JoAnne Marie wrote:
>
> If at some later stage they'd like to explore
> the rich history (possibly even 'epistomology') contained in the etymology
> - they are so much the richer, but we are presently 'condemning' large
> numbers of 'native English speakers' to 'functional illiteracy' by
> 'cleaving to' the out-dated mishmash which is 'traditional English
> orthography'!
As a former teacher of illiterate adults, I can tell you that the
complexity of the orthography is not a major reason for functional
illiteracy. Most of my students had trouble with analysing and
synthesising sounds even in simple words like _bat_. They would
have almost as much trouble with any simplified orthography. The
ability to spell _epistemology_ is a concern of literate adults;
it is not a criterion of functional literacy.
Scott Horne
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