First & Last Letters

Don H · Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Posts: 187

FI YUO CNA RAED TIHS, YUO HVAE A SGTRANE MNID TOO

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55% fo plepoe can.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, th e
olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a
pboerim. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot
slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed tihs forwrad it.

ONLY FORWARD IF YOU CAN READ THIS.

======================================
Comment: The above text was passed to me by a relative, and I have typed it
up verbatim, taking care, ironically, that "spelling" is correct. The
theory expounded is typical of the Whole Worders and contains various
assumptions.
Its most basic assumption is that we don't read individual letters, but
whole words - for which no proof is offered. Yet it emphasises the
importance of placement of first and last letter in each word. Internal
letters can be garbled, but I suspect the letters can't be too much at
variance from orthodox spelling, or meaning might be lost. Meaning is then
obtained by simple anagramming.
I would also suspect that persons able to read such text are already good
spellers, and/or have analytic minds, such that long experience helps in
recognising what the "words" are supposed to mean. Also, that most persons
able to read it are - adults.
Note that the title doesn't follow the rule of initial and end letters,
and that the final statement lapses back into the vernacular.
A "first" letter is the letter on the left-hand side of a word, and the
"last" letter is that on the right-hand side. Another aspect taken for
granted.
I think researchers(ch) at Cambridge might find a better way of occupying
their time. If I buy a dictionary, it is usually Oxford.

Archived from group: aus>education

Don H · Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Posts: 187

"Don H" wrote in message$4A1.9375@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> FI YUO CNA RAED TIHS, YUO HVAE A SGTRANE MNID TOO
>
> Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55% fo plepoe can.
>
> I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
The
> phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde
> Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, th
e
> olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
> pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a
> pboerim. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
> istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot
> slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed tihs forwrad it.
>
> ONLY FORWARD IF YOU CAN READ THIS.
>
> ======================================
> Comment: The above text was passed to me by a relative, and I have typed
it
> up verbatim, taking care, ironically, that "spelling" is correct. The
> theory expounded is typical of the Whole Worders and contains various
> assumptions.
> Its most basic assumption is that we don't read individual letters, but
> whole words - for which no proof is offered. Yet it emphasises the
> importance of placement of first and last letter in each word. Internal
> letters can be garbled, but I suspect the letters can't be too much at
> variance from orthodox spelling, or meaning might be lost. Meaning is
then
> obtained by simple anagramming.
> I would also suspect that persons able to read such text are already
good
> spellers, and/or have analytic minds, such that long experience helps in
> recognising what the "words" are supposed to mean. Also, that most
persons
> able to read it are - adults.
> Note that the title doesn't follow the rule of initial and end letters,
> and that the final statement lapses back into the vernacular.
> A "first" letter is the letter on the left-hand side of a word, and the
> "last" letter is that on the right-hand side. Another aspect taken for
> granted.
> I think researchers(ch) at Cambridge might find a better way of
occupying
> their time. If I buy a dictionary, it is usually Oxford.
>
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ah yes, a dictionary. The standard dictionary sorts: using the alphabet;
both for initial letter of any word, but sequentially through the word.
However, I assume a Whole Word dictionary would use only the first letter -
with maybe a "reverse" dictionary for the last letter. As for letters in
between, a blindfold and a pin might be helpful.
=======================
Windmill Words
=============
A Quixotic Don at Cambridge,
At Spelling need, took umbridge.
"You can scramble an egg,"
"And it's still -ible, leg."
Said Prof, cooking roast in his fridge.
============================
X, the Known?
=============
There was a First-n-Last Letter Teacher,
To whom Spelling was irrelevant feature.
"Quick glance of the eye,"
"And meaning you'll spy"
"Fxxm cxxxxxt axxxe, I ixxxxxxt yxr."
============================
AAAABBCDRRA
================
AGHILNOOOPRTC MAEINOTTN,
VBEIORSC RAAEGINNRRG,
CAENOTTUXL AACINSSSTE.
RAELNSUTT UADDEINNNRSTG?
CBDEIIILRTY PABBIILORTY SCEHINRTTG.
=======================================

