Thair hav ben meny propoazels to reform the speling ov Inglish sinss the 18tth sentiury. The list ov peepl hw hav mayd them raynjes frum Benjamin Franklin to Theodore Roosevelt (yess, reely) to Anthony Burgess. Altho the very iidia sownds straynj tw moast Inglish-speekers, in fact it is norml for Uiropian languejes tw reform thair speling sistems evry fiu decayds. It is Inglish that is od in never having experiensed a tthero howscleening.

Altscript is a litl uniuzhiuel among reform sceems in tw respects. Ferst, it is a compleet, nw sistem ov ryting, not a partial rationelyzaytion lyk that introdwsed intw American speling bi the lexicografer Noah Webster in the 19tth sentiury. Second, it is also suppoazed tw be imediatly reedabl bi eneewun familier witth traditionl Inglish speling. Thiss meens, for instanss, that it uizes the traditionl Inglish qualitees ov the vowels, and prezervs a fiu comun leter combinaytions. It also meens that thair ar meny mor rwls tthan wood be needed meerly tw descryb Inglish speech foneticly. Altscript is indeed fonetic, but it acheevs thiss bi tayking familier Inglish speling conventions and uzing them consistently. Thuss, meny Altscript spelings look the saym as traditionl spelings, som look lyk familier misspelings, and som hav tw be decoaded frum the begining. That is wat thiss payj is heer tw help U dw.

A

B

Always "b" as in "be" [be].

C

Bi itself, always a hard sownd, as in "comand" [command] or "reject" [reject].
It is normely uized eether initialy or witthin a silabl.
It is uized at the end ov a silabl oanly as part ov the combinaytion "-cl," as in "particl" [particle], and in the combinaytion "-ic," as in "sonic" [sonic].
The combinaytion "ch" is as in "cheef" [chief].

D

Thiss is normely "d" as in "deep" [deep].
A fynl "-ed," the mark of the past tenss, can hav wun of tthree valius: For werds ending in "c," "f," "k," "p," "s," "tth," or "x," the ending "-ed" = /t/ as in "paked" [packed],"mised" [missed], and so on.
For werds ending in vowels or in "b," "g," "j," "l," "m," "n," "r," "th," "v" or "z.," the ending "-ed" = /d/, as in "baged" [bagged], "slamed" [slammed], and so on.
For werds ending in "d" or "t," the ending "-ed" = /ed/, as in "moalded" [molded], "bated" [batted], and so on.

E

Thiss is the cach-awl vowel, fownd in "get" [get], "fer" [fur, fir], "berth" [berth, birth] and so on.
The combinaytion "ee" expreses the naym valiu ov "e," as in "deep" [deep].
The leter "e" also has its naym valiu at the ends ov monosibels, such as "me" [me], "she" [she], "fle" [flea] and "te" [tea].

F

Always "f" as in "ferst" [first].

G

Normely "g" as in "good." The leter ocers in the combinaytion "gu," as in "anguish" [anguish].
It also ocers in the combinaytion "ing," as in "sing" [sing].

H

Bi itself, thiss is always "h" as in "hat" [hat].
The leter is also uized in the combinaytions "ch" "th" "tth."

I

The norml valiu ov thiss letr is as in "bit" [bit].
It is uized to reprezent a short "ee" sownd in serten vowel combinaytions, such as "peeriod" [period] and "enunsiayt" [enunciate].
Thiss leter has its naym valiu when standing aloan. When capitelyzed, it is the first persen singiuler. In lower cayss, it is the orgen ov syt (the plurel ov "i" [eye] is "ys" [eyes]). It has its naym valiu at the end ov a werd, as in "bi" [by], and at the begining, wen it is dubeled, as in "iironic" [ironic].
It is is uized in the combinaytions "ui" (uized oanly initialy) and "iu," in boatth cayses tw indicayt a glyd befor a long "u."
It can be uized tw indicayt a glyd eneewair but initialy.

J

Always "j" as in "joy."

K

Thiss leter is uized tw reprezent a hard "c" sownd at the end ov silabels, as in "mayk" [make].
It is uized even when the werd chanjes, as wen "mayk" becoms "mayks" [makes] and "mayking" [making].
It is uized in the combinaytion "nk," as in "drink" [drink].

