Simpel-Fonetik is a system of English-language spelling reform that simplifies the reading, writing, and pronunciation of words in English. It was created by Allan Kiisk, a multilingual (English, German, Latin, and Estonian) professor of engineering.
Based on phonetic languages including Estonian, Finnish, and Hawaiian, it removes common difficulties of learning to communicate in English by correlating one unique letter per sound and one sound per letter.
Description
Basic principles Simpel-Fonetik writing is based on the following principles:
Each letter represents only one spoken sound There is a letter for each basic sound in the English language Double letters (two adjacent identical letters) represent long vowels and strong consonants.
Alphabet The Simpel-Fonetik alphabet is based on the Latin script, with the addition of three letters with diacritics: ä, ö, and ü (with umlaut). The alphabet does not include the letters c, q, x, or y, which are only used when writing unassimilated foreign terms or proper names.
The 25-letter alphabet is: Letter-glyph Example usage IPA Vowels and semivowels A kap (cup) ʌ Ä hät (hat) æ E end ɛ I fit ɪ J jet (yet) j O on ɔ Ö pörtöörb (perturb) ə U fut (foot), fuud (food) ʊ, ʉː Ü übör (über) y W win w Consonants B big b D dog d F left f G golf g H help h K kelp k L leg l M lemön (lemon) m N tenönt (tenant) n P pet p R risk r S send s T tent t V vivid v Z zuu (zoo) z
Example The Star (H. G. Wells)
See also English-language spelling reform
References
Further reading Stanford Alumni News "Bad Spellers of the World, Untie" Kiisk, Allan (2013) Simple Phonetic English Spelling - Introduction to Simpel-Fonetik, the Single-Sound-per-Letter Writing Method, in printed, audio and e-book versions, Tate Publishing, Mustang, Oklahoma. Kiisk, Allan (2012) Simpel-Fonetik Dictionary - For International Version of Writing in English, Tate Publishing, Mustang, Oklahoma.
External links The English Spelling Society English Spelling Reform Using Simpel-Fonetik Alphabet