Following are the SRS rules for the minimum respell of
English text:
1. All letters of the existing English Alphabet are accepted with their
usual sound. 'g' is confined to the sound in 'gag', 'd' to the sound in 'dad'.
'x' = 'eks', 'q' is only used in words like 'qúéen'. The regular consonantal
combinations are accepted. Two adjacent letters with the same sound are
accepted as the sound of one of the letters.
2. The usual consonantal digraphs are accepted: sh, ch, ng, wh, th as in
thin/then, nk, zh
3. 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u', are accepted or provided in the interior of
words or as initial letters where the short vowel sound is required. 'y' is
accepted in the interior of words as the sound of 'i'.
4. 'á', 'é', 'í', 'ó', 'ú' are provided in the interior of words or as
initial letters where the long vowel sound is required. 'ý' is provided as a
replacement, in a multi-syllable word, for a terminal letter 'y' which has the
'í' sound. ì is accepted as the sound of 'é' where an 'i' has the 'é' sound in
the original word. 'è' is accepted as the sound of 'á' where 'e' has the sound
of 'á' in the original word.
5. 'ô' is used to replace any letter combination which begins with 'o' and
has the 'aw' sound. Either 'aw' or 'au' is accepted as the sound of 'aw'. Where
a syllable has the sound of 'aw' but contains neither the 'aw' or 'au' digraph,
nor a combination beginning with 'o', 'aw' is substituted.
6. 'û' is used to replace any combination of letters which has the sound of
the 'u' in 'put'.
7. 'ou' and 'ow' are accepted as the sound of 'ou' in 'out'.
8. 'oi' and 'oy' are accepted as the sound of 'oi' in 'boil'.
9. 'ù' is used to replace a 'u' which has the sound of 'ú' preceded by 'y'.
10. 'ai' is accepted as the sound of 'e' where the combination precedes an
'r'.
11. 'tion' is accepted as the sound of 'shun', 'sion' as 'zhun', 'cian' as
'shun', 'cial' as 'shul' and 'ture' as 'chur'.
12. the combinations 'ów', 'ái', 'áy', 'ígh', 'ee' (seen), 'ea' (each), are
accepted as long vowel sounds, but the vowel is marked in the cases of 'ów',
'ígh', 'ái', and 'áy'.
13. a terminal 'a' is accepted provided it has the sound of 'u'.
14. the combinations 'er', 'ir', 'ur' are accepted if they indicate the
sound of 'ur' in 'urn'. 'ar' and 'or' are accepted as the sound of 'ur' in a
final unaccented syllable, or in an unaccented syllable followed by a final
'ly' or 'ing'.
15. the 'err' combination is used in all places where the sound is that of
the 'err' in 'terror'.
16. the 'irr' combination is used in all places where the sound is that of
the 'irr' in 'mirror'.
17. terminal letters 'e', 'i', 'o', and 'u' are accepted or provided where
the long vowel sound of the letters is desired.
18. a terminal letter 'y' as part of an unaccented syllable has the sound of
'é'.
19. a terminal letter 'y' in a single syllable word has the sound of 'ý'.
20. terminal letters 'ce' and 'se' are accepted as the the sound of 's' .
21. s, 's, d are accepted as plural, possessive, and past tense endings of
final syllables ending in 'le'.
22. s, 's, d are accepted or provided as plural, possessive, and past tense
endings of final syllables ending in 'vowel + l'.
23. a single 's' which indicates plural or possessive following any vowel or
voiced consonant at end of word has the sound of 'z'.
24. 'el', 'le', 'al', 'il', 'ol', 'ul', 'yl' in a final unaccented syllable
are accepted as the sound of the 'le' in 'apple'. The 'l' is doubled if the
short vowel sound is to be maintained.
25. a 'c' which precedes 'e', 'i', or 'y' is accepted as the sound of 's'.
26. 'o' before an 'r' is accepted as the sound of 'aw' except in a final
unaccented syllable
27. 'a' before an 'r' is accepted or provided as the sound of 'o' except in
a final unaccented syllable. 'a' before an 'h' is accepted or provided as the
sound of 'o'.
28. the combination of 'eh', 'ih', or 'uh' is provided where necessary to
indicate a syllable which ends in the short vowel sound
29. initial silent letters 'w' or 'k' are accepted.
30. the combination of 'dge' indicating the 'j' sound is replaced by 'dj'.
