spelling? Gabby breaks the silence

[GabbyLoggon]

spelling matters; but how much? I tend to use words I can spell and only occasionally use dictionaries On mumsnet I dont bother too much....research shows people have no difficulty in reaDING mispelt words. TEACHERS?I gather they are split on how important spelling is. think it matters, but is not a killer question Partly because some english spelling lacks logic.

I think that those on the internet who pick up on peoples spelling and grammar need to be slapped and told to fuck off and get a life.

Although it does sometimes give me a little inner smirk when someone comes along to tear apart disagree with my point and cocks up the spelling/grammar. Personally I gives a shit not.

what about capital letters mid sentence?

No, they need to be politely pointed in the direction of pedants' corner.

It does depend on what the misspelling is. If it changes the meaning then it matters. If its a technical term it can make a critical difference.

May I ask why it annoys you so much classydiva? If I make an error (rather than a typo) I would actually prefer for it to be pointed out to me, so that I don't make the same error in a situation where it actually matters. For example, if someone is reading a CV I would expect any with errors to be thrown out first, therefore I don't want mine to contain mistakes like confusing affect and effect or using should of instead of should have.

I suppose what I am asking is why do some people get offended when it is in their own interest to know?

Am not trying to answer for CD - but (for me) it's only t'internet. I'm usually typing whilst thinking with one eye on the monitor. I would rather people addressed the point I'm making - even if I make it badly - than correct errant spelling/grammar. Also if that is the sum of an argument against my point, I just think 'knobbo'. (is it knobbo or nobbo )

Spelling matters in the right place. The internet is not one of those places.

I think spelling is important, but I'm not fantastic myself, tend to use words I know. However I do know how to use a dictionary and do if the need arises.

I feel annoyed by the schools though, I can't get over the fact that children don't get marked down for their spelling mistakes! My DD a couple of years ago came home with an essay she had done in school and she had got a very high mark for it, now obviously I was very pleased, but when I looked at it there were loads of spelling mistakes. I questioned her teacher over this and was told that spelling doesn't matter, so long as whoever is marking it can make out what it is meant to be and the word has been used in the right context how it is spelt is not important!!! DD is now 13 and in year 9 and it seems it still doesn't matter, when will it? surely this can't be right. I sit and do as much as I can with my children including spelling and teaching them to use a dictionary, but when school don't give a S.H.I.T it doesn't make it easy.

what you have throughout the country is differing degrees of spelling, grammar and literacy....I speak of adults. The childrenthing is rather different. I watched a tv series on phonics teaching in schools I could not make muchof it; yet it is the favoured method now. The children with literate parents have a big advantage Its a big subject. As big as an elephants todger

I was always verging on the pedantic re spelling, however life has served me the lesson I needed and blessed me with a severely dyslexic son.
It has taught me that English is a VERY illogical, non-phonetic language and that being able to spell is about having a good memory, nothing more and certainly not about intelligence.
So I think we really don't need to judge people so harshly - if they could do better, they would and a chippy correction on an internet chatroom is REALLY not going to help them.

and emjxxx your post reassures me hugely. My DS will have a good chance that what he thinks and knows will be marked, not the way his brain is wired re memory/spelling. Hurrah.
If your kids have no special needs, they will get there eventually if they read enough, which you can support at home and at school.

this is how a tabloid would treat me on this subject GABBY OPENS UP ON SPELLING. Critics faint in droves. SOME LEAVE THE COUNTRY see page 39

not only do i have an english degree, but i also taught english & literacy for 12 years. i'm of the opinion that places like this are like chatting - getting the meaning across counts for more than accuracy.

BUT if i'm sending an email about work things (even minor stuff) then it has to be more accurate.

facebook updates bug me - they're kind of like a 'notice' so should be mainly correct.

i do find that if someone consistently gets something wrong (like accept/except or affect/effect or of/have etc) when writing, i start to almost hear an 'accent' that does change my perception of them.

again, though, it depends what the topic is - if it's a load of bumsex on 'chat' it can be inaccurate to the point of illegibility, and not bother me. if it's a proper serious debate, i 'listen' more to people who show accuracy. if someone makes a scathing comment on someone else, and it's full of mistakes (not typos, genuine wrong words) then i start to hear 'yeah but no but' type person.

i wouldn't, however, bother to correct someone (unless they asked) - it just smacks of superiority.

Just hope my DS never wants to be taken seriously, or listened to, then

I am in marketing and I have to be able to spell as my work appears on the internet.

Anything that is badly written or misspelt would make my employers look like a Mickey Mouse company. I am not a brilliant typist and often make silly typo errors, so I always spellcheck my work.

I have also spent several years proofing catalogues and sale brochures and spot bad spellings etc pretty easily. However, it is not my place to correct anyone on message boards. The only posts I struggle with and give up on are those written in textspeak (IMO lazy) and those that have no punctuation at all and aren't split into paragraphs.

