Edwin Spelling

Edwin Spelling is an alternate spelling for English with the goal to create a more native English variant of the current system. However, Edwin-spelling is an independent effort and is more influenced by its creator's personal taste in spelling than Hurlebatte's Anglish Spelling. Spelling is primarily etymological, and ignores post-ME vowel changes, as Modern English: <oan>/<åne> /wʌn/, <cude> /kʊd/, <rume> /ruːm/. There are two forms, roughly: one which is mostly akin in appearance to Modern English, and one which goes much further and adds many Old- and Early-Middle English style spellings. The original divergence between Hurlebatte's spelling and Edwin-spelling had to do with the spelling of English /uː/ and /iː/, from Old English ē and ō; while the former mostly leaves them intact, Edwin-Spelling puts them in the V_e "magic E" set of vowels.

FROM TO WHEN EXAMPLE qu cw [kw] queen > cwene u / ue / u_e o_e historically [u] yule > yole u / ue / u_e ew historically [ju] true > trew gu g when /g/ guest > gest ou / ow u / u_e [aʊ] loud > lude, cow > cu c s [s] cinder > sinder le el [əl] little > littel ie e_e [i] thief > thefe e_e ea historically [ɛː] these > theas o_e oa historically [ɔː] hole > hoal wh h historically [h] whole > hoal ee e_e historically [eː] feed > fede oo o_e historically [oː] moon > mone v f not word-initially give > gif f ff not word-initially elf > elff -e nothing does not lengthen a vowel have > haf o u historically [u] wolf > wulff ough ugh also when pronounced [ʌf] enough > enugh

Example: (from this wiki's translation of the Gospel Of John) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his wolder, the wolder as of the oanly begotten of the Father), estey and trewthful. John bare witness of him, and rard, saying: This was he of whome I spake, He that cummeth after me is my better: for he was before me. And of his fullness haf all we reaped, and este for este.

Mean English Example: (Dickens) It was the best of times, it was the wurst of times, it was the age of wisdom it was the age of folishness, it was the eapoch of beleffe, it was the eapoch of incredewlity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hoap, it was the winter of despair.

Extensions

The following are a set of anti-French changes which might make things a bit too unreadable, but are cool nonetheless. Writing with all these would be "deepest" Edwin spelling. Considerations will be made about what to do about OE "g"

FROM TO WHEN EXAMPLE ch c before a front vowel cheese > cese ch ce before a back vowel choose > ceose (t)ch tce following a short vowel witch > witce; rich > ritce ch ce following a long vowel each > eace sh sc all fish > fisc sc sk all scum > skum th þ or đ (never the Icelandic shape ð because "d" doesn't look like that) always that > þat/đat gh h replace gh with "ff" since "tuh" doesn't even look like it should say /tuf/ anymore daughter > dauhter; plough > pluh; tough > tuff (Edwin-spelled) oa å_e all boat > båte (Edwin-spelled) ea æ_e all lead > læde, read (present) > ræde e, ea æ when it comes from shortened /ɛː/ bread > bræd, read (past) > ræd

Example: And þe Word was made flæsc, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his wolder, the wolder as of þe ånely begotten of þe Faþer), estey and trewþful. John bare witness of him, and rard, saying: Ðiss was he of whome I spake, He þat cummeþ after me is my better: for he was before me. And of his fullness haf all we ræped, and este for este.

Mean English Example: (Dickens) It was þe best of times, it was þe wurst of times, it was þe age of wisdom, it was þe age of foliscness, it was þe æpoch of beleffe, it was þe æpoch of incredewlity, it was þe sæson of liht, it was þe sæson of darcness, it was þe spring of håpe, it was þe winter of despair.

Another Example: (from our "Foreword from the Canterbury Tales"): When Æstermonþ wiþ its swete scures / Đe druht of Lide has bored to erþly bures / And baþed efery adder in sutce flow / By whitce strengþ þe blossom is born så / When the West Wind æke wiþ its swete yelde / Has bræþed into efery holt and felde / The soft saplings and the yung sun / Has in the Ram halff its time run.