Don H · Joined: 05 Aug 2007 Posts: 187

"Don H" wrote in message$4A1.2351@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> "Don H" wrote in message
> $4A1.9375@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> > FI YUO CNA RAED TIHS, YUO HVAE A SGTRANE MNID TOO
> >
> > Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55% fo plepoe can.
> >
> > I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.
> The
> > phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at
Cmabrigde
> > Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are,
th
> e
> > olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
> > pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a
> > pboerim. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
> > istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas
tghuhot
> > slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed tihs forwrad it.
> >
> > ONLY FORWARD IF YOU CAN READ THIS.
> >
> > ======================================
> > Comment: The above text was passed to me by a relative, and I have typed
> it
> > up verbatim, taking care, ironically, that "spelling" is correct. The
> > theory expounded is typical of the Whole Worders and contains various
> > assumptions.
> > Its most basic assumption is that we don't read individual letters,
but
> > whole words - for which no proof is offered. Yet it emphasises the
> > importance of placement of first and last letter in each word. Internal
> > letters can be garbled, but I suspect the letters can't be too much at
> > variance from orthodox spelling, or meaning might be lost. Meaning is
> then
> > obtained by simple anagramming.
> > I would also suspect that persons able to read such text are already
> good
> > spellers, and/or have analytic minds, such that long experience helps in
> > recognising what the "words" are supposed to mean. Also, that most
> persons
> > able to read it are - adults.
> > Note that the title doesn't follow the rule of initial and end
letters,
> > and that the final statement lapses back into the vernacular.
> > A "first" letter is the letter on the left-hand side of a word, and
the
> > "last" letter is that on the right-hand side. Another aspect taken for
> > granted.
> > I think researchers(ch) at Cambridge might find a better way of
> occupying
> > their time. If I buy a dictionary, it is usually Oxford.
> >
>
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ah yes, a dictionary. The standard dictionary sorts: using the
alphabet;
> both for initial letter of any word, but sequentially through the word.
> However, I assume a Whole Word dictionary would use only the first
letter -
> with maybe a "reverse" dictionary for the last letter. As for letters in
> between, a blindfold and a pin might be helpful.
> =======================
> Windmill Words
> =============
> A Quixotic Don at Cambridge,
> At Spelling need, took umbridge.
> "You can scramble an egg,"
> "And it's still -ible, leg."
> Said Prof, cooking roast in his fridge.
> ============================
> X, the Known?
> =============
> There was a First-n-Last Letter Teacher,
> To whom Spelling was irrelevant feature.
> "Quick glance of the eye,"
> "And meaning you'll spy"
> "Fxxm cxxxxxt axxxe, I ixxxxxxt yxr."
> ============================
> AAAABBCDRRA
> ================
> AGHILNOOOPRTC MAEINOTTN,
> VBEIORSC RAAEGINNRRG,
> CAENOTTUXL AACINSSSTE.
> RAELNSUTT UADDEINNNRSTG?
> CBDEIIILRTY PABBIILORTY SCEHINRTTG.
> =======================================
>
# Well, no one bothered to pick me up on misspelling - "umbridge". Ain't
no such word, even though it follows the rule of u-------e; should be
"umbrage", which relates to umbrella and umbra; shade, shadow, thus sinister
(left?). Which is why the etymology of English words helps in understanding
them - and hence spelling them.
Conversely, the analysis of a word can help detect an error -
"um-bridge"? What type of "bridge"?
English orthodoxy in spelling arose with advent of dictionaries and
printing - otherwise there's no real reason why we shouldn't "spell like
gentlemen, and not like pedants". But orthodoxy helps speed up the reading
process, as we don't have to hesitate to ensure we've grasped the meaning of
garbled words.
"Phonetic" spelling tends to vary with dialect, and the poems of Robbie
Burns are in "Scottish". While dialects can be ironed out of existence by
the Internet, the spell-checker of UK v. USA can be annoying. But "the
Americans" always know best, don't they?
When we, as adults, read, our eyes jump from point to point across a line
of text, peripheral vision taking in chunks of text, but always reading
left-to-right (in English, not Arabic). An infant must progress slowly,
letter-by-letter, and word-by-word, until memory assists in speeding things
up. Which is where a Primer is essential, to gain confidence - other books
can be optional - but an initial knowledge of simple words allows for
expansion into the complex, and rule-breaking, later.
What do the "Spelling Bee" compettions do? They are exercises in
Dictation, where contestants must be able to recognise, and spell correctly,
any word from sound alone - even if offered some contextual clues. (Having
all letters present, but in wrong order, is not good enough)
Kids participating in such fierce competitions spend ages learning the
alphabetic and syllabic construction of as many words as possible. Also the
Greek, Latin, etc, origin of the root/stem, and affixes, eg. of medical and
scientific terms.
Why? Because one slip, and you're out !