HL Deb 16 May 1995 vol 564 cc29-30WA
Lord Simon of Glaisdale

asked Her Majesty's Government:

In the light of the Answer of Lord Lucas on 10th May ("I celebrate the complexity of English"—H.L. Deb. col. 61), whether they consider that the anomalies of English spelling tend on balance to facilitate or hamper the acquisition of reading ability in English by (a) English schoolchildren and (b) foreign traders.

Lord Lucas

How easily people learn to read English depends on a range of factors. The relative importance of the nature of English spelling would be difficult to ascertain.