Is Spelling Still Impotent?
By Morley Hunt
@Morleyhunt (21737)
Canada
January 3, 2017 6:43am CST
Don't we all love our spellcheck?
When I am writing on my iPad it often corrects small typos or spelling mistakes without me even being aware of what I have done.
Spelling errors bother me!
They jump off the page and slap me in the face!
What about the spelling errors that are not caught. They are subtle changes brought about because of a missed letter.
Wouldn't you rather have dessert than a desert?
There is a big difference between an eclipse and an ellipse, yet at a glance you might not notice it.
Then there is the right write.
How about, give me a break, my brakes aren't working.
Use of words and spelling words correctly can make a big difference in what we actually say.
I'm as guilty of the next person in not proofreading before hitting the submit button.
It is my intent to be more careful in the future.
Yes the spelling mistake in the title was deliberate and took me three attempts.
27 people like this
28 responses
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
I've spotted a couple of titles in the last week with what to me were glaring spelling mistakes....I could not help myself and mentioned it to the Mylotters. One of them immediately fixed their error. The other shrugged and said oh well. This post has been brewing in my mind since then. Spelling the title 'incorrectly' in this case didn't change my intent. 
2 people like this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
@JudyEv I generally only point them out to Mylotters I have built a relationship with. A newbie would get a pass.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325789)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt I see lots of titles with errors - quite a few anyway - but mostly I keep my mouth shut. People are a bit funny sometimes about having errors pointed out. You can always point out mine! 
@rebelann (111180)
• El Paso, Texas
3 Jan 17
Ahhh yes, spelling errors are common especially here. I too rely on my spellcheck but as it evident in your post sometimes the spellcheck puts in the wrong word.
K, then gin sometimes I just wanna sound like a hillbilly. I always did like Granny Clampett.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
@pgntwo I liked the one where she was doing her laundry in the cement pond.
2 people like this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
There will always be mistakes made. If someone points out a spelling error I will go back and fix it. Like I said in my post, I don't always proofread. Some mistakes just slip through my personal radar, but others leap off the page to slap me.
We can all change our accents....spelling to sound like we are changing voices. Granny Clampett was such a wonderful fold character.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58675)
• Delhi, India
4 Jan 17
I try my best to write correct spelling, however, sometimes, some words get printed with wrong spellings. In smart phones, there are auto correct functions and some of the words are auto corrected by mobile software and if we fail to pay attention, wrong words come in place of the words which we wanted and this could lead to embarrassment.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58675)
• Delhi, India
5 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt Yes, wrong spellings could create confusion and communication gap.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
Not just embarrassment, sometimes confusion is also a result.
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
4 Jan 17
we are over dependent on spill cheques - glad my spelllllling is prefect though lol!
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
Now I know that was as deliberate as my impotent?
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (94542)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
4 Jan 17
It just drives me nuts when people use the z letter at the end of words like Jokerz instead of Jokers. Some people misspelling words make the Wordgirl villain The Language Butcher sound like Albert Einstein by comparison.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
Fingernails on chalkboard....that's how spelling mistakes sometimes feel to me.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
@Deepizzaguy spelling is not taught in school....neither is cursive writing.....these are great losses. Memory work is also discouraged...apparently you don't learn it when you memorize it......memorizing the times table has saved me needing to dig out a calculator. I also don't need a cash register to count back change.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (94542)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt Tell me about it. If kids today misspelled words when I was in Balboa Elementary School in Balboa Panama they would be writing so many times the correct way to write words they would be best selling authors when they are adults.
1 person likes this
@Morethanamom (1948)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
Spelling is very important. I tend to have some minor issues with it from time to time.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
Like the rest of our family, you probably want to transpose a couple of letters from time to time.
1 person likes this
@Morethanamom (1948)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt definitely. Sometimes the correct spelling looks wrong to me. But sometimes I trust auto correct too much, like the banana bread that I apparently made with Tim, when I meant to say yum. That was a few years ago.
