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Reforming

the

English

Alphabet

Restoring the logic of the English language

Copyright 2018 Zoltan Bartok 

(Feel free to quote any part of this "proposal".)

     No doubt, English is a great language. However, even many of those who use it as their mother tongue would agree that the alphabet is a "sore spot".

     English could become the language of the whole world much quicker if it was easier to learn. Native speakers do not really know how much work it takes for someone to learn English as a second language. The problem is lack of logic, as many learners like to point out. After all, what is the alphabet for if it is so "disconnected" from the language. Pronunciation of so many words have to be learned individually... in addition to learning their meanings."

     In the age of the Internet, soon just about everyone will use - or try to use – English. Without the needed reform, this great language will probably suffer a lot of degradation because those who poorly use it will influence other learners, including native speakers, in a negative way. This can already be seen on social media networks.

     I think I have a good idea about what is needed. Perhaps my proposal will get a cold reception but at least I tried... I do not really need to do this, I already know the English language. This just gives me extra work. However, I believe it is the right thing to do. Besides, this whole idea came to me in a dream, and when I woke up I felt an urge to start figuring out what could be done about the deficiencies of the English alphabet, what could be done to make it much easier, much less time consuming for students who learn English as a second language, and for native speakers who are fed up with learning to spell their own language. Once there is a well-functioning alphabet, all the extra work of spelling will be unnecessary... If the project goes nowhere, I am fine with that, it is not going to be my loss.

The new English alphabet I am proposing looks like this:

a  á  b  c  cs  d  dzs  e  é  f  g  h  i  í  j  k  l  m  n  ny

o  ó  ö  ő  p  r  s  sz  t  u  ú  ü  ű  v  z  zs  x

     We will learn how to pronounce the "cs", the "dzs", the "ny", the "sz" and the "zs" as single sounds. These sounds already exist but they are written differently. For example, the "sz" sound is written as "c" in CYCLE or "s" in SIT.

     We will also learn the pronunciation of the vowels, and once we know all the vowels, we can easily find a way to pronounce the consonants. Of course, reading the letters of this new alphabet will not sound like the current alphabet but it should not take long to get used to the changes.

     We will forget the current English pronunciation of the letters and learn a much easier way instead. I realise that finding good examples - especially for the vowels - will not be easy, mainly because of different pronunciations of the same in different countries or even in different dialects within the same country.  

     Let us look at the vowels first.

a - like the vowel in BUT (a short vowel)

á – like the vowel in BAR or CAR (a long vowel)

e – like the vowel in NET or MET (a short vowel)

é – like the vowel in BRAVE or SHADE (a long vowel)

i – like the vowel in HIT or RID (a short vowel)

í (ii) – like the vowel in MEET or TEETH (a long vowel) ***Most keyboards do not have this letter (yet). For the time being, we can write it this way: ii 

ö - like the second vowel in HUDSON (a short vowel)

ő - a longer version of this vowel

o – like the first vowel in LORRY or the first 2 vowels in MONOGRAM (a short vowel)

ó – like the first vowel in BORING or DOORWAY (a long vowel)

u – like the vowel in the preposition TO (a short vowel)

ú – like the vowel in TOO or TOOTH (a long vowel)

ü – there are words in English  - like NUISANCE - that have this sound but better examples are names of German cities (as pronounced in German). For example MÜNCHEN for the short vowel

ű – LÜBECK for the longer version of this vowel

     Naturally, when we pronounce these vowels as letters of the alphabet, we will pronounce them exactly as they sound within a word. An "á", for example, will always sound like the "á" in the word BAR. No more illogical pronunciations... Take, for example, the word RECIPE. Here, the first "e" sounds like it should. However, the other "e" at the end of the word sounds like the "i" in the word HIT, and the "i" in the middle sounds like the "e" in the word NET. What utter nonsense!

     Of course, some vowel sounds of English are not that simple. For example, in the word TIRED, the "á" blends into an "ö", sounding like one long vowel. With the new alphabet, this word will be written TÁJÖD, where the "j" will be the letter that we have so far known as, for example, the end of the word MAY. This "j" is not going to be pronounced "dzséj" in the new alphabet. (See the "dzs" and "dzsé" below among the consonants.) Instead, it will be pronounced "j", just like it sounds as the last letter in the word MAY.

     I know, some native speakers probably think: Wow! This reformed alphabet must be a joke. I would not be surprised. After all, they already know the language. Why would they want to re-learn it?! True, the need to spell words is often a pain and, yes, native speakers also realize that the current alphabet has not a whole lot to do with the language but...

