Content area
The result is a system which, despite its weaknesses, has proved to be sufficiently functional that it has so far resisted all proposals for its fundamental reform, (p. 77) These views on English spelling-that it is "a good compromise," that it is "sufficiently functional," that millions of students succeed in learning and using it-are largely the result of research that links linguistic research to the English classroom, and particularly to the study and teaching of English spelling. Because English orthography reflects language sometimes at the level of sound and at more abstract levels at other times, spelling instruction should not be restricted to a study of relationships between letters and sounds but should also entail a comprehensive study of the structural and semantic relationships of words, p.\n Some pairs also show other correspondences, such as the long/short vowel correspondence in contrite/contrition.