@pumpkinjam (8540)
• United Kingdom
1 Mar 17
I have come to force myself to be less bothered about spelling mistakes. Spellcheckers are dreadful things, especially when you're trying to write something in UK English and the spellcheck is, despite your attempts to tell it which type of English you're using, insistent upon US spellings.
Spelling is important, though, as you have shown in your title! One small error, which doesn't change the meaning of the sentence, can be forgiven but yes, a spelling mistake can cause confusion or make something mean something different from the intended meaning. I have a few I really hate. One, in particular, is 'accept/except' because, although they sound similar, they have almost opposite meanings, so getting them mixed up, you're essentially saying the opposite of what you think you're saying. I could go on about other words which people use interchangeably but I won't!
@pumpkinjam (8540)
• United Kingdom
1 Mar 17
@Morleyhunt You'd think places like that would make sure they use the correct word. I am such a stickler that I have refused to enter my local pub since they erected a sign which had a grocer's apostrophe in a plural word. I think the place has closed down now, but I don't think it was just because of the unfortunate grammar!
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
1 Mar 17
@pumpkinjam years ago I worked with a couple of men who were illiterate. One of them wrote a list of what he wanted to order on his pizza.....my husband and I still (20 years later) giggle about the peponini and pinables that he wanted....
In another instance a different young man was helping his, also poor literacy skills, wife fill out an application. He called us to find out what should be entered in the box labeled spouse.....his question.....what the hell is a spoose? (I will never hear the word spouse without this memory returning)
)1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
1 Mar 17
The local grocery store hung up signs at each of their cash registers (12 in all) that they would no longer except $100.00 bills. I pointed out the mistake (fingernails on chalkboard to me). A year later the same signs were still hanging....apparently I was the only one who cared.
1 person likes this
@cmoneyspinner (9221)
• Austin, Texas
4 Jan 17
The spelling errors that bother me are when I know I spelled the word right and it says it's spelled wrong! Ug!!! That burns me up!
@cmoneyspinner (9221)
• Austin, Texas
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt - It's funny because it's a computer and you know it isn't more intelligent than you and yet you start questioning yourself and sort of losing your confidence. Like if I'm in a room with my spouse or my kids, I'll go “How do you spell ____?” Then if they spell it the same way I did, I go “Are you sure?” But then I go back and the computer is still telling me I'm wrong; and I'm like: “Oh no! I'm going to keep on typing and that red wavy line can stay under the word FOREVER!! I'm right!!!”
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
My iPad and I often will 'argue' about the correct spelling of a word.
1 person likes this
@pgntwo (22408)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
3 Jan 17
I've recently wondered about lying - the type you do whilst reclining in bed or on a sofa, vs. the type you do when telling an untruth... I guess "lay" comes in there somewhere too, lay the table, lay down, lay an egg... I shall have to go check this out now. Lies, damned lies, and sleeplessness :)
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
When me tell a falsehood we are lying. When we are reclining on a bed we are lying down.....when we tuck the baby into bed we are laying the child down. Confusing, yes! This is English after all.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
4 Jan 17
Your title is hilarious. When I try to deliberately misspell something, spell check changes it. My spell check does not even recognize a lot of words I use. It always changes them to something else or suggests that I don't really mean that. Well, yes, I do mean that. That is the precise word I want to use.
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
5 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt I yell at mine, too. I even wonder if it can hear me and chooses to ignore me. It is plotting against me. It is out to get me. Ahhhhhhh!
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
@akalinus I know mine is secretly plotting....
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
I've been known to yell at my computer. "But that's how it is supposed to be spelled!"
@just4him (306239)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
4 Jan 17
I quite agree. I was surprised when I edited Scarred for the second edition how many of those misspelled words were actually spelled right, not used right.
@just4him (306239)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
5 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt I'm sure of it. I found it's good to get another set of eyes on my work. It really helps.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
@just4him I don't feel offended when someone points out the mistake I've made.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
I always catch typos later. I'll read it three times and not catch it. Then next read,it jumps into my face. I think there is a little gremlin that changes things after I hit submit.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39264)
• Gouverneur, New York
2 Feb 17
I love the way you used the title to prove your point. I would like to think that spelling is still important. It appears that in many cases it is not viewed as such. I try to watch my spelling but sometime those pesky little typing errors and the need for speed at the moment seems to get the better of me.
