Weird-News: 'I before E' Obsolete

[arniejolt]

It doesn't look like the British Government is feigning this...

It's a spelling mantra that generations of schoolchildren have learned _ "i before e, except after c."

But new British government guidance tells teachers not to pass on the rule to students, because there are too many exceptions.

The "Support For Spelling" document, which is being sent to thousands of primary schools, says the rule "is not worth teaching" because it doesn't account for words like 'sufficient,' 'veil' and 'their.'

Jack Bovill of the Spelling Society, which advocates simplified spelling, said Saturday he agreed with the decision.

But supporters say the ditty has value because it is one of the few language rules that most people remember.

From CBSNews:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/21/ap/strange/main5101474.shtml?tag=cbsnewsLeadStoriesAreaMain;c bsnewsLeadStoriesHeadlines

[bonethug0108]

But supporters say the ditty has value because it is one of the few language rules that most people remember.

That's like saying you support parachutes that open 50% of the time just because everyone remembers the name of them: Poopchutes.:rolleyes:

:p

[Daemius]

I dunno, I still think the rule would have some use. Sure there are a lot of exceptions, but more often than not, if you're not sure how to spell a word with i and e next to each other, the rule works. Plus, I think most people know how to spell the irregulars already.

It's like in German, most words that end in e have a feminine article, but there are, of course, exceptions. It's still nice to know that I can put "die" at the beginning of almost any word ending with an "e" and still be grammatically correct.

[Starfleet_Rambo]

Don't listen to the British! :mad:

*spits*

[DevinSeventy8]

I remember the little saying, but I never paid it any mind, even when I was really young. I never had problems with the locations of my "i's and e's." So, I guess whether it's taught or not, I don't think many people with live and die by it.

[whofan]

Don't listen to the British! :mad:

*spits*
Okay, that was completely uncalled for, ignorant and shows what a Douche you are.

I think that dropping this little ditty is a good idea because there are WAY too many exceptions to the rule. While it is true that it is one of the few rules that people remember, I've seen it misused so many times (at a University level!) that I don't think it's worth keeping around. People remember the rule, but not the exceptions.

[Bonez]

I believe the rule is actually i before e...always (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGFYiKNZ4XA).

[MooTrain]

I before E except when the spellchecker in microsoft word says otherwise.

[Sarge51]

First Pluto now, "I before E"?! T_T