Good spelling still matters

Steven Lyle Jordan · 06-04-2012, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Amercia, we have a spelling problem.

As the Scripps National Spelling Bee wraps up Thursday near Washington, we're once again confronted with the annual question: In a world of spell check and r u there texting, does spelling even matter anymore?

The article discusses the credibility that good spelling gives to a text, positively influencing the reader's impression of the writer, impacting business reports, and affecting whether job prospects get interviews. And more than spelling: Proper use of words makes an impression. The article cites a real estate ad that described a house's "volted ceilings."

I recently heard that youths with keyboard-equipped smartphones like to show them off by typing correctly-spelled and punctuated texts and emails on them... even they understand how to impress by doing it right.

Giggleton · 06-04-2012, 10:05 AM

meh, I used to get all annoyed at typos in my ebooks, but now I just pause for a few milliseconds before moving on. Sometimes I laugh at the OCR mistakes. Laughter is the best medicine.

SpeakOfTheDevil · 06-04-2012, 11:32 AM

Tch. We do have a problem if the first word in the article of a national newspaper is misspelled. "Amercia" indeed.

elcreative · 06-04-2012, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpeakOfTheDevil

Tch. We do have a problem if the first word in the article of a national newspaper is misspelled. "Amercia" indeed.

Tch... we do have a problem with lack of humor in readers as well... bye bye irony, sarcasm and any light-hearted attempts at to be funny... "Amercia" helps make the article point beautifully...

5thWiggle · 06-04-2012, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

"Amercia" helps make the article point beautifully...

Unfortunately, with my dyslexia I totally missed that.

On the other hand, because I'm dyslexic, most of the typos and OCR problems that others complain about so bitterly in some ebooks don't cause me to bat an eye.

Half empty or half full? You decide. (Well, atcually, my glass is full of premium Scotch, thank you. And the guy at the end of the bar said he's paying...)

Lysdexics Untie!

Steven Lyle Jordan · 06-04-2012, 12:46 PM

"Amercia" is a perfect reference to the later point in the article. I heard about that gaffe on Friday, and thought it was hilarious.

And it's so indicative of the concurrent lack of proofing and editing that's being done on documents. The one downside to the web and instant communications is that everyone wants to post their content NOW, they won't take the time to proof anything.

RainingLemur · 06-04-2012, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

Lysdexics Untie!

Dyslexics are teople poo.

Phogg · 06-04-2012, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

Unfortunately, with my dyslexia I totally missed that.

On the other hand, because I'm dyslexic, most of the typos and OCR problems that others complain about so bitterly in some ebooks don't cause me to bat an eye.

Half empty or half full? You decide. (Well, atcually, my glass is full of premium Scotch, thank you. And the guy at the end of the bar said he's paying...)

Lysdexics Untie!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

Dyslexics are teople poo.

Two dyslexics walk into a bra..

ApK · 06-04-2012, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

The article cites a real estate ad that described a house's "volted ceilings."

Shocking.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 06-04-2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Shocking.

And hopefully people will keep thinking of it that way, in order to make sure more work gets proofed as required. Sure, there will always be exceptions, but hopefully misspellings and incorrect words will always be the exception and not the rule.

I'd say most people want others to at least think they are smart, so they'd prefer to spell correctly; only the laziest don't care about it one way or the other. And nobody wants to look inferior or stupid.

I agree with the article that downplaying spelling in schools has contributed to the general malaise, and should be re-emphasized in early schooling.

piperclassique · 06-04-2012, 04:36 PM

Grammar matters too. Hopefully does not mean "it is to be hoped"

Pedant mode off

ApK · 06-04-2012, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Grammar matters too. Hopefully does not mean "it is to be hoped"

Pedant mode off

Says who?

By the way, did no one get that "shocking" was a joke? "Volt"-ed ceilings, shocking...?

<tap><tap> Is this thing on?

piperclassique · 06-04-2012, 04:57 PM

Says the Oxford English Dictionary. Yes, I got the joke. Was I supposed to laugh?

BeccaPrice · 06-04-2012, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

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By the way, did no one get that "shocking" was a joke? "Volt"-ed ceilings, shocking...?

I thought it quite clever - just couldn't think of an appropriate electrifying comeback.

Catlady · 06-04-2012, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by piperclassique

Grammar matters too. Hopefully does not mean "it is to be hoped"

Pedant mode off

It's become acceptable in colloquial speech to use hopefully to mean exactly that. We all know what the person using it means. I think that fight has been lost.

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06-04-2012, 10:05 AM	#2
Giggleton Banned Posts: 1,687 Karma: 4368191 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Oregon Device: Kindle3	meh, I used to get all annoyed at typos in my ebooks, but now I just pause for a few milliseconds before moving on. Sometimes I laugh at the OCR mistakes. Laughter is the best medicine.

06-04-2012, 11:32 AM	#3
SpeakOfTheDevil Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	Tch. We do have a problem if the first word in the article of a national newspaper is misspelled. "Amercia" indeed.

06-04-2012, 12:46 PM	#6
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	"Amercia" is a perfect reference to the later point in the article. I heard about that gaffe on Friday, and thought it was hilarious. And it's so indicative of the concurrent lack of proofing and editing that's being done on documents. The one downside to the web and instant communications is that everyone wants to post their content NOW, they won't take the time to proof anything.

06-04-2012, 04:36 PM	#11
piperclassique A garbling groftpot Posts: 996 Karma: 9234667 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: France Device: Oasis, Voyage, Kobo mini, Samsung tablet, phones, whatever.	Grammar matters too. Hopefully does not mean "it is to be hoped" Pedant mode off

06-04-2012, 04:57 PM	#13
piperclassique A garbling groftpot Posts: 996 Karma: 9234667 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: France Device: Oasis, Voyage, Kobo mini, Samsung tablet, phones, whatever.	Says the Oxford English Dictionary. Yes, I got the joke. Was I supposed to laugh?