[Laszlo's Scrapbook] If you only knew.

[Montaine]

Using the spelling of words to dictate their pronunciation is a highly dodgy system given the variation of the pronunciation of identical phonemes or even letters amongst different groups. Using my own pronunciations as a base for phonetically writing these out, is W pronounced 'wuh' or 'vuh'? Is J pronounced 'juh', 'huh' or 'yuh'? In reality the spelling of the word doesn't dictate its pronunciation in most words, with multiple options among many of them. So really, the only silly thing to do would be to purposely alter the spelling of words to fit their pronunciation as you see it.

Which is how the 'z' in realize came about, and the removal of the 'u' from favor. Mom, however is perfectly fine, as that is not an alteration designed to reflect a pronunciation but rather a leftover from Birmingham when the original settlers popped on across the Atlantic. So you guys aren't entirely wrong.

[Laszlo]

Is it possible that languages change and adapt with time and different local regions? Hm... well change IS terrifying. Best response is aggression! EXTERMINATE, ANNIHILATE, DESTROY!

[Montaine]

That would be true if the modern American spellings weren't largely down to one man: Noah Webster. He believed that the British spellings of the day were too complex and so filled his new dictionary with what we now think of as American English spellings.

Screw Hitler, if I ever get a time machine, this is the guy I'm gunning for.

[Seven Xu]

I'll buy that fine robit. Two dolla.

[Montaine]

Daleks ain't robits you danged hick, take your fake money elsewhere.

[Laszlo]

Didn't some variations come from anti-British hate soon after the American Revolution? Seemed like they wanted to change a lot of things to make themselves not British. Throwing out Guy Fawkes Day is one example. I'm sure there are hundreds of others but my grasp of American history at the moment is not good.

I think recently there WAS a sort of proposition to change English spellings to ALWAYS be phonetically correct. So thuh spelings uv werdz wood never bee confewzing. I remember this being an issue around when I graduated, 2003ish.

[Seven Xu]

Fifty dolla for the squib robit
(yes all my money is pink, and yes I'll stop spamming)

[Laszlo]

Aa, found it. Heer it iz. It's kauld Truespel. Thu kaansept iz mieldlee horifieyeeng.

Truespel, the next step in the evolution of language and spelling. Barf.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Keep in mind that pronunciation changes over time through use, while spelling is more likely to remain static. Thus many words USED to have spellings that matched the pronunciation, but different accents and styles of speaking change the accepted pronunciation. Spelling can remain consistent because we have books to write it down in.

Knight used to be pronounced kh-nig-it instead of nite, island used to be iS-land instead of ay-land, and so forth.

In England, the 'correct' pronunciation was the 'King's English.' If the king pronounced a word a certain way, that was what everyone said was 'correct,' because he's the king and you don't contradict the king on his speech. Pronunciation could thus change from one generation to the next.

Many alternate spellings of words creep slowly into the dictionary based on just how people say the words. Ho for whore, phone for telephone (people were just too lazy to say the whole word and it got shortened through use). Contractions like can't for cannot, isn't for is not. They grow through use.

Color was likely once pronounced more like 'co-louer', but people fudged the pronunciation to the way most of us say it today. Americans shifted the spelling to fit the new accepted pronunciation. Brits didn't. But Britain in general seems much more formal with their language use. Whereas us yanks like our slang and our loose-lipped pron'cations...

[Laszlo]

