I'm not sure how to point out the extreme obvious here without sounding like a total jerk but the fact is, we all know the subject I'm about to discuss is a widespread phenomenon.
Why can't people spell? No, seriously.
I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm not saying that spellcheck hasn't saved my butt more than once. There are, for some reason, certain words that even though I KNOW how to spell them correctly, I still don't. Every time. Accommodate is one of them. (thanks spellcheck!)
It's more apparent on something like Facebook where a status isn't checked. I'm not talking about iPhone auto corrects(which are hilarious!) or missing a word because you're typing too fast. Nope, I mean downright bad, horrible, horrific spelling.
Bad spelling doesn't play favourites either. I've seen my niece and her teenage friends struck by the curse(frankly I'm surprised they know how to spell at ALL what with texting shorthand being the norm.) I've seen people my age and up hit with the sickness of being unable to spell their way out of a paper bag.
I have to admit, there are some people that I can't even read their status updates because I have NO CLUE what they are even trying to say. Really, it's THAT bad. Every second word is an error. If I see "lose" spelled "loose" one more time, I may crack and be taken away. What's even more scary? Some of these people are teachers. Please, please, please don't be teaching MY children.
Have we forgotten how to spell because of the internet? IS it due to the shorthand we've all adopted to send faster texts, and to keep our Tweets short and sweet? Or is spelling not taught as fervently in school anymore? I remember having weekly spelling tests, some were quite long with many words to learn. My youngest still has these, but my eldest? I can't remember the last time she was tested for spelling.
I'd hate to think that we've all just accepted that it's okay to not care about how things are spelled. Then again, I read something that said that in 50 years, no one will be able to read or write the current English because of shorthand that will replace it. That scares the beejeezus out of me.
I'm a HUGE Shakespeare fan-will it be translated to "Where 4 r u?"
Shudder.
One of my greatest pet peeves...or using a correctly spelled word that is not the right word! I can understand why words like aisle and isle get mixed up but I hope more people come to understand that your and you're (and "ur") will never mean the same thing. Thanks for the reminder that we shouldn't let spelling be a lost art.
ReplyDeleteI've had many people ask me, since reading this post, if I'm talking about them. LOL If I was, I'd have to turn the mirror to myself as well!
ReplyDeleteI'm not reading people's work with a dictionary and a red pen, tsk tsk'ing. I'm more concerned about the stuff that I can't even really read or make out! Those pieces make me fearful for the direction we're all headed in....literary and literacy wise!
I definitely hope spelling and great writing never stops being a great art form!
It drives me absolutely bonkers! I wish there was a feature to correct horrible spelling on facebook. I would get a lot of satisfaction using a red pen to mark some of the posts I see.
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