Anyone who studies English will know how difficult and confusing English spelling can be, this is because of historical foreign influences on the language. A quick look on Wikipedia shows,
“According to one study, the percentage of modern English words derived from each language group are as follows:
Latin (including words used only in scientific/medical/legal contexts): ~29%
French (or Anglo-Norman): ~29%
Germanic: ~26%
Others: ~16%.”
Different English evolution
Looking at the origin and historical development (etymology) of a word, you can see the foreign influences by how a word is spelt or read, especially in British English. American and British English spellings are sometimes different as they have evolved in different ways. This is mainly due to American English simplification, different origins, and nationalism.
As I am British, I use the British spelling of words, although I sometimes use the American spelling or word as Japanese schools teach American English. So, I’m not spelling things incorrectly in my posts, just differently. The alternative spelling or word is interesting to me as you can see history through these differences.
You say zucchini, I say courgette
For example looking at two different words for the same thing; zucchini and courgette. The etymology of the American word zucchini is borrowed from Italian. We don’t use the word zucchini in Britain, Britons say courgette, which is borrowed from French.
The American word eggplant came from egg + plant. This was originally only the white-coloured, egg-shaped variety of the vegetable; now, all varieties of eggplant are called it. The British word for eggplant is aubergine which is from French, which is from Catalan, which is from Arabic, which is from Persian, which is from Sanskrit! By looking at the etymology of this word, I can imagine the origin of the vegetable and its historical journey to Britain.
As I’m interested in the origins of a word, I can often recognise the foreign influence from the spelling or pronunciation.
Simply lost
I like the idea for English spelling to be easier and accessible for all learners, maybe by only using phonemes? However, by changing the spelling of a word to a symbol of a sound, the clues of a word’s history have disappeared, which I think would be a sad loss.
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