Now you can feel free to throw me in the pedant's corner

Another set of well thought out, rational, relevant and accurate posts by Gabby.

btw - marking schemes for things like GCSEs are v clear - a certain number of marks are for spelling, and it differentiates between spelling simple words wrong, or trying to use difficult words but getting those wrong. they are 'stricter' on coursework than exams. it is supposed to encourage a broader vocab, rather than safe, easy words.

if someone has fantastic ideas, but has problems with spelling, they don't lose marks from the 'ideas' part of the marking. still, if someone has really weak spelling, they wouldn't be able to get A* no matter how great their ideas - so they are still 'penalised' - only those with good spelling, ideas, and expression can get the very highest marks.

Sleepingsowell - I can understand where you are coming from, if any of my children had problems with spelling correctly I wouldn't expect them to be pressured into feeling that they needed to spell correctly. However I do feel that children who can spell should spell and so be marked accordingly. Not having to worry about spelling has made my daughter very lazy about any work that is done for school, less effort into it, as in hers and the schools words "it doesn't matter"

I agree that spelling in a forum on a chat site is not a biggy and nobody should be made to feel inadequate because they can't spell. Especially on a site such a this where there are so many people looking for support and help for some awful situations, should we ignore all those asking for some support just because they can't spell? I think not!

However text speak drives me mad, I find it very hard to read sometimes, but I think that's more my problem then the person posting, especially if they are using a phone to post. I will always still read and try my best to understand what is being said.

Pointing out poor spelling on a discussion forum is petty frankly. I agree with kickass - it is an attempt at superiority often in the absence of a decent counter argument.

My spelling is perfect in RL. My typing however is piss poor.

I do draw the line at text speak though and just don't read those posts.

sleeping - i realise that i'm judgemental about spelling, after years of teaching & marking it. BUT i do manage to switch it off in certain situations. if someone came along with clear difficulties, i would also make allowance for that. it's just that on a serious discussion, i like to get the impression that people have thought out their answers, and that includes correcting any obvious spellings, with the red wriggly lines, it doesn't have to be perfect.

i feel a lot of sympathy for people who are v clear thinkers but struggle to commit that to writing - i have taught plenty like that. i just think that a lot of people are v lazy, and more interested in having their say or putting others down, than actually thinking about the issues. somehow, seeing that someone has just 'ranted' without checking their typing, gives me that impression.

i like to think (but could be wrong) that i could tell the difference between someone with spelling problems, and someone who's just ranted.

I'm not sure any newspaper would think it worthwhile to report on this...

I don't object to poor spelling and grammar really if it is due to difficulty with it, as opposed to laziness.

I do object to being expected to understand waffle though, and being told off for being insincere when I don't understand it.

kickass, I understand you're reasonable about it and in that many years of teaching will have seen some kids like my DS.
I just worry so much for him, he has muscle problems as well so his writing is VERY poor as well as his spelling - it's an emotional issue for me, knowing so well just what is in his head and what he WANTS to say, then seeing him settle for a sentence that a reception year kid would write, just because it's SO hard for him.
I know he will be judged out there in the big world and just hope he finds his way.

sleeping - I have a dyslexic teenager.
The wonderful irony is, I used to earn a living correcting copy - and used to shout at people for persistently bad spellings.... :)
Of course, learning to touch type and spell-checkers can be wonderful aids for dyslexics now.
But for every person out there who is sympathetic to specific learning difficulties, there are three others who are judgy-pants. Your child will learn coping strategies. But they need you support and encouragement every step of the way.

I have no problem with people who have difficulties spelling but try to get it right, by using friends/dictionaries etc. I do have problems with people who [whether with problems such as dyslexia or not] just can't be arsed, because it's basically them saying that they prefer to be ignorant. I don't understand why these days ignorance is seen as something to be proud of.

And I do say this as someone with several family members and friends with dyslexia, all of whom try very hard, especially when it matters. They use dyslexia as an explanation for if they accidentally get it wrong, not an excuse for not bothering at all. I mean, I have horrific depth perception and pretty bad hand-eye co-ordination and was thus rubbish at every sport we ever played in school [I was so bad at tennis the games mistress broke out special balls which didn't bounce as high; they'd never needed to use them before] but it didn't mean I just gave up. I put in all the effort I could.

Personally I know I have always been lucky with spelling, but when I write I often try to stretch myself with words, and if I'm not 100% sure I know how to spell something, then I look it up. The whole reason that standardised spelling and punctuation was introduced was to improve communication between people, so they could spend less time on trying to decipher what the other person was saying and more time on understanding it and formulating a response.

And it does differ depending on what you want to get across. On places like this, if you want to just chat, and you're not bothered if some people can't quite understand then, then fine, be a bit lazy [I know my writing definitely changes depending on where it's being put - I often write stream-of-consciousness on forums, which I definitely wouldn't for work or for prose in fiction] but if you want to make a serious point in a discussion and have it considered, it is to your own advantage to make sure it's presented in a standardised manner.

sleepingsowell
I know he will be judged out there in the big world and just hope he finds his way.

Unfortunately that is my experience though I have still got on in life and most weeks it is a non issue. Spell checkers and typing are great and since leaving school I find I rarely have to write anything without them.