Spelling Dilemma
@madp_071983 (228)
Oman
February 11, 2011 6:49am CST
Has "spelling" lost its vital importance in today's era? Being an English teacher, I honestly feel irritated and insulted when I come along words incorrectly (either deliberately or otherwise) spelt on tabloids, books, online articles, among some. Children nowadays are being misled because of this not to mention their massive influence on text message usage in addition to online messaging and chatting.
3 people like this
10 responses
@madp_071983 (228)
• Oman
11 Feb 11
I beg your pardon with all due respect, I placed those open and close quotation marks to give emphasis to the word I am referring to since I could hardly use italics or bold text for it. Am I not allowed to express my opinion using the British English? "Spelt" is the past form of "spell" in the British English language though.
@CynergyDiva (805)
• Canada
13 Apr 11
Actually, just to the left when commenting you can use mylot code to bold or italicize.
To answer the question has spelling lost it's importance? Yes, it has. I believe it lost it's importance long ago when schools stopped putting an emphasis on spelling in the curriculum. Email and text messaging, I believe, has just exacerbated the situation, and no one takes measures to correct sloppy usage by children.
Even here on mylot I often see then where than is called for; or they're instead of their or there. Heavy reliance on spell check is another culprit often seeing people check the spelling but not the context as in the example above. I also find it funny that the ones making these common mistakes are the ones who are quick to criticize the usage of other people.
I'm not opposed to using some common slang, I'll often write gonna instead of going to because in casual situations that's just the way I talk. But I am well aware of the importance of time and place, and I'm careful not to go so far that my writing looks like I take a totally lackadaisical approach to communication; so many are not. We all make spelling and grammar mistakes from time to time, but I think you can tell by a person's style of writing in general whether or not you're (not your)looking at a typo, someone who is taking situational casual license, or if they just plain lack language skills.
xoxo
Cyne
@kaypow (68)
• Canada
3 Jul 11
As a student, I am frequently disappointed by the emphasis that the educational system puts on spelling and grammar today. The popular line from all of my teachers (including English teachers) in high school has been that spelling does not matter as long as your audience can understand what you are trying to say. Obviously, the average student is not going to go out, buy a trusty Oxford dictionary and a copy of "The Elements of Style", and teach himself or herself how to write correctly.
I find this ridiculous, especially here in Quebec, where the English education system forces its students to learn French. How can the government expect students to become fluent in a second language when the codes and conventions of their native tongue are allowed to be ignored?
It is this early failure that sends people out into the world believing that words like "presentated" and "brang" are correct and that it is acceptable to use 15 exclamation points at once.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
11 Feb 11
I think really text messaging has really downgraded the importance of spelling. Now granted, it has not done it for everyone, there are still some people out there who can distinguish text speaking from proper speaking. Of course, those people are the exception, rather then the rule I think. When you get impressionable children into the mix, they are off on the wrong foot to start.
Then again, proper spelling has really been something that has been sliding for years. Perhaps it is just laziness or the fact that really there are not that many people put that much of an emphasis on it. I'm really indifferent to it, as long as of course I can understand you. Which there is many times that I cannot, due to some of the more unique spellings, so yes, I can be rather annoyed. Still text messaging, the Internet, and just the way society has taken short cuts in general, has really caused spelling to take a bit of a back seat.
1 person likes this
@ellebj (784)
• Philippines
11 Feb 11
it is because of the trend.. this age is known for computer age... which means, the reliance to computer information is not just dependent on to the internet but also to chatting... people especially the kids are becoming familiar with the shortcuts in the net and when they chat, they just type in letters that is wrongly spelled yet can be read as a word.. especially in texting, the number of characters are limited that you have to shortcut all the words to relay the information in just one send. this action really fluctuates the vocabulary and grammar abilities of the child..
