The

[lupinus]

WOULDN'T it be easier if the word "the" was just simply a letter?

No, you nitwit mommy parts turd, it wouldn't.

[Tallpine]

while we are at it, can we remove w?  uu does the job just fine.

Uuorks for me 

[MechAg94]

English has been, in the kindest possible terms, been described as a bastard child guilty of both raping and pillaging other languages.

T-h-e alternative is to copy the French, who have a purity committee to ensure the virginity of their beloved language.  They are much more rigorous about the language than they are about their daughters.  For proof, go look at their reaction to McDonalds "le Big Mac".  Far better to have the Maginot Line breached - again - than to have to accept that.  (They lost the fight.  Did anybody think they might win?)

T-h-e answer to this modest proposal will be to see if it survives.

stay safe.

If he can get it added to phones for texting, it will survive.  Otherwise, no.

[Perd Hapley]

I would think smart move would be to just encourage people to abandon word "the." Not that I'm in favor of doing so, but it would be much easier. No changes to technology, and it would eliminate three key strokes instead of two. You could even make it "green," by whining about resources that are wasted by printing word "the."

[Devonai]

Here is a short excerpt from my latest novel with all of them removed.  It just feels weird.

Architecture of bridge echoed rest of ship. It comprised a single level, and included five stations around periphery. Main window at center of bridge appeared to be an actual aperture to exterior, although transparent material itself was augmented with several heads-up displays. Primus loomed overhead majestically through display, reminding Vecky that up and down were relative out here.

Captain Kitsune stood at center of the bridge, and turned to greet them. He wore a dark blue military-style jacket with pleated pants and shiny black boots, and certainly looked part of captain. A handsome man, he kept his hair short and his mustache long. On anyone else it would have looked ridiculous, but Vecky thought he pulled it off.

[AJ Dual]

Since # means "number" in most applications, and the abbreviation for number is "no.", how about substituting # for "no"? 

[Perd Hapley]

Since # means "number" in most applications, and the abbreviation for number is "no.", how about substituting # for "no"? 

#

[RoadKingLarry]

Since # means "number" in most applications, and the abbreviation for number is "no.", how about substituting # for "no"? 

The we could have s#wball fights or get things signed by a #tary. I think I would get #stalgic for the old ways. so, #t only # but hell #

[Regolith]

I would like to  re-adopt the old letters ash (æ), yogh (ȝ), edh (ð), and thorn (Þ).

Yup. Thorn is basically "th". Early typesetters also found it convenient to replace the thorn with a y, since at that time the symbols had become pretty close. And that's how you got "Ye Olde Shoppe". Ye is supposed to be pronounced "The".

ETA: Look, the Late Middle English and  Early Modern English versions of what the Aussie wants:





Personally, I think those look better.

[makattak]

Here is a short excerpt from my latest novel with all of them removed.  It just feels weird.

Remove the other articles and you have Byreika from Monster Hunter...

[Tallpine]

Since # means "number" in most applications, and the abbreviation for number is "no.", how about substituting # for "no"? 

Y #t?   

[Gewehr98]

Get rid of "u" also.

"V" worked fine for that purpose for a very long time.   

[Brad Johnson]

The guy is almost 100 years late.  Gregg shorthand has used a symbolic representation of "the" since at least 1916.

First column, fourth row from the bottom...





Brad

[Hawkmoon]

With that analysis then we should use @ for in that, so th@, c@, f@, etc.

How about Ћ@er?

[Hawkmoon]

@ is no part of the alphabet.

But it signifies "at," and "at" is arguably a word, as well as a common pair of letters found in other words. So, by his logic, @ should be considered a letter.

In my profession, # typically indicates "pound" rather than "number," And telephone voice mail systems tell you to press the pound key, not the number key. So # can stand in for pound, thus giving us words such as:

ex#

#ed

pro#

com#

con#

So, if y'all see me typing "Go # s&" I'm sure you'll know what I mean.

[Tallpine]

There's # place like Ω

[Perd Hapley]

But it signifies "at," and "at" is arguably a word, as well as a common pair of letters found in other words. So, by his logic, @ should be considered a letter.

In my profession, # typically indicates "pound" rather than "number," And telephone voice mail systems tell you to press the pound key, not the number key. So # can stand in for pound, thus giving us words such as:

ex#

#ed

pro#

com#

con#

So, if y'all see me typing "Go # s&" I'm sure you'll know what I mean.

What is a conpound?