In a “Nut”-shell
Why we need UNIFON 

Comedian Gallagher on Schools, English and Spelling
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2acXjdPzlY&feature=related

Watch and Learn
The UNIFON Phonetic Alphabet 

Spell the Sounds, Part One:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYhK6jro9sY 

Spell the Sounds, Part Two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg40NRdZlLQ

Try out the Converter
Type in Standard English and see it in UNIFON

Note: The UNIFON Converter and UNIFON Dictionary below both require Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater. Even with high speed Internet access it will take a minute or so for the converter and dictionary to load.

Convert a body of text from standard English into UNIFON characters
Now a block of text consisting of a couple hundred words can be converted into UNIFON in minutes. Not only does this allow for the possibility of creating lots of reading material for kids to use to learn to read, but it also facilitates standardization of the spelling in UNIFON. You do not need to install a UNIFON font to use this application.

UNIFON Interactive Dictionary
Type in a word in Standard English and see the word in unifon_characters. You do not need to have the UNIFON Font installed.

Fonts for UNIFON
 

Several fonts are now available with the most current set of UNIFON characters. Click on an individual font to download it. You may also download a set with the first two fonts here: unifonKF06.zip

UNIFON F 2005
The standard UNIFON sans serif font displayed on the site banner, in literature for early childhood, and suggested for teaching purposes. 

UNIFON K 2005
A casual font, for correspondence, and children may find it more friendly. 

UNIFON D 2005
Originally created by Vic Feiger. This font now contain the newest character set updated by Ken Anderson. This is the first font rendered by an artist and it is an all-purpose font.

UNIFON R 2005
Developed by Reed Burch. This is the only serif font. It is intended for formal printing and may be more difficult for children to read, but more pleasing to adults.

Keyboard Layout for UNIFON

Download this one-page visual aid to use as a reference for typing in UNIFON.
http://www.unifon.org/UFEdRes/Unifon%20keyboard.pdf

Colorful Chart of UNIFON Characters
 

   
    An eye chart developed by Scott White, this colorful resource is intended for
    use by teachers and parents. Printed out or viewed on the screen, the pictures,
    characters and UNIFON words are an appealing visual aid for children. Click on
    the image to download the chart. 

    Scott White has also produced this same chart as a set of flash cards, as well
    as a set of enlarged graphics suitable for hanging in the front of a classroom.

     Printable chart of unifon_characters - A colorful chart with pictures, characters
     and words in UNIFON

What Others Have Said
 

Wednesday, July 20, 1977, The New York Times,

“The [first grade] students, taking the standard Stanford reading tests using the traditional alphabet, scored at well beyond the third grade level. Some had read as many as 20 books. John R. Malone supplied the alphabet; Dr. Margaret Ratz provided the pedagogy and training; Mrs. Elizabeth Jones did the teaching.” 

John M. Culkin, SSJ, PhD (English)

Director, Center for Understanding Media

Advisor for original “Sesame Street” TV series

 

Thursday, January 19, 2006

"Dr. Ratz was the person that turned my life around.  My mother was told that I was 'retarded' and that I would never learn to read.  My mom found Dr. Ratz.  We were living in Venice, FL at the time and would drive to Sarasota every Saturday.  I would have to check with my mom to see how long I was tutored by Dr. Ratz.  I do know that because of the program I returned to school after the summer reading at a 5th grade level at the beginning of 2nd grade. 

"I am now a teacher.  I am teaching a reading program...." 

Darellee Regnier

2002

"Traditional written English is an unreliable representation of the spoken English. Instead of one symbol per sound, it has an average of over 14 different ways to write a single sound. This makes English writing system ambiguous and difficult to master.  A dictionary key is over ten times less complex and can probably be learned ten times as quick. Instead of 3 years to achieve literacy, highly phonemic notations take only 3 months.”

 Steven Bett, PhD (Linguistics)