'We shall distinguish between "lexical representations" and "phonological
representations". We shall use the term "lexical representation" in
reference to formatives which are provided directly by the lexicon, i.e. the
lexical formatives as well as certain grammatival formatives which happen to
appear in lexical entries.' (p9)
'There is, incidentally, nothing particularly surprising about the fact that
conventional orthography is, as these examples suggest, a near optimal
system for the lexical representation of English words. >>The fundamental
principle of orthography is that phonetic variation is not indicated where
it is predictable by general rule.<< ... Orthography is a system designed
for readers who know the language ... A system of this sort is of little use
for one who wishes to produce tolerable speech without knowing the language
... For such purposes a phonetic [or phonemic] alphabet ... would be
superior. This, however, is not the function of conventional orthographic
systems. They are designed for the use of speakers of the language. It is
therefore noteworthy, but not too surprising, that English [they mean
American, which is less regular] orthography, despite its often cited
inconsistencies, comes remarkable close to being an optimal orthographic
system for English.' (p49)
-- Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle: The Sound Pattern of English
[ MIT Press 1968.
(the 1991 paperback reprint has ISBN 0-262-53097-X) Thanks to Richard A.
O'Keefe for typing this in ]
