[Journal of the Simplified Spelling Society, J27, 2000/1. pp3-10.]

SSS Pamflet Nr. 3.

introduced by Chris Upward

Pamflet 3 is a classic SSS publication from the early years. An outline of its author's life (William Archer 1856-1924) appeared in the Society's Newsletter of August 1995 (pp6-7, 'Founding Fathers: who were the men who launched the SSS?'). In his day Archer was an influential theatre critic and co-author (with Walter Ripman) of the Society's original New Spelling scheme, which, with periodic amendments, constituted the Society's flagship reform proposal for many decades (development of the system continued into the 1990s). Archer wrote several pamphlets for the Society (Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 - for details see Pamflets in which he distinguished himself by practising what he preached, his pamphlets being published in his original New Spelling. We here present Pamphlet No.3 not merely for its compelling, if for today's tastes over-Latinate, rhetoric and the examples of doubtful etymology, but to give readers experience of the 'phonetic' English orthography that probably had most influence on spelling reformers through the early and middle decades of the 20th century. Readers may like to record how easily they adjust to its quite radically altered spellings (noting words they may hesitate over), and how far the ideas have stood the test of time (certainly Archer's cultural and educational assumptions give a strong flavour of a bygone age).

The main regularized sound-symbol correspondences used by Archer in SSS Pamflet Nr.3 are seen in the following transliterations: name/naem, where/whaer, after/aafter, water/wauter, can/kan, back/bak, Dutch/Duch, add/ad, any/eny, mean/meen, here/heer, her/hur, different/diferent, off/of, single/singgl, hypocrisy/hipocrisy, by/bie, highest/hiëst, suggest/sujest, allied/alied, little/litl, common/komon, was/woz, old/oeld, how/hou, enjoy/enjoi, happen/hapen, antiquity/antikwity, thorough/thurro, wrong/rong, essence/esens, possess/pozes, forms/formz, suspicion/suspishon, measure/mezher, better/beter, the/dhe, does/duz, other/udher, wonderful/wunderfool, through/thruu, should/shood, superfluous/suepurfluüs, do/duu, of/ov, twelve/twelv, one/wun, language/langgwej, six/siks, exact/egzakt, obvious/obvyus, is/iz, thousand/thouzand.


Pamflet 3 is included in the pamflet section.

Foto of William Archer.

Inside front cover Sum Opinyonz.


Inside back cover of 1941 edition.

THE SIMPLIFIED SPELLING SOCIETY Founded in 1908 by The Rev. Professor W: W. Skeat and Dr. F. J. Furnivall OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE (1940) President and Chairman of Committee: Professor Gilbert Murray, O.M., D.C.L., LL.D., D.Lit., F.B.A. Vice-Presidents: Sir Henry Coward, M.A., Mus.Doc., Charles G, Darwin, M.C., M.A., Sc.D. F.R.S., Maxwell Garnett, C.B.E., M.A., Sc.D., Professor H. Stanley Jevons, M.A., B.Sc., F.G.S., F.S.S., R. W. Macan, D.Lit., Litt.D., T.C.D., F.R.S.L., David Mair, M.A., R. R. Marett, M.A., D.Sc., LL.D., F.B.A., F.R.A.I., Professor C. E. Spearman, Ph.D., LL.D, F.R.S., Sir Daniel Stevenson, LL.D., D.L., H. G. Wells, B.Sc., His Grace the Archbishop of York (Dr. William Temple, M.A., D.Lit., D.D., LL.D.). Secretary: Thomas R. Barber. Treasurer: Henry Drummond, Rydal Mount, Hetton-le-Hole, Durham. Other Members of Committee James Allan, M.A., B.Sc. Commander Carlyon Bellairs, R.N. R. T. Butlin, B.A. E. R. Edwards, Docteur de I'Universite de Paris Peter S Hadley, B.A. Miss Edna Jackson, M.A., A.S.S.T. Professor Daniel Jones, M.A., Dr.Phil. T. Kingdom, M.A. Professor A. Lloyd James, B.Litt. W. Tolme MacCall, M.Sc., M.I.E.E. Professor Henry Martin, M.A. Sir Percy Nunn, M.A., D.Sc. Harold Orton, B.Litt., M.A. Isaac J. Pitman, M.A. G. H. Richardson, A.M.Inst.B.E. Walter Ripman, M.A. J. D. Roberton, B.A., F.E.I.S. Miss L. Walsh Sydney Walton, C.B.E., M.A., B. Wrenick Bankers: Barclays Bank, Wallsend. SIMPLIFIED SPELLING SOCIETY WALLSEND-UPON-TYNE

Editor comments:

(Archer was mistaken as to these German and Greek links with 'shallow'.- Ed.)

ACHE: (Here too Archer's Greek connection is unfounded.- Ed.)

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