Alphabet rationale

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This page explains the reasoning behind the Simpli alphabet: which letters we use, which we don’t, and why W replaces V and why we keep both i and y.

The full alphabet

Simpli uses a small, regular set of letters. Every sound is written with one letter; we avoid silent letters and extra symbols.

Vowels: a, e, i, o, u (long: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu — doubled letter).

Consonants: p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, f, s, l, r, h, w, y.

There is no V in the Simpli alphabet. The sound that English writes as v is always written with w.

Why W and not V?

We keep W and do not use V for three main reasons:

• One sound, one letter: Simpli merges the English sounds [v] and [w] into a single phoneme. One letter is enough; we chose w so that words like we, water, and seven all use the same letter.
• Easier for more learners: Many languages have only [w], or only [v], or don’t distinguish them. Using a single letter w avoids forcing that distinction and keeps the alphabet smaller and more global.
• Consistency: We never write v in Simpli. So there is no mix: every word that in English has v is spelled with w in Simpli.

Rule: never write V

In Simpli we never use the letter v. The sound that English spells with v is always written w. So:

• seven → sewen
• water → wata
• woman → wuman
• have → haw
• give → giw
• live → liw
• move → mow
• river → riwer
• even → ewen

Same rule everywhere: v → w. No exceptions.

Why i and y?

We keep both i and y because they represent different sounds:

• i is a vowel (syllable nucleus): the sound in sit, see, it, eat — short or long (spelled ii). Examples: mi, bi, tri, sii, faind, pipol, gud, iit.
• y is a consonant (the glide [j]): the sound at the start of yes, you, year. Examples: yu, yes, yesterde; and when we map j → y (e.g. yelo for “yellow”).

Unlike v and w, we don’t merge them: they are two different phonemes (vowel vs consonant). Using y for [j] keeps spellings clear: yu (you) and yes are readable; iu or ies would blur the consonant with the vowel. So we keep both i and y.

Other letters we don’t use

Simpli also drops or maps other English letters to keep the alphabet small and phonetic:

• th → d (dis, dat, dey)
• ch → c (ticer, caild)
• ph → f (fon)
• sh → s; j → y or d; z → s when needed

For long vowels, syllable rules, and common endings, see Spelling.