§ 2.41 p.m.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether experiments in the use of a 43-letter alphabet will be conducted in schools supported by public funds and whether the individual consent of the parents of any child involved will be obtained.]
§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE (VISCOUNT HAILSHAM)My Lords, twenty-four primary schools maintained by local education authorities have agreed to introduce the augmented Roman Alphabet next September in connection with the investigation into the process of learning to read sponsored jointly by the University of London Institute of Education and the National Foundation for Educational Research. I understand that it is the sponsors' intention that no child should be included in this project against his parents' wishes.
§ LORD DOUGLAS OF BARLOCHMy Lords, I beg to thank the noble and learned Viscount for that Answer. Would he say who is going to compensate these children for the inevitable setback in their education in having to unlearn the 43-letter alphabet and learn 51 that which is used throughout the English-speaking world?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, the idea is that this is an aid to learning the ordinary alphabet and orthography and not a handicap towards it. Certainly, when I saw the long article about it in The Times eighteen months ago, and some more recent documents printed in the augmented alphabet, I personally formed the conclusion that this might well prove to be the case.
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, are any steps being taken to obtain the individual consent of the children concerned?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I think the noble Lord can suggest to himself many answers to that question.
§ THE EARL OF SWINTONMy Lords, might I ask the noble Viscount Why, when Thirty-nine Articles of Religion are considered rather excessive, it is necessary to add greatly to the alphabet?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, the difficulty is that the Roman alphabet comprises sounds too few for the sounds which English speakers use in the ordinary course of speech. I must say, as a slightly old-fashioned and classically based person, that I cling to the old literate spelling. But I must say also that I was immensely impressed when I read the documents printed in the augmented Roman alphabet, and my noble friend will of course realise that current Russian practice is based upon the use of the Greek alphabet, with certain augmented symbols, to represent the various noises which they make and which the ancient Greeks did not.
§ BARONESS HORSBRUGHMy Lords, might I ask the noble Viscount this question? Even if it is not necessary in this country to follow the noises the Russians make, would he say whether, having taken that into account, he has any sympathy for the unfortunate child who 'has now to learn two alphabets—not one alphabet but two—and who, having learned to read in one, has then to learn to read in another? Would he tell us how the classes in the schools will be organised if parents decline to allow their children to go through this suffering and say they wish them to learn to read in the current alphabet and in 52 the way they will have to read for the rest of their lives?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, my noble friend is, of course, of the same cloth as myself as an ex-Minister of Education. My right honourable friend the present Minister expressed his general support for this project and has described it as timely and well worth doing. My own belief is that this is the true view. Obviously, if the experiment fails the children who take part in it will be at some handicap. This is true with any departure in education. But if it succeeds, as personally I think it may very well do, they are to be envied and not pitied.
§ BARONESS WOOTTON OF ABINGERMy Lords, would the noble and learned Viscount say why, if additional symbols were to be introduced, use was not made of the symbols already in use in the Russian and other alphabets, thereby reducing the labour for these children should they subsequently wish to learn such a foreign language as Russian? And, secondly, will the noble and learned Viscount arrange for an experimental period next Session that the documents of this House should be printed in the 43-letter alphabet?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, the answer to the last part of the question is in the negative. The noble Lady's suggestion is, of course, ingenious, but I do not think it is right. To begin with, the Cyrillic alphabet is based, as I pointed out to my noble friend, upon the Greek alphabet and not on the Roman alphabet. The purpose of this experiment is not to invent a new alphabet in which the English language shall be written. The purpose of the experiment is to teach children the very difficult art of reading English as it is written at the moment and the augmented Roman alphabet is being experimented with as an aid to that, and not as an end to itself. Personally, I, with my right honourable friend, think that it is well worth trying, but it would not be worth trying if various arrières pensées were introduced, like teaching them Russian in the end or making a new alphabet in which to write The Times newspaper's leading article.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEMy Lords, may I ask the noble Viscount 53 whether these proposals are related to the Shavian proposals, to Bernard Shaw's proposals, advocated by Sir James Pitman?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, so far as I know there is no relationship whatever to the late Bernard Shaw's ideas, which I think were almost wholly bad.
LORD REAMy Lords, would the noble Viscount ensure that these children who employ the slightly augmented alphabet will not be referred to as "four-letter children" or as "four-letter-plus children"?
§ VISCONT HAILSHAM"The 43-letter children".
§ VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLSBOROUGHMy Lords, do you not think it would be rather wise to refer this to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I think not. I hope the noble Viscount will not take an unduly conservative attitude about this thing. I think we must learn to look ahead, and my own belief is that my right honourable friend the Minister and his officials have taken a very wise step in suggesting that qualified praise should be given to the experiment which is being undertaken by the National Foundation for Educational Research and the very responsible department of the University.