L

Normely "l" as in "look" [look]. It also sugjests a short diptthong wen uized initialy in "al," as in "altho."
Wen it ocers at the end ov a werd in combinaytions such as "simpl" [simple], "posibl" [possible] or "litl" [little], the vowel is not expressed. However, the vowel must be expresed after uther vowel sownds and the letrs "r" and "l." (Thus, the spelings "vowel" [vowel] and "jenerel" [jenerel] rathr than "vowl" and "jenerl.")
Also, the vowel must be expresed wen the "l" is no longer final, so that "norml" [normal] becoms "normely" [normally].

M

Always "m" as in "mop"

N

Normely "n" as in "no." It ocers in the combinaytion "nk," as in "blank" [blank] and in the combinaytion "ing," as in "sing" [sing].

O

Thiss is moast comunly uized to represent an indistinct sound, as in "got" [got].
At the end ov a werd it has its naym valiu, wich is utherwyz expresded witth the combinaytion "oa," as in "moat" [moat].
The combinaytion "oo" is as in "good" [good].
In the combinaytion "or" it can sugjest a short diptthong lyk the "aw" in "awl" [awl].
The combinaytion "ow" is as in "now" [now].
The combinaytion "oy" is as in "joy" [joy].

P

Always "p" as in "pay."

Q

Uized oanly in the combinaytion "qu," as in "quandry."

R

Normely "r" as in "red," subject tw reejunl variaytions.

S

Thiss is "s" as in "sit" wen uized at the begining ov a werd or internely. At the end ov a werd it is pronownsed /z/, unles it foloas "c" "f" "p" "t," in wich cayss it is pronownsed /s/.
Wen a gramaticl ending is aded tw a werd ending in an "s" that is pronownsed /z/, the "s" then becoms a "z." Thuss, "caws" [cause] becoms "cawzes" [causes].
The combinaytion "ss," uized oanly at the end ov a werd, is always pronownsed as in "hiss" [hiss]. Wen an ending is aded to such a werd, the "ss" is shortened to "s." Thus, "buss" [bus] becoms "buses" [buses].
The combinaytion "sh" is as in "wash" [wash].

T

Bi itself thiss is always "t" as in "top" [top].
The combinaytion "th" is as in "the" [the].
The combinaytion "tth" is as in "tthin" [thin].
The combinaytions "tion" and "tial" expres hoal silabels, as in "ignition" [ignition] and "initial" [initial].
The combinaytion "tiur" is often pronoansed "cher," as in "pictiur" [picture], but is also pronoansed "tiwr."

U

Thiss is normely an indistinct vowel, as in "uther" [other] and "buk" [buck].
In iisolaytion, it is capitelyzed and given its naym valiu as the secund persen, "U" [you].
Wen its naym valiu is expresed initialy, it is riten witth the combinaytion "ui," as in "uinit" [unit].
Wen its naym valiu is expresed in anuther poztion, it is riten "iu" as in "valiu" [value]. It also ocers in the combinaytion "gu," as in "anguish" [anguish].

V

Always "v" as in "vecter" [vector].

W

Thiss is normely a consonent, as in "way."
It inclwds the initial sownd ov such werds as "wen" [when], "wair" [where], and "wi" [why].
It is also a vowel, as "bwt" [boot] and "hws" [whose].
The leter ocers in the combinaytions "aw" and "ow."

X

Thiss is always "x" as in "execiutiv" [executiv].
It never ocers initialy, and it is never uized tw expres an oableek form ov a werd. Thuss, the tthird persen singiuler ov the prezent tenss ov "pek" [peck] is "peks" [pecks], not "pex."

Y

Z

Always "z" as in "zip."

Jenerel Noats:

Hyfens shood be uized tw separayt leters that wood utherwyz be ambigiuus. Thuss, "swing" = [swing], "sw-ing" = [suing].

Hyfens can be uized tw indicayt departiur frum the norml paterns ov stres. Thuss, the nown "recerd" [record] and the verb "re-cord" [record].