Simplified Spelling chrome extension

What is Simplified Spelling?

Simplified Spelling is a fun chrome extension. it's a free extension and is featured in Fun, it has 170 active users since released its first version, it earns an average rating of 4.67 from 3 rated user, last update is 2668 days ago.

What’s new in version 1.0.1?

                This chrome extension translates any web page into simplified spelling.

Simplified Spelling:
Written as it sounds. 
Pronounced as it is written.

English spelling is notoriously complex and difficult to learn. English spells its 42 spoken sounds in over 400 ways! Children spend years memorizing thousands of spelling exceptions in order to learn to read and write. Those learning English as a second language are hindered by this haphazard system.

Today computers make experimenting with simplified spelling easy. With this Chrome extension, you can try it with the click of a button on your web browser.

This Simpified Spelling translator uses the SoundSpel system, which has origins that date back to 1910, and is described in detail in the 1986 publication "Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling" (ref 1). Soundspel is based on very simple, consistent spelling rules:

1. Short vowels are a single letter, as in: 
    sat, set, did, dot, cut
2. Long vowels are followed immediately 
    by an e, as in: sundae, see, die, toe, cue
3. No silent letters
4. Most double letters are removed
5. Consonants such as f, s, j have a 
    consistent, single sound and spelling:
    tough, phone, city, judge, gorgeous
    → tuf, foen, sity, juj, gorjus

A few other sounds, rules, and exeptions (refs 1,2) will be obvious to the reader. This results in a spelling system with nearly one-to-one correspondence between sounds and spelling. For example:

hat, have, laugh, plaid 
→ hat, hav, laf, plad

red, head, said, friend 
→ red, hed, sed, frend

herd, earth, birth, journey 
→ herd, erth, berth, jerny

hide, fight, find, sign, knight 
→ hied, fiet, fiend, sien, niet

roll, hole, soul, goal, bowl 
→ roel, hoel, soel, goel, boel

tough, love, judge, tongue 
→ tuf, luv, juj, tung

knight, receipt, asthma
→ niet, reseet, azma

This app was created by members of the American Literacy Council, a non-profit organization founded in 1876. The American Literacy Council faithfully supports the vision of its founders, who valued any and all methods that could enlarge the circle of English-reading people. We support the founders' vision of gradual, unforced evolution of the written language toward more simple and consistent spellings.

References:
1. Rondthaler, Edward and Edward J. Lias, Dictionary of Simplified American Spelling New York: The American Language Academy, 1986. www.americanliteracy.com/resources/Dictionary_of_Simplified_American_Spelling.pdf
2. "SoundSpel", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundSpel
3. American Literacy Council, www.americanliteracy.com            

How to install Simplified Spelling?

You could download the latest version crx file or older version files and install it.

Preview of Simplified Spelling

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Reviews of simplified spelling:

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Robert J. McGehee January 7th, 2017

I am only giving this extension 4 stars on account of the fact that there are certain technical issues related to the nature of spelling reform that have not been entirely resolved at this point. I also need to issue a disclaimer here: I am not only personally acquainted with the developer of this extension, but I belong to the same spelling reform organization he does. Not only that, but I personally knew the individual who was responsible for creating the form of revised spelling used here, an individual by the name of Rondthaler who lived to the grand old age of 103! Before he died, he and I had agreed to certain changes to be made to his system. I notice that the version of Simplified Spelling being used in this extension is the version used way back in 1986, meaning that it's now 30 years out of date! Since that time, certain improvements have been made to the system that fix certain defects in the earlier version. Otherwise, however, if a more recent version of this particular system of revised orthography were being used I would have given the extension 5 stars.

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Lillian Petersen December 30th, 2016

It's so fun to challenge your brain by trying to read simplified spelling! One of the coolest apps ever!

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