Fonetilist

Fonetilist is a term that refers to an individual who advocates for or practices fonetilism. Fone­tilism, in its broadest sense, is a philosophy or movement that seeks to reform spelling systems to align more closely with pronunciation. Proponents argue that traditional orthographies are often irregular, inconsistent, and do not accurately reflect the spoken sounds of a language. This can lead to difficulties in learning to read and write, as well as in the accurate representation of dialects.

The core principle of fonetilism is that written symbols should consistently represent specific phonemes, the smallest units of sound in a language. This would ideally lead to a more phonetic spelling where words are spelled as they are pronounced, and pronunciation is consistently represented by the same letters or combinations of letters. Historical examples of attempts at phonetic spelling include various spelling reform movements that have occurred in different languages throughout history. These movements often face significant challenges, including widespread resistance to changing established norms, the complexity of representing all phonetic nuances, and the potential loss of historical or etymological information embedded in current spellings.

While a fully phonetic spelling system for a major language is rare, the principles of fonetilism influence areas such as the development of simplified or educational orthographies, the creation of transcription systems for linguistic research, and the design of artificial languages. The goal is generally to improve literacy and make the process of learning to read and write more intuitive by bridging the gap between spoken and written language.