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Feb 17
I actually wrote the post with the miss spelled title because I was annoyed with a couple of discussions with glaring mistakes in the title.
It was like fingernails on chalkboard.....I pointed out the errors (I know, how rude). One was immediately and apologetically corrected...the other Mylotter responded with a so what...who cares....
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Feb 17
@HazySue I have done that as well. Let's face it...our finger and our keyboards don't always cooperate...please if I make a mistake, feel free to point it out.
1 person likes this
@HazySue (39264)
• Gouverneur, New York
4 Feb 17
@Morleyhunt I would have appreciated the heads up and quickly changed my error.
@Happy2BeMe (99399)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
I am guilty of also hitting submit without proofreading. My tablet will often replace some words with other words or adding a whole new word to the end of another and it will go unnoticed. I proofread at work since we are in the printing business so I am good about finding mistakes in other people's work.
I am a pretty good speller and know the difference between there, they're and their and to, too and two, etc. but some people don't know those differences. Those mistakes always stand out to me.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
There, they're and their are easy for me. I also know when to use then or than. The too, to and two are also quite straightforward when you take just a moment to think about it.
My biggest problem is my fat fingers and lack of proofreading.
1 person likes this
@vindhya93 (98)
•
4 Jan 17
Yes it bothers me too....
But your title is very unique kudos
1 person likes this
@hostessman (11871)
• Tucson, Arizona
4 Jan 17
i use to worry but anymore if i mispel a word or to i don't care
@hostessman (11871)
• Tucson, Arizona
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt everybody to there own way,,,, i am here for fun and enjoyment so that is why i don't worry about the spelling or capitals
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
You might not care, but if I constantly see spelling and errors in a post (similar to what I see in your comment) I am not likely to read many of your discussions. Poor spelling, lack of capitals....fingernails on chalkboard.
That said, there are writers who develop a certain style of colloquial idiosyncrasies that I can overlook the deliberate errors and appreciate.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jan 17
Yes, that title grabbed me. I think spelling is very important. I hate it though when spellcheck wants to correct a word that is not wrong.
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt Oh yes, those "odd" spellings I always enjoy seeing used by British and Canadian writers. Oh, maybe it is we who spell those words strangely.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
4 Jan 17
I had to teach my iPad Canadian English.....it didn't like favourite, neighbour, colour.....and many other words which have a slightly different spelling when you cross the border between the US and Canada.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
3 Jan 17
When I reread my post I actually found two mistakes. Both have since been corrected.
@Telynor (1763)
• United States
3 Jan 17
I -was- wondering about that title! Rather amusing in our day and age -- and I would think that a good, printed dictionary would be the Viagra for the problem.
@Telynor (1763)
• United States
4 Jan 17
@Morleyhunt That's a pity. I used to actually read those for fun.
@Hannihar (129470)
• Israel
4 Mar 18
I do not always catch my mistakes in spelling unless I go in to my post for some reason. I am embarrassed how it does not always make sense and how someone can answer me. By the way the rolls in the picture look yummy.
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Mar 18
Auto correct tends to mess me up. When I use my smartphone the results can be entertaining....and embarrassing.
1 person likes this
@The_Bong_Woman (851)
•
4 Jan 17
This is so very true. And don't you think we have become kind of careless because of this very feature of auto correction? We know that even if we type something wrong, the auto correct is bound to correct it. I too love to be pretty proper when it comes to spelling and stuff. But at times I find myself (just as you said) "guilty" for not going through the whole material correctly.
@Morleyhunt (21737)
• Canada
5 Jan 17
I agree. Often we are too lay to check what we have written. We depend on auto correct....we depend on calculators to do our math.......we need to exercise our brains.
At one time I knew everyone important telephone number....now I rely on my speed dial feature on my phone. Handy yes, but not always wise.
1 person likes this
