Why simplified spelling nearly took over America (and why it didn't), with Gabe Henry

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Mignon Fogarty, Inc.

Society & Culture, Education

4.5 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1084. This week, Gabe Henry talks about his new book, "Enough Is Enuf," and the long, strange quest to simplify English spelling. Learn why the "Chicago Tribune" made simplified spelling its house style for decades and why Roosevelt's attempt to make it law backfired.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Grammar Girl here. I'm Inion Fogarty, and today I am here with Gabe Henry, author of Enough is Enough, this fabulous new book about simplified spelling. Gabe, welcome to the Grammar Girl podcast.
0:17.7	Thanks so much for having me. You bet. I loved your book and simplified spelling. It's something I
0:23.6	have been interested in. I've heard a little bit about I thought I knew more than I did. And maybe
0:29.1	we can start by giving people an idea of what the reasons have been that amazingly so many people
0:36.7	have lobbied to simplify the spelling of the English
0:39.3	language.
0:40.3	Well, I mean, the core argument behind this simplified spelling movement is that spelling should
0:45.2	match how we speak.
0:46.3	And right now it doesn't.
0:47.6	Our language is filled with silent letters, contradictory spellings, contradictory
0:52.7	rules, and bizarre holdovers from French, Norse, Latin,
0:57.7	and it puts this unnecessary burden on learners. And the idea for the simplified spellers,
1:04.2	what was that they wanted to remove those obstacles, make language more consistent,
1:09.5	less wasteful, and just easier to learn. Right. So, easier to
1:12.9	learn for children, easier to learn for people learning English as a second language. And then the
1:18.2	cost issue was something that was sort of new to me. Can you say more about the cost part?
1:23.6	It's interesting. So some people approach simplified spelling from this social reformer, increasing literacy point of view. They want people to be more literate, more widely spread knowledge and participation in society among non-native speakers. And doing that would require really simplifying our spelling and making it more phonetic, more
1:46.0	logical. That was one point of view. And the other point of view, which started in the 1700s,
1:51.6	it really peaked in like the early 1900s, was that simplified spelling would have this profit
1:56.9	value. It would take a shorter time to write quicker to, like, it would be, it would save
2:03.4	ink, it would save paper, it would save time, it would save money. And for people who, let's say
2:08.5	you owned a business, let's say you owned a newspaper, this would save the wear and tear on your
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