Wordsmith Talk |
About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us | |||
Register Log In Wordsmith.org Forums General Topics Miscellany Horses's asses
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Speaking of inertia and horses' asses reminds me of the Legislature. I am occasionally asked why such-and-such a stupid law is on the books, and the answer often is, because they haven't changed it yet. Jury members get $5 a day because that was real money a century ago, the basis for our property law is still the feudal system, and today's judicial opinions still refer to the magna charta.
I once read, though, one good argument in support of the apparent capriciousness of English spelling. The author asserted that the preservation of old spellings, although obsolete in terms of current pronunciation of the words, allowed contemporary readers to comprehend ancient text, even though the readers probably could not understand the words if spoken as they were when written. Hence, I can read certain Middle English ditties, but couldn't understand them if recited.
Small compensation for sweating through English spelling, but better than nothing ...
Moderated by Jackie
Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics Forums16Topics13,913Posts229,423Members9,182 Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV
9,182 Registered Users
Who's Online Now 0 members (), 1,136 guests, and 3 robots. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days) A C Bowden 24
Top Posters wwh 13,858Faldage 13,803Jackie 11,613wofahulicodoc 10,593tsuwm 10,542LukeJavan8 9,922Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210AnnaStrophic 6,511Wordwind 6,296of troy 5,400
Forum Rules · Mark All Read Contact Us · Forum Help · Wordsmith.org