spellings: UK v USi don't know if i shouldn't start a different thread about this but since there's a lot of references to the topic in this one here goes.
an item from 'Folk Orbit' mag.:
Important: Please Read
New information from the European Commissioners
The European Commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications rather than German, the only other possibility considered. As part of the negotiation, however, the British Government has conceded that English spelling has some room for improvement and simplification. A five year phased plan has been accepted for what will be known as "Euroenglish".
In the first year "s" will be used instead of the soft "c". Sertainly, sivil servants will reseive this news with joy. Also, the hard "c" will be replaced with "k". not only will this kreate less konfusion, but keyboards kan have one less letter.
There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced by "f". this will aid ekonomy, making words like "fotograf" twenty persent shorter.
In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes will be possible. Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e's" in the languag is pointless, and they would go.
By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z", and replasing "w" wiz "v", and ze fifz year vil se ozer changes. Ze unesesary "o" kan be droped from vords containing "ou", and similar changes vud, of kors, be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.
After ze fifz year, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis, and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer.
Ze European drem vil finali kom tru.
Blody hel!
regards mr happy