represent grammar and meaning visually, as in plural and tense endings –s/es and –d/ed. 5. Only a few sets of words that sound the same (homophones) are found to be so confusable that they need differentiated spellings. 6. Names and places can be spelled as they please. 7. Seven alternative vowel spellings with one-way pronunciation for reading: ai, ea, ee, igh, oa, ew, ir; and two possible pronunciations each for th, c, g and y, can also be recognized at the level of ‘Spelling for reading without traps’. Nobody has to memorize these alternative spellings to use in their own writing. The seven principles above are proposed for investigation. They offer a feasible way to prevent English spelling remaining a serious barrier to literacy. They change only around 2.6% of the letters in everyday text, so present readers would be hardly inconvenienced. Its more consistent visible relationship of related words regularizes the 'Chomsky' features of English spelling, to promote faster automatic visual recognition in reading for meaning and a more predictable relationship to the spoken language for international users and learners. Illustration As an illustration, the following exemplar text from H.G. Wells' ‘The Star’, used by spelling reformers, is given in two levels of Interspel. (a) Interspel ‘Spelling without traps for reading’: (b) The basic Interspel spelling for beginners with morphemic modifications, and 31 retained irregularly spelled words: Here is another Interspel example. - Frank Kermode Comparison with other English spelling reform proposals By way of comparison, other proposals for English spelling reform are of four types: New alphabets, such as the Shavian alphabet or the Deseret Alphabet; Including new symbols so that all English sounds have one 'letter' each, as in Pitman's Initial teaching alphabet or Unifon; Phonemic, with correspondence of graphemes and phonemes (letters and sounds) such as Rondthaler's American Spelling (SoundSpel), the Simplified Spelling Society's Nue Spelling, or the Basic Roman spelling of English. The 'long' vowels cause the greatest difficulty; Lists of re-spellings with or without rules, such as the Simplified Spelling Society's present House Style. Interspel, however, is a systematic reform of present spelling with three levels, to match established needs and abilities of users and learners, in which the basic alphabetic principle is modified by morphemic principles, long and short vowels are visibly related, and the 31 most common irregular words are retained. It is more complex in design, but more practicable in use.