THE ART OF SPELLING

New Zealand Tablet, Issue 3, 6 August 1908, Page 38

THE ART OF SPELLING

The proprietor of a Chicago hotel tells of a guest who registered with him about the time of the simplified, spelling craze, and who undertook, in an ingenious way ,to show his contempt for the opponents of the proposed reform. The newcomer spread his signature on the register as fol- ■ lows : ' E. K. Ptholongnyrrh. ' ' Beg your pardon,' said the clerk, • but how do you pronounce it?' ' ' Turner,' was the reply, ' and spelled in approved fashion,loo.' 'Will you kindly explain?' ' ' ' Simplest thing in the world,' said Turner. ' First, we have " phlh," the sound of v t "' jn "phthisis"; then, " olo," _• the sound of " ur " in colonel; thirdly, " gh," "representing the' sound of "n" in "gnat"; and, finally, "yrrh," the equivalent of " er " in myrrh. If the combination doesn't sp-ell Turner, what does it spell?' _ - -«•■«• ■■