How Much Does Spelling Matter?

[Dave]

I was taught at school that spelling was very important. We had weekly spelling tests for as long as I can remember, yet it was one of my great weaknesses. It still is. I freely admit that I still sometimes have trouble with receive, beautiful and business. Mississippi, Chrysanthemum and Archaeology, they must have been designed by evil people. Only I do have spellcheckers now, so there is no excuse for poor spelling. Please give a knighthood to the person who thought of them.

Probably because it was drummed into me at an early age, I have a real problem with books and articles with poor spelling. Too me it is as if the writer just doesn't care. They have spellcheckers too, so why don't they use them? However, I have wondered if I have a bigger problem than it really is. I don't know anyone else has such a problem. Is it just me?

Last week I had to sit behind this advertisement on builder's van for about 15 minutes in a traffic jam. My wife didn't have a problem, but I got her to take a photograph. It drove me crazy. Not only that, but how could someone actually pay money for this?

[GALLERY=media, 1970]General Builders by Dave posted Sep 12, 2016 at 12:41 PM[/GALLERY]

 

[Susan Boulton]

I would be reluctant to use a builder that had this on his van. Its his advert to the world and if he did not make sure it is right, what is his work like?

 

[The Judge]

I would have had a fit if I'd been behind that van! Actually, I'd have probably flagged it down and pointed the mistakes out!

I think there's a difference between poor spelling and stupid mistakes of this kind, though. It may well have been something as simple as the software that created the lettering going on the blink, or someone mistakenly hitting a delete key. It's a fault of proof-reading and lack of general literacy (painting and decorations, not painting and decorating??) more than anything else.

And yes, spelling does matter for us old 'uns, but I'm not at all confident it will continue to matter -- I've seen the work my niece produced for her university course. I very much doubt her lecturers knew any better, either. And the course is related to children's education...

 

[Vertigo]

I'm with you Dave. I'm appalling at spelling (see my spell checker doubled up the p in appalling for me ) but I'm equally irritated by bad spelling. And I think it's because I agree with you that it just indicates laziness or being too much of a penny pincher to pay for a decent copy editor (more often the latter I think).

It's actually quite strange I don't know consciously how to spell many words but can see clearly when they are wrong. But that doesn't help me to figure out what is wrong; they just sit there looking wrong. Classic example is manoeuver, which I always get wrong but can never figure out where! I too praise the invention of spellcheckers; they may sometimes get it wrong themselves but they're way better than me!

 

[The Judge]

Classic example is manoeuver, which I always get wrong but can never figure out where!

How is your French? Think of it as ma[ i ]n-oeuvre -- literally, hand-work/labour, which then morphed through adroit work, and adroit plans, into planned movements.

Part of the problem may be there are 3 different spellings! Here you're spelling it one of the US ways -- they also have maneuver, dispensing with the "o" -- but British English keeps the Frenchified ending, so we have manoeuvre (the "oe" should really be joined in one of those thingummies like "ae" in mediaeval).

 

[Coast]

Also begs the question- Should someone that can't spell Electric be doing electrical work?

There is a billboard that I drive past at least weekly, on a main highway, in the middle of town, that has 'Lifestyle' spelt as 'Lifestlye'. It's probably been there nearly 10 years.

 

[Ursa major]

manoeuver, which I always get wrong but can never figure out where

It's manœuvre....

 

[TheDustyZebra]

I would be reluctant to use a builder that had this on his van. Its his advert to the world and if he did not make sure it is right, what is his work like?

I have a policy, long-standing, that I never buy anything from someone who can't spell it. I remember a furniture store we had around here years ago, which managed to spell furniture wrong in three completely different ways on their signs. And that was just outside -- I never went in, for fear of what I might find. (Furnitrue, funriture, and funiture, in case you were wondering. It's amazing you could actually tell it was a furniture store.)

Yes, spelling matters, though as TJ says, I despair for the future. Or furture, or furtrue.

 

[Susan Boulton]

I have a policy, long-standing, that I never buy anything from someone who can't spell it. I remember a furniture store we had around here years ago, which managed to spell furniture wrong in three completely different ways on their signs. And that was just outside -- I never went in, for fear of what I might find. (Furnitrue, funriture, and funiture, in case you were wondering. It's amazing you could actually tell it was a furniture store.)

Yes, spelling matters, though as TJ says, I despair for the future. Or furture, or furtrue.

