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T.R. Vickroy
A Fonetic Furst Redur
"Printed in the Alfabet and Speling ov the Speling Reform Asoshiashun"
Cincinnati, ca. 1878
Spelling Reform Association.
The object of this Association shal be the simplification of English orthografy. To this end it wil secure the delivery of addresses, publish articls, circulate books, pamflets, and charts; endevor to introduce the reform in schools; and in all proper ways, as far as the means at its disposal wil allow, wil urge the matter upon the attention of the peopl.
—From the title page
Reading alphabetic text began to develop after the Greeks modified the Phoenician alphabet to create a 24-letter system of consonants and vowels that would represent every sound in their language. To this day, readers use a variety of strategies to assist them in decoding symbols, both printed and tactile, that represent the sounds of speech.