R U there?

I wonder what the dictionary will be like in fifty years--and if we would recognize any of the words? Will there still be spelling 'b's? Or spelling tests? Or will we revert to the colonial days when people spelled however they wanted to?

I have a family name that ends with "baugh". When the original family came to America, it was spelled "bach". They were of German extraction and that was pronounced like the composer. Bach. Well, they settled in an area where most of the governing bodies were groups of Scotch-Irish immigrants. And they (the Scotch-Irish) spelled "bach" as "baugh". Hence, our name now ends with baugh instead of bach.

Back then, name spelling was just one of the variables. I have an ancestor named Alice, Alys, Alis, Alics, Alyc, Alyys, Alies, and a couple more variants. As you can see, a simple name like Alice had many varients. You should see what they did with Bartholomew...

With all the texting and emoticons and other abbreviations, I just wonder how long it will be before spelling is a thing of the past. Will it be necessary? Or will we just shrug our shoulders and move on?

anny

PS: Today begins the Falling Leaves Contest! Just click the link for more information and many chances to win!