We saw Jen touched on the topic of sexuality—or rather, the desire people have to flaunt it/talk about it excessively—and this inspired me to write a little something of my own. Expression A long rant by a guy on his day off. Hm, ahaha, that's an ominous opening isn't it? It frustrates her when people talk excessively about their own sexuality, so I'm going to talk about it? No no no, that's not what I'm going to write about. My sexual preference is about as important to me as my favorite color, or the type of clothes I like, or my taste in music. It's an intrinsic part of me that has only a small bearing on the whole. I'm ME first, and I like men second, or third, or… I don't know, 38th. 1042nd? Basically, as Jen said—who cares? That's kind of private anyway. Being a writer (however amateur I am) is far higher up that list. But it is everywhere isn't it? Debates about who can marry who, how people get killed in other countries while we as Americans (or Canadians? Britons? What have you) enjoy First World civilization and rights and freedom of expression, whole parades, new bills in congress, etc. Many refer to the LGBT issue as the newest civil rights movement, after the MLK era and the Suffragettes. And I'm sure there were people back then too who, regardless of their opinion, were sick of hearing about it. They didn't even have internet! We live in a world of privilege, where we enjoy a right to be worried about poverty, crime, animals going extinct, environmental threats, AND the small things like whether the new iPhone 5 is worth it, or how much SOPA is the worst, and whether you can swear on TV. We don't have to pick and choose about what's most important. Humans are creatures capable of multitasking, and there are champions for every cause. Naturally I do have opinions on the matter of gay marriage, but lately I've come to feel that my strong opinions, especially on controversial issues, are best kept to myself unless someone asks. Whether or not someone hears me rant about what I believe, it won't change what they believe. It won't change what they think of me, it won't make me any more right (or them any more wrong) and at the end of the day, what does it matter what I think? However cathartic it is to hear myself talk, whether or not I support something DOESN'T CHANGE anything. Why do we feel the desire to rant about our own sexualities, or our views on religion, or our seasonal opinions on politics, or the violence in Darfur, or the shame and collapse (but arguable success?) of the Kony 2012 movement? It's our first amendment right as Americans (sorry non-Americans). The freedom of speech grants us the freedom of expression. We're free to like something, we're free to hate something, and we're free to write scrapbook entries about grammar and horses and articles about personality disorders. More than ever, we should be appreciating that right. It is true that Christians and Muslims and many religious groups in America suffer criticism and attacks. How many cartoons and comics and television shows and so on, go on to discredit their beliefs and insult them? Yet one private, stupid little anti-Islam film, and much of the Middle-East is in an uproar. Even in my area, about a hundred miles south of me in a city called Corvalis, there is a mural (commissioned by a Taiwanese shop owner who immigrated to America 40 years ago) advocating independence for Taiwan and Tibet. Many young people come from China to go to school in Oregon universities (and other places along the Pacific coast), so China officials are actually pleading with state government and the Corvalis mayor to have that mural removed. They're concerned about the minds of their youth, so they're trying to come into OUR country to tell us that they don't like a mural painted on OUR building. Here's an article from FOX news about it if you're curious. Freedom of expression is a wonderful thing. I'm pretty sure other first world nations enjoy similar rights. But does that mean we should express ourselves in each other's faces? I guess that choice is yours. You have to wonder though where it comes from, that desire not to express yourself, but to be heard. That's the real reason we're vocal about our opinions, beliefs, and even sexuality. Like I said before, it's catharsis. It feels good to get it out. Maybe we feel largely ignored, or we're surrounded by people with different beliefs, or maybe you just want to gauge what others think to better shape your own views. Maybe all of those. The Internet is a window to the rest of the world, displayed to us on monitors, like little portals from our real lives. And there are people within that window who will listen, or who will hate listening, and always there will be people who argue back, either for or against you. It's a human desire to be heard, to be part of the exchange of ideas, to prove to the world that you do exist. Here you are, this is the sound you make. This is something many teenagers and 20-somethings are discovering for the first time. These are the most opinionated and vocal people of all. Partly because they're young and still figuring out their identity, and partly because in the grander scheme of things—in the real world—these people are comparatively powerless. You see this often in Mizahar's writing. People will often default to creating evil sadistic characters, or baseless drifters, slave PCs, sly thieves, cold assassins—I mean really look at that. These are all forms of catharsis, of emotions boiling beneath the surface that are easily vented through writing and roleplay with others (where you get to express yourself and be heard in excess—indirectly). And there's nothing wrong with that! Everyone went through that process. I have a huge portfolio of characters like that. You can't make someone feel comfortable with where they stand and who they are. It's a process, for everyone, and some people never grow out of that transition. Some people spend their lives deciding where they stand. Some people mature early. I personally loathe controversial debates because I find them utterly pointless—they accomplish nothing, rendering the catharsis moot (though the occasional circle-jerk is always nice for the ego). Some people talk about their sexuality, and often atheism, because they feel like they're living in a world that is telling them they're wrong. They're not allowed to do that, or believe that, or love him/her. Sure, many of us really dgaf, believe what you want, date who you want. Go nuts. And some people, especially straight supporters of LGBT, talk about it in excess because they feel like they're doing something good for the sake of others (Americans, the spiritual children of rebellion against Great Britain, just LOVE an underdog). No matter what the reason, it all comes down to the desire to find validation in other people. Having people listen to us go on about our opinions and feelings makes us more secure in them. And some people—like Jen—invoke their right not to be used for that reason. I completely agree with her. It's frustrating to be used as a sounding board. Months ago I swore off scrapbooks because I wanted to stop feeling incensed by some people's entries, and moreover I wanted to stop feeling the compulsion to write long rants about things for the sake of catharsis and anonymous validation. In that time I learned to be comfortable with what I believe in—privately—without the need to shove it in other people's faces. It's my sincere hope that everyone eventually finds that kind of contentment. That's why I wrote this rant, in the hope that some of this makes some sense to someone. I have an enormous desire to help others feel better about themselves (it makes them better friends), so introspection is a topic I will rant about all day. You can't force someone to be secure in themselves, but you can help nudge them in the right direction. If you like. Just don't expect success.