Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 28, 2011

Metaphor for kids today? But, I bet she can text 40 words per minute..no matter how she spells the words…

Based on what I see every day, she’ll certainly misspell words even if she slows down to 10 per minute.

I’m not holding out much hope that “accurate” dictionary-verified spelling will be able to survive.

fwiw, having multiple ways to spell a word with no one “correct” way was the norm for a long long long time. We are actually in somewhat of a odd historic period where spelling is pretty rigid. There are benefits to what we have, mind you, but language and spelling are fluid and not only change but is downright fluid and I, frankly, would not be surprised if our rigidity breaks down in most informal(already happening) and even some formal settings. Indeed, within the next hundred years or so we might even see a formal branching of High and Low English.

I read this book. the plot really gets going when Puff makes his appearance. talk about plot twists!

edgeways, point well taken…

edgeways: It has already happened. My English teacher in high school had us making the formal/informal distinctions in our writing assignments – and that was in the late 1940s. Many languages, notably French and German, always had this distinction. You are right; “spelling” as an absolute subject only dates from the mid 1800s.