Editing English-language spelling reform (section)

===16th and 17th centuries===
The first of these periods was from the mid-16th to the mid-17th centuries, when a number of publications outlining proposals for reform were published. These proposals ranged from expansive systems of respelling (e.g. John Hart's) to essays calling for nonspecific change (e.g. Sir Thomas Smith's). Some of them are detailed below:
* {{lang|la|De recta et emendata linguæ angliæ scriptione}} (''On the Rectified and Amended Written English Language'')<ref>{{cite book|author=Thomas Smith|title=De recta & emendata lingvæ Anglicæ scriptione, dialogus: Thoma Smitho equestris ordinis Anglo authore|trans-title=Correct and Improved English Writing, a Dialog: Thomas Smith, knight, English author|location=Paris|publisher=Ex officina Roberti Stephani typographi regij [from the office of Robert Stephan, the King's Printer]|year=1568|oclc=20472303}}</ref> in 1568 by [[Thomas Smith (diplomat)|Sir Thomas Smith]], secretary of state to Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
* ''{{lang|en-emodeng|An Orthographie}}'' in 1569 by [[John Hart (spelling reformer)|John Hart]], [[Chester Herald]].
* ''{{lang|en-emodeng|Booke at Large for the Amendment of English Orthographie}}'' in 1580 by [[William Bullokar]].
* ''{{lang|la|Logonomia Anglica}}'' in 1621 by [[Alexander Gill the Elder|Alexander Gill]], headmaster of [[St Paul's School (London)|St Paul's School]] in London.
* ''{{lang|en-emodeng|English Grammar}}'' in 1634 by [[Charles Butler (beekeeper)|Charles Butler]], vicar of [[Wootton St Lawrence]].<ref name=wijk/>{{rp|17–18}}

These proposals generally did not attract serious consideration because they were too radical or were based on an insufficient understanding of the phonology of English.<ref name=wijk/>{{rp|18}} However, more conservative proposals were more successful. [[James Howell]] in his ''Grammar'' of 1662 recommended minor changes to spelling, such as changing ''{{lang|en-emodeng|logique}}'' to ''logic'', ''{{lang|en-emodeng|warre}}'' to ''war'', ''{{lang|en-emodeng|sinne}}'' to ''sin'', ''{{lang|en-emodeng|toune}}'' to ''town'' and ''{{lang|en-emodeng|tru}}'' to ''true''.<ref name=wijk/>{{rp|18}} Many of these spellings are now in general use.

From the 16th century AD onward, English writers who were scholars of [[Ancient Greek literature|Greek]] and [[Latin literature]] tried to link English words to their Graeco-Latin counterparts. They did this by adding silent letters to make the real or imagined links more obvious. Thus ''{{lang|en-emodeng|det}}'' became ''debt'' (to link it to Latin {{lang|la|debitum}}), ''{{lang|en-emodeng|dout}}'' became ''doubt'' (to link it to Latin {{lang|la|dubitare}}), ''{{lang|en-emodeng|sissors}}'' became ''scissors'' and ''{{lang|en-emodeng|sithe}}'' became ''scythe'' (as they were wrongly thought to come from Latin {{lang|la|scindere}}), ''{{lang|en-emodeng|iland}}'' became ''island'' (as it was wrongly thought to come from Latin {{lang|la|insula}}), ''{{lang|en-emodeng|ake}}'' became ''ache'' (as it was wrongly thought to come from Greek {{transliteration|grc|akhos}}), and so forth.<ref name=handbook/>{{rp|5–7}}<ref name="etymonline">{{Cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=2011-10-23 |archive-date=2015-12-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151205085150/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[William Shakespeare]] satirized the disparity between English spelling and pronunciation. In his play ''[[Love's Labour's Lost]]'', the character Holofernes is "a [[pedant]]" who insists that pronunciation should change to match spelling, rather than simply changing spelling to match pronunciation. For example, Holofernes insists that everyone should pronounce the unhistorical ''B'' in words like ''doubt'' and ''debt''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Horobin|first=Simon|title=Does Spelling Matter?|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2013|pages=113–114}}</ref>