Ooops. I have made mistakes in my manuscripts

 

[HareBrain]

Furnitrue, funriture

Such is my level of cynicism re branding and so on, I think if I encountered either of those I'd suspect it of being deliberate. "Table tops never warp with Furnitrue! Release your spirit of play with our Funriture credenzas!"

 

[Ursa major]

Yes, spelling matters

Did you mean: spelling mattress...?

 

[Alex The G and T]

Mattressess are Fun-riture. Though, I guess so can be a sofa... or sometimes the kitchen table.

 

[Nick B]

Yas, speeling is very impotent, othertrees the sentients might mean somethat else intiresomely.

 

[VinceK]

Perhaps you should have asked what kind of refreshments they were offering?

 

[ErikB]

I was taught at school that spelling was very important. We had weekly spelling tests for as long as I can remember, yet it was one of my great weaknesses. It still is. I freely admit that I still sometimes have trouble with receive, beautiful and business. Mississippi, Chrysanthemum and Archaeology, they must have been designed by evil people. Only I do have spellcheckers now, so there is no excuse for poor spelling. Please give a knighthood to the person who thought of them.

Probably because it was drummed into me at an early age, I have a real problem with books and articles with poor spelling. Too me it is as if the writer just doesn't care. They have spellcheckers too, so why don't they use them? However, I have wondered if I have a bigger problem than it really is. I don't know anyone else has such a problem. Is it just me?

Last week I had to sit behind this advertisement on builder's van for about 15 minutes in a traffic jam. My wife didn't have a problem, but I got her to take a photograph. It drove me crazy. Not only that, but how could someone actually pay money for this?

[GALLERY=media, 1970]General Builders by Dave posted Sep 12, 2016 at 12:41 PM[/GALLERY]

Poor spelling always drives me nuts. A lack of respect for the language as well as a lack of concern for how the world judges you.

I would have serious doubts about this person's work. And while some have pointed out that his electric work might not be too keen given his advertising that he works on eletric, I would also hate his painting and décor work since he is not a professional "painter" but has instead advertised his "pating" skills.

And if I am misreading pating where it should be plating, I'd still not retain this person for any work. I could not trust them at all.

 

[S Blake-Smy]

As someone who is heavily dyslexic, it is incredibly important for me to see correct spelling; I have put a lot of effort in over the years to improve my own ability so find it very irritating when others can't be bothered to do just a quick double check.

I also get frustrated when I see people defending laziness with the whole "languages evolve -- get over it!" argument.

 

[Dave]

It's a fault of proof-reading and lack of general literacy...

I accept that in this case it likely to be proof-reading more that than spelling, but the van owner either didn't spot it, couldn't be bothered, or also has such poor literacy himself that he didn't realise. I also wouldn't use him for any work, therefore the advertising is having the direct opposite effect it was intended to have. Presumably he also paid in full for this.

I'm happy that I'm not the only one annoyed by poor spelling. I noticed there was a thread here on poor grammar, and several on punctuation, but not one on spelling.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I remember a furniture store we had around here years ago, which managed to spell furniture wrong in three completely different ways on their signs. And that was just outside -- I never went in, for fear of what I might find. (Furnitrue, funriture, and funiture, in case you were wondering. It's amazing you could actually tell it was a furniture store.)

But maybe it wasn't a furniture store. Maybe they were selling furnitrue, funriture, and funiture. I think I'd have gone inside out of curiosity to see what those were and what they looked like.

But in all seriousness, even the best spellers have a blind spot where some words are concerned, and we all make typos and other mistakes when we are writing and then don't always see them later when we check over what we have written. That's why copy editors like Sam were invented. When we are trying to present ourselves to the world in a professional light, then it doesn't look good to leave sloppy mistakes uncorrected.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Ooops. I have made mistakes in my manuscripts

Bwahaha! But I'm pretty sure you spelled the titles correctly.

(I was about to say, "Oh, did you? I didn't notice," but luckily I realized that might not work well in my position.)

 

[Gonk the Insane]

I don't know anyone else has such a problem. Is it just me?

Nope, you're definitely not alone!

Probably because it was drummed into me at an early age, I have a real problem with books and articles with poor spelling.

Your post got me thinking back to when I first realised I was bothered by poor spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I remembered (long-forgotten!) something from my first years at school - round about the time we got word tins and words to learn. There was a lad in our class who always said "I are" instead of I am. Even at age 5/6 that really wound me up, so I guess I've always felt like that. Thanks for prompting the memory, @Dave You might also enjoy this thread (if you haven't already seen it): An article to put grammar nazis in their place