12dc4bf76fb3aa56c18d2353e8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-01 / The aim of this research, based on the French Discourse Analysis theoretical and methodological approach, is analyzing discursively how Folha de S. Paulo (a Brazilian newspaper of significant circulation) narratively published the Portuguese Language Orthographic Agreement of 1990, which came into force in January 1st, 2009. As temporal outline, we established the period from January 1st, 2008 (a year before the effective coming into force of the agreement among the Portuguese language countries) to January 1st, 2010 (a year after it comes into force). Our main purpose is understanding during this period how the verbal sequence acordo ortográfico (spelling agreement), when it slides to reforma ortográfica (spelling reform), can be understood as a formula: an object which is describable in language categories and whose destiny at the same time invasive and continuously questioned inside the public discourses is determined by language practices and by the state of opinion and power relations in a specific moment in the very heart of the public space. (Krieg-Planque, 2009, p. 14). In other words, we have the objective of verifying on this paper during this established period how this syntagm reforma ortográfica, even though it is formally stable in the point of view of the linguistic description and explanation, is performed by the medium work in the public space discourses as a sequence both shared and problematic, knowing a discursive regime that makes it a formula. / Esta pesquisa, embasada nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos da Análise do Discurso de orientação francesa, tem por objetivo analisar discursivamente como a Folha de S. Paulo (Folha) deu em narrativa o Acordo Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa, que entrou em vigor a partir de 1º de janeiro de 2009. Como recorte temporal, estabelecemos o período de 1º de janeiro de 2008 (um ano antes da efetiva entrada em vigor do acordo nos países de língua portuguesa) até 1º de janeiro de 2010 (um ano depois da efetiva entrada). Nosso objetivo central é compreender no período histórico delimitado em que medida a sequência verbal acordo ortográfico ao deslizar para reforma ortográfica pode ser compreendida como uma fórmula: um objeto descritível nas categorias da língua e cujo destino ao mesmo tempo invasivo e continuamente questionado no interior dos discursos públicos é determinado pelas práticas linguageiras e pelo estado das relações de opinião e de poder em um momento dado no seio do espaço público (KRIEG-PLANQUE, 2009, p. 14). Em outras palavras, objetivamos verificar nesse jornal ao longo do período estabelecido, como esse sintagma reforma ortográfica, embora formalmente estável do ponto de vista da descrição e da explicação linguística, põe-se a funcionar pelo trabalho da mídia nos discursos do espaço público como uma sequência tão partilhada quanto problemática, conhecendo um regime discursivo que faz dela uma fórmula.

Although the British and the Americans use the same language, i.e. English, the differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling between these two varieties doubtlessly exist. However, this paper deals particularly with the spelling differences between British English and American English since spelling seems to cause confusion and problems to the learners of English the most. The American spelling is considered to be informal; therefore, the essay focuses on the standard British English spelling of words through, night, light, and high and their equivalents in American English, i.e. thru, nite, lite, and hi. This study investigates how extensively the British and the Americans use the standard and the informal spelling of these words in different written sources such as newspapers, magazines, leaflets and advertisements, and books. In addition, the collocations of these particular words are investigated. In order to do this quantitative research, the Collins Cobuild corpus material was searched and analyzed. The results of this study reveal that the informal American spelling of these four words appears in British texts more often than in American texts. However, the informal spelling tends to appear in non-American sources when speaking about America or American cultural phenomena.

This essay is a theoretical qualitative study, which examines the possibility for a spelling reform into English. The history of orthographical changes into British English, as well as Brown’s categorisation of spelling reforms, is reviewed. Four spelling reform proposals are analysed and compared.  Additionally, the social discourses of Eira, which are relevant to a spelling reform, are analysed and discussed with regard to English. There is only speculation as to why no modern day spelling reform has been implemented in British English, but it is connected to its historical events, the social discourses and the implementation process. Spelling reform into English is theoretically feasible, but it depends on the implementation strategies and support from those who wish to perform such a change.