John Hart (spelling reformer)
Encyclopedia
John Hart was an English educator, grammarian, spelling reformer
and officer of arms
. He is best known for proposing a reformed spelling system for English, which has been described as "the first truly phonological scheme" in the history of early English spelling.
Hart is the author of three known works on grammar and spelling: an unpublished manuscript from 1551 titled The Opening of the Unreasonable Writing of Our Inglish Toung; a printed pamphlet titled An Orthographie, published in 1569; and a practical reading primer titled A Methode or Comfortable Beginning for All Unlearned, published in 1570. In these works, he criticises the contemporary spelling practices of his day as chaotic and illogical, and argues for a radically reformed orthography on purely phonological principles. His goal was to introduce a spelling system with a one-to-one relationship between sounds and symbols ("to vse as many letters in our writing, as we doe voyces or breathes in speaking, and no more "). For this purpose, he introduced six new phonetic consonant symbols for the sounds ð, θ, tʃ, dʒ, ʃ and syllabic l, as well as a system of diacritics for vowels. Long vowels were systematically marked by a dot below the letter, while the reduced vowel schwa
was marked by ë.
Hart's work has been lauded by modern linguists for his highly insightful phonetic analysis of the Early Modern English
of his days, and for his thoroughness in pursuing the phonetic principle. His discussion of vowel pronunciations is particularly interesting to historians of the English language, because it documents the spoken English at an intermediate point during the Great Vowel Shift
, which during Hart's days was radically transforming the vowel system of English. Thus, for instance, Hart documents that the pronunciation of words that had Middle English
long /iː/ but shifted to /aɪ/ in Modern English was still variable in his days, with some speakers retaining /iː/ in some words, but a diphthong /əɪ/ (spelled ei by Hart) already common in others.
The following passage from Hart's Orthographie, in his original spelling, illustrates the system. (For technical reasons, Hart's six new consonant symbols have here been replaced by their equivalent modern IPA symbols.)
As an officer of arms
, John Hart held the title of Chester Herald
between 1566 and 1574.
English spelling reform
For hundreds of years, many groups and individuals have advocated spelling reform for English. Spelling reformers seek to make English spelling more consistent and more phonetic, so that spellings match pronunciations and follow the alphabetic principle....
and officer of arms
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
. He is best known for proposing a reformed spelling system for English, which has been described as "the first truly phonological scheme" in the history of early English spelling.
Hart is the author of three known works on grammar and spelling: an unpublished manuscript from 1551 titled The Opening of the Unreasonable Writing of Our Inglish Toung; a printed pamphlet titled An Orthographie, published in 1569; and a practical reading primer titled A Methode or Comfortable Beginning for All Unlearned, published in 1570. In these works, he criticises the contemporary spelling practices of his day as chaotic and illogical, and argues for a radically reformed orthography on purely phonological principles. His goal was to introduce a spelling system with a one-to-one relationship between sounds and symbols ("to vse as many letters in our writing, as we doe voyces or breathes in speaking, and no more "). For this purpose, he introduced six new phonetic consonant symbols for the sounds ð, θ, tʃ, dʒ, ʃ and syllabic l, as well as a system of diacritics for vowels. Long vowels were systematically marked by a dot below the letter, while the reduced vowel schwa
Schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa can mean the following:*An unstressed and toneless neutral vowel sound in some languages, often but not necessarily a mid-central vowel...
was marked by ë.
| Hart's symbol | Traditional spelling | Phonetic value |
|---|---|---|
| th | ð | |
| th | θ | |
| ch | tʃ | |
| soft g Soft g soft g can refer to:#The soft g sound in many languages, see hard and soft g.#A g with breve... |
dʒ | |
| sh | ʃ | |
| syllabic l | l̩ | |
| ạ | a | aː (modern /eɪ/) |
| ẹ | e | eː (modern iː) |
| ë | e | ə |
| ị | i | iː (modern /aɪ/) |
| ọ | oa, o | oː (modern /oʊ/) |
| ụ | oo, u | uː |
Hart's work has been lauded by modern linguists for his highly insightful phonetic analysis of the Early Modern English
Early Modern English
Early Modern English is the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period to 1650. Thus, the first edition of the King James Bible and the works of William Shakespeare both belong to the late phase of Early Modern English...
of his days, and for his thoroughness in pursuing the phonetic principle. His discussion of vowel pronunciations is particularly interesting to historians of the English language, because it documents the spoken English at an intermediate point during the Great Vowel Shift
Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in England between 1350 and 1500.The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen , a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term....
, which during Hart's days was radically transforming the vowel system of English. Thus, for instance, Hart documents that the pronunciation of words that had Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
long /iː/ but shifted to /aɪ/ in Modern English was still variable in his days, with some speakers retaining /iː/ in some words, but a diphthong /əɪ/ (spelled ei by Hart) already common in others.
The following passage from Hart's Orthographie, in his original spelling, illustrates the system. (For technical reasons, Hart's six new consonant symbols have here been replaced by their equivalent modern IPA symbols.)
As an officer of arms
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
, John Hart held the title of Chester Herald
Chester Herald
Chester Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. The office of Chester Herald dates from the 14th century, and it is reputed that the holder was herald to Edward, Prince of Wales, the Black Prince. In the reign of King Richard II the officer was attached...
between 1566 and 1574.