Death to W

I'm planning to take on all the big issues here, take no prisoners, pull no punches etc.

This is one that has really upset me for a while. I'm not sure what institution has the ultimate responsibility (OED perhaps) but it's something that requires immediate action. Essentially, we need to replace W. The main problems are:

• It has a name that takes too long to say because it has three syllables (all other letter names consist of a single syllable).
• It has a name that could equally describe uu
• If anything, it looks more like double v.
  
• It looks too much like an upside down M

It doesn't need to be elimated, just renamed. I have no problem with the pronunciation of W (even though that is not consistent). People called William and Wendy don't need to change their names or anything. We just need a new symbol and name.

There's possibly a minor logistical obstacle in arranging the replacement of all typewriter, computer keyboards as well as all printed materials featuring a W. The effort would pay for itself in relieving a great deal of needless anxiety.

The excellent work started in 1879 by the British Spelling Reform Association, then 1886 American Philological Association has not had any major victories over the last hundred years.

I admire the efforts by our young language pioneers to eliminate vowels entirely and replace whole syllables with numerals having similar phonetic characteristics. I just feel that these inchoate linguists will lose their momentum once they realise no one else has any idea what they are saying (what does 'gn' mean? does anyone really roll on the floor laughing?).

We need to take small cautious steps and select the lowest hanging fruit. W is just a disaster waiting to happen. The time to act is now.