Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: spelling

spelling stories: 7 news summaries



 Ditch 'i Before e 
 Except After c' 
 Rule: Brits 

Ditty 'not worth teaching,' government says

Jun 20, 09 6:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - Generations of frustrated schoolchildren have grumbled that “i before e except after c” isn’t worth learning because of numerous exceptions. Now the British government agrees, the BBC reports. In a document sent to 13,000 primary schools, officials say the ditty “is not worth teaching” because it’... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Kingdom • learning • teaching • spelling • teachers • rule • schoolchildren

(Newser) - As hulking as NHL players may seem on ice, they can be even more daunting to etch in silver, reports the Wall Street Journal in a look at the quirky typos that decorate hockey's storied Stanley Cup. An influx of Eastern European and Scandinavian players has the league's official silversmith... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NHL • Stanley Cup • spelling • NHL playoffs • typographical error

(Newser) - America’s self-proclaimed language cops are turning up the heat on spelling and grammar offenders, MSNBC reports, hitting the streets with Sharpies and venting their frustrations online. One psychologist says the flare-up could represent a need for control during hard times. “When people are under stress, they have less... More »

MORE ABOUT:
stress • spelling • grammar • economic downturn • English language • proper usage • control

 Prof Argues for Looser Spelling 

English-speaking pupils hamstrung by non-phonetic words, apostrophes

Sep 8, 08 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - A British academic argues that English-speaking schoolchildren waste time learning the peculiarities of spelling, and should be given more freedom to spell phonetically, the Times of London reports. Children studying in languages with more phonetic writing systems, like Finnish or Italian, don’t need to waste classroom time on spelling,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • United Kingdom • school • Britain • spelling • spelling bee

 Phonetics Reformers
 Buzzing at Spelling Bee 

Revitalized movement wants to simplify the language

May 30, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - Every year, the National Spelling Bee sparks a protest from an 800-year-old movement that aims to simplify spelling by using phonetics, the Wall Street Journal reports. (Think thru vs. through.) “We have 42 different sounds in English, and we spell them 400 different ways,” says the 102-year-old... More »

MORE ABOUT:
English • spelling • spelling bee • grammar

Science Smackdowns Aid Search for 'Bill Gates 2.0'

Popularity of math, science competitions shoots off the charts

May 19, 08 5:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - With the days when the space program inspired American students to embrace science and math a distant memory, the US is counting on competition among schoolkids to return the country as a whole to a leading role, the Christian Science Monitor reports. High-level science fairs and math bowls are potential... More »

MORE ABOUT:
education • science • National Science Foundation • mathematics • spelling • spelling bee • International Science and Engineering Fair

Want to Vote, O'Connor? Think Again

Apostrophes, hyphens, and spaces in names confuse computers

Feb 22, 08 4:00 PM CST
(Newser) - The Information Age has been bad news for O'Connors, D'Angelos, Al-Husseins, and Van Kemps everywhere. Apostrophes in Irish, French, Italian, and African last names; hyphens in Arab names; and spaces in Dutch ones cause their owners endless headaches when computer systems reject or mis-record them, reports the AP, blocking them... More »

MORE ABOUT:
computer programming • software • surnames • electronic voting • spelling • data entry

7 Stories


from our news partners