     Well, one of the generations have to be willing to put in some extra effort to make it easier for the next generations, and for the billions of non-native speakers, for the rest of the world. Once English has a logically functioning alphabet, it will take no time before it truly becomes the language of planet Earth. I guess the natives would enjoy taking pride in that.

     The spoken language will remain the same. Perhaps with the use of the new alphabet some pronunciation will change a bit over time. Eventually, English will become a so-called phonetic language.

     How will tech companies relate to the new alphabet? I think for them it will be a "piece of cake" - and an opportunity to make some extra profit.

     I have been "accused" of being biased for using some elements of the Hungarian alphabet. Well, the Hungarian alphabet is still the true building block of the language it serves. Pronunciation of Hungarian words is based exactly on how the letters they contain are pronounced. (Of course, when a consonant is pronounced alone as a letter of the alphabet, it has a vowel added to it for easier pronunciation - just like in English.) I did not pick those Hungarian letters that I use in my proposal because my mother tongue is Hungarian. I chose them because they seem to work very well... I am not saying that only my proposal could be used to achieve a successful reform. I would be happy to see competing proposals, and a professional jury that would make the right selection after a meaningful debate... Obviously, English can not be reformed "from within". It does not matter which language provides the needed outside help as long as it turns out to be the best one to assist in the creation of the new alphabet... Someone mentioned that in Russian - just like in Hungarian - the words are pronounced exactly as the pronunciation of the letters add up. However, we would not really want Cyrillic letters in the English alphabet.

     The idea is not trying to please everyone by creating a new international language where for the partial representation of their own, everyone would have to learn and use everyone else's special characters but rather to make the alphabet of the existing very popular English more functional.

     OK, let us continue and look at the consonants.

b – like the first consonant in BRING or BRAVE. In order to pronounce it, we will add the vowel "é", so it will be called the letter "bé" . (I think it sounds better than with the current "í", and it is probably less straining for the mouth.)

c – there might be original English words with this sound but right now I can not think of any. Currently, it either sounds like our new letter, the "sz", as the first letter in the word CYCLE, or it sounds like the letter "k" in CUT. The first letters in foreign words like TSUNAMI or TZAR would be good examples for this sound. Adding the vowel "é", we can call and pronounce this letter "cé".

cs – like the current "ch" in CHICKEN or in RICH. With the "é", this is the letter "csé".

     Once we learn the new alphabet, we easily recognize the sounds of its letters in the words, so we will know exactly how to write the words the reformed way.

d – another "no-brainer", it is like the first consonant in DOOR or in DOG. The word THE comes into my mind immediately, so it is time to discuss that typically English "th" sound. I think it has been gradually disappearing: THE is now either DI, DE or DÖ. Hopefully, with time, the rest of those "th" sounds will also change into a simple "d" or "t", making it so much easier for everyone to pronounce it. We can call and pronounce this letter "dé".

     Of course, there is nothing wrong with "th", it can easily be pronounced, and within or at the end of a word it does not even have to sound like a "d" or a "t". MATHEMATICS or FAITH are good examples. However, they will now be MATHEMATIKSZ (or MATHEMATIX) and FÉJTH.

     Back to the word THE for a moment... After I get some feedback, we can finalize whether there should be only 1 form of the reformed THE, and whether it should be DI, DE or DÖ.

dzs – no more "j" for JUNGLE or "g" for GEORGE. From now on it is DZSANGL and DZSORDZS. Make sure you do not separately say the "d" and the "zs". The "dzs" is one sound just like the current first consonant in JUNGLE.

     Adding the "é", it is called and pronounced "dzsé" (not "dzséj"!)

     Now, look at the words JUNGLE, JUDGE and MAGIC. In JUNGLE, it is the "j" that has the "dzs" sound. In JUDGE, we have "dzs" sound for "j" but also for "ge". Then in MAGIC, the "g" is the "dzsé" sound. Now, really, do you still think there is no need for reform? These are only three words! The English language is full of this kind of "chaos". To me it almost feels like some powerful demonic force has been at work derailing this otherwise noble language, perhaps to cause permanent but unrealized confusion in the minds. Many of the native speakers at least suspect that something like this might be the case, that is why nowadays we see changes like KAR for CAR, for example, or LITE for LIGHT. What is the purpose of the letters "g" and "h" in the word LIGHT if they play no role? Of course, LITE will also change, it will be LÁJT.

f – this one is fairly simple. Like in FAIR or PHONE. Of course, PHONE will be PHONE no more as it will be written FÓN from now on. (FAIR will also change, it will be FER.)

     We can pronounce and call this letter "ef".

     Having fun yet? It will get better.

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