Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EEC, the European
Parliament has commissioned a feasibility study to look at ways of improving
efficiency in communications between Government departments. European officials
have often pointed out that English spelling is unnecessarily difficult, for
example, cough, plough, rough, through, and thorough. What is clearly needed is
a phased programme of changes to iron out these anomalies.
The programme would, of course, be administered by a committee staff at top
level by articipating nations. In the first year, for example, the committee
would suggest using 's' instead of the soft 'c'. Sertainly sivil servants in all
sities would resieve this news with joy. Then the hard 'c' could be replaced by
'k' sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. Not only would this klear up
konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters kould be made with
one less letter. There would be growing enthusiasm when in the sekond year, it
kould be announsed that the troublesome 'ph' would henseforth be written 'f'.
This would make words like 'fotograf' twenty per sent shorter in print. In the
third year publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reash the
stage where more komplikated shanges are possible. Governments would enkourage
the removal of double letters which have always been a deterent to akurate
speling.
We would al agre that the horible mes of silent 'e's in the languag is
disgrasful. Therefor we kould drop thes and kotinu to read and writ as though
nothing had hapend. By this tim it would be four uears sins the skem began and
peopl would be reseptive to steps sutsh as replasing 'th' by 'z'. Perhaps zen ze
funktion of 'w' kould be taken on by 'v', vish is, after al, half a 'w'.
Shortly after zis, ze unesesary 'o' kould be dropd from words kontaining
'ou'. Similar arguments vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.
Kontinuing zis proses yer after yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli sensibl riten
styl. After tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls, difikultis, and evrivun vud
find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drems of ze Guvermnt vud finali hav
kum.