1 person likes this
@jhaidro (877)
• Philippines
11 Feb 11
I think that spelling still has preserved its importance. You are right when you say that people are being misled because of the trend now. I appreciate the benefits of the use of text messaging, however given certain limitations, people try to resort to other ways to save costs. They try to change the spelling of certain words. I see this as a good thing before but after a few months of making use of the new trend, my spelling capabilities was way low. Now I am trying to correct the mistake I made. Even if it would cost me more, as I make a text message, I use correct spelling.
I just hope that people would stick to the usual ways and not make up words that are so hard to comprehend.
@madp_071983 (228)
• Oman
11 Feb 11
It's KISS - Keep It Short and Simple. So guys out there, let's KISS!
1 person likes this
@meditated1 (238)
• United States
14 Feb 11
It doesn't upset me when I see mispelled words. I do make a mental note of how the word is actually spelled. It does seem to be getting worse and worse how the younger generations just keep using social networking sites and online writing to blame for their poor use of grammar and proper spelling.
@CynergyDiva (805)
• Canada
13 Apr 11
I don't get upset in most situations either; it is what it is, but I do notice it, and it does give me pause. I might wonder does this person realize it and not care? Is it language skill or typing skill that's lacking, for I have spoken to people who sound nothing like they type, so maybe it's just keyboard laziness. Admittedly, it's a rare occasion that it's the typing. But, who knows?
For me where I find it annoying is in business. So many websites and business documents today are littered with spelling and grammar errors. Time was, you'd only see that coming from the so called scam artists, but more and more I'm seeing well known companies putting out material plagued by mistakes. I find that I tend to see them as less than professional and lacking in credible information if they can't keep on top of that sort of thing.
xoxo
Cyne
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
18 Feb 11
It is amazing how many spell receive, as recieve, In fact it is so bad, that I see this word spelled again and again. I also think it is because there is no emphasis on grammer now, and most of it is write how you feel. I do have problems with comas and whether I use too many or too few, but I do try to see if I spell correctly. And with editors no longer correcting work, it is up to us writers or would be published authors to do so.
@crimsonladybug (3112)
• United States
14 Feb 11
I agree completely. I was told that there is no longer a need for people to know how to spell properly because spell check does it all for us. But spell check doesn't distinguish between homophones, it doesn't always recognize proper tenses... And for me, it's simply faster to spell it correctly the first time than to have to go back and spell check. Spell check should be a complementary tool not a crutch or, worse, the author of whatever you are trying to write.
But, really, how much more effort does it take to type you than U or are than R? Frankly, I have to expend more effort to type UR than your or you're. I'm just programmed to do it correctly the first time, I guess. I really have to try to use those kinds of "abbreviations" on, for example, Twitter. That's the last thing I will cut out when trying to trim something down to 140 characters.
@CynergyDiva (805)
• Canada
13 Apr 11
hear, hear; it's all in the programming. They're not being programmed right anymore.
xoxo
Cyne
@ynahh1 (454)
•
4 Apr 11
I understand How you feel.Todays drama when it comes to spelling specially in texting was as short as possible in which childrens now aday encountered problem in spelling.When you ask them to spell something most probably they will commit mistake in most of the simpliest word that you will ask.That's why as mush as I can I try my best to write my message in correct spelling rather than to shorthen it,although it has an advantage.
@jeanneyvonne (5501)
• Philippines
2 Apr 11
I guess that losing the importance of spelling is part of the consequence some of us pay for easier and more convenient technology.
Like you, I'm irritated when I encounter spelling mistakes. I even commit does as I work as a writer and part editor. As my job entails, I am always conscious of what I'm submitting and what my readers ar e reading. It is out of habit that I proofread lest I miscomunicate an idea to my audience.
Some people I know wish that i could be lax or give a little leeway when I point out their misspelled words. For me, it's part of being a writer and a friend. A spelling mistake can be a source of embarrassment that a friend do not wish for his firiend. Others tell I'm too stickler for rules - but that's how language is - it has lots of its own rules and regulations. And don't even mention grammar.
Text message is a great help in communication but not especially in spelling. Children, teachers and parents should work together to preserve the skill of correcting misspelling or else children will read everything as it were a text message.