The combination of 'ge' indicating the 'j' sound is replaced by 'j'.
31. 'o' before 'm' or 'n' is accepted as either the 'o' or 'u' sound in
initial or internal syllable of a multiple syllable word.
32. 'silent e' is accepted in a single syllable word or final syllable, but
the long vowel letter is marked.
33. ONLY THOSE LETTERS WHICH WOULD RESULT IN UNRECOGNIZABLE CITATION
PRONUNCIATION ARE DELETED OR REPLACED
34. sight word is 'the'.
SRS abbreviated in the form of examples
1.) bob, cat, dad, fluff, gag, hot, jam, kick,
lilt, mom, nan, pop, qúéen, rural, sis
tot, vivid, went, tax, yell, zip
2.) ship, chip, sing, when, thin/then, pink, trezhur
3.) pat, pet, pit, pot, pup, myth
4.) máte, éve, píne, códe, clúe, implý, rádìo, trivìal, ondontè (andante)
5.) môth, côst, law, Paul
6.) pût, wûlf
7.) out, cow
8.) toil, boy
9.) ùnicef, cùte
10.) air, fair
11.) option, vision, optician, special, capture
12.) lów, hígh, cláim, dáy, each, seen
13.) ídéa
14.) sólar, upper, sir, culor, murmur
15.) territory, therr
16.) irrigáte, hirr
17.) be, alibi, go, thru, BUT máde, píne, códe, clúe
18.) báby, BUT myth
19.) implý, BUT my
20.) fence, horse
21.) táble, tábles, táble's, tábled
22.) lábel, lábels, lábel's, lábeld
23.) bars, his, hers
24.) lábel, táble, vítal, civil, symbol, fáithful, vínyl
25.) cent, civic, bícycle
26.) for, normal
27.) car, ah hah
28.) heh, bihreft, théuhretic
29.) wríte, knífe
30.) badj, gáj, jorj
31.) comment, compléte, contact, conclúde
32.) 'silent e' is accepted in a single syllable word or final syllable,
but the long vowel letter is marked.
33. ONLY THOSE LETTERS WHICH PREVENT RECOGNIZABLE CITATION PRONUNCIATION ARE
DELETED OR REPLACED
34.) sight word is 'the'
SRS The Láte Uhríval
Bob strólld up the path. He wuz láte and wuz considering his alibi. He
lisend tu the uther cars in the street, heding hóme. The dôg, with paw ráizd,
greeted him at the dor. Molly cûd awlwáys tell when he uhríved. She wuz a
fáithful creature, and the sensitivity uv that nóze wuz not a myth. The house
wuz quíet. He lûkt down at the vínyl tíle. It cûd stand sum polish but he wûd
rézist the impulse tu compláin.
He saw his fahther in the garden nirr the fence but didn't bother tu cawl
him. He wuz obvìusly préperring tu mów the lawn. He cûd see the nábor's cow in
the medów and the dense wûds béyond. It seemed a trivìal matter but he awlwáys
lûkt tu see if therr wuz enything on the kitchen táble. His wífe míght wríte a
nóte. Therr wuz a nu novel therr, probably hers. It had a pécùlìar symbol on
the cuver. The títle sed sumthing ubout nûrons. He didn't knów whut that wuz
ubout but simply didn't kerr.
He décíded tu rémúve the lábel now frum the packij he wus kerréing. He hóped
that Myrtle wûd not huhrass him ubout the côst uv the nu fur cót he had bôt
her. He had a fairly gûd réplý. At least it wuz páid for. And the first uv the
yirr wuz awlmóst hirr and the air wuz cóld.
He found the páper partly ópen, óver a chair. It had ráind in the morning.
The páper ôfen got wet. He turnd the rádìo on but didn't kerr for the singing.
He red ubout the cýclóne which had awlmóst hit the civic center. The sky had
lûkt thretning. He gáve a sígh. Therr wûd hav bin the devil tu páy if the storm
had bin wurse. The knolej máde him wince. He thôt, "We ar so helpless in
the fáce uv bad wether". He gáve sum thôt tu sólar power, but clung tu his
ùzhúal rigor, which ment discussing this with his wífe béfor máking a décizhun.
She expected this considerátion. He had bin thinking ubout émerjency power and
had an ídéa. Sum mezhur uv action míght be prúdent.