I corrected a typo on a whiteboard at school today - WIBU?

[clary]

We were looking round the fancy new school buildings at my kids' school tonight and there was some teacher writing on a board which included the word "barbeque" [sic]

I was able dextrously to doctor the q to make it a c. I hope this was in order. I also hope the teacher notices

Just because something has been adopted due to widespread (mis)use, it doesn't make it correct.

Well yes actually that is precisely what makes it correct. Once usage is widespread and it becomes normal usage, it is correct.

You're not still insisting we write "hadde" and "myght" are you... but they were correct once. They changed.

I don't mind something changing for a good reason. Thick people not being able to spell it is not a good reason.

""Thing is, I would (and do!) correct signs and misspellings,""

My Dad, in the course of his job had to write temporary signs and always said that the way to get them noticed and remembered was to misspell a word (or make it rhyme).

Don't correct the work of other adults, unless you are their tutor or asked to.

What is a good reason? Because adopting an easier or shorter spelling, or people making mistakes, are reasons that lie behind the way language has changed, leading to many of the usages that you now consider "correct".

I would do what the OP did as long as it was anonymous and no one would notice. I wouldn't want to cause offence but it would eat away at me to see that on a whiteboard.

Propagating the bad version to all and sundry is irresponsible.

Even your thread title is wrong, OP.
You called it a typo, and then say it's about spelling.

Oh dear. Barbeque is perfectly valid. I'm afraid you have made yourself look a bit of a tit. Maybe you have learnt something from this experience though?

""Propagating the bad version to all and sundry is irresponsible""

Barbeque, sounds Mexican and fun.

Downing Tequila shots and driving is irresponsible, the use of an alternative spelling, is not at all, irresponsible.

Difficult question, Greenpotato - but what you say is true and it still makes me cross that these changes took place however many hundreds of years ago.

It doesn't mean it should still be allowed to happen now.

There is no good reason to change barbecue to barbeque. Barbecue is still very much up and running, updates are available, it isn't being made obsolete. It's Windows seven.

The windows ten version is not better.

Sounds Mexican and fun?

Dear me

Pfft. I had to sit in a Y5/6 classroom and watch silently as two teachers delivered a Powerpoint presentation that included a description of children 'diffusing a bomb'.

And it was in Comic Fucking Sans.

You got it easy, OP.

it still makes me cross that these changes took place however many hundreds of years ago.

Sorry but :o That is how language works, it's normal and functional for it to change. You can't stop it changing now, or it would be dead like Latin.

sigh

I know

but can't we encourage it to change in a GOOD way? Had makes far more sense than hadde.

Barbeque isn't phonetically correct. It's a shit word and as such needs to be wiped off the face of the earth.

Languages evolve. That's how they become rich and interesting. We have too many phonetic exceptions in English to even mention.

I think you were rude OP. And wrong.

Latin ROCKS

there's a language that knew where it stood.

Oh good grief don't try and dignify it with phonetic exception status.

que' on its own says 'kay' in a Spanish accent and 'ker' (as in wanker) in a French one

No, they don't.

How would you write them then Maisie?

Barbeque winds me up too, pedant that I am, BUT if you corrected it you were being beyond U.

Good spot. I am an editor in RL but I would not have corrected it on a whiteboard! I have, however, been known to correct teachers in their use of 'practise' and 'practice', and yes, they probably do all hate me.

Anastasie I laughed because your examples presume a certain accent (when speaking in English).

I would describe the vowel sound in the Spanish que as similar to the e sound at the start of the word 'elephant'. Somewhere between that and 'ay'.

But to me, the 'ker' sound at the end of 'wanker' is kurrr - this goes back to the rhotic and non-rhotic accents debate.

I would describe the French que as 'cuh', I suppose.

Maisie, I see what you're saying but those are the best approximations I could come up with at short notice. At least we agree on the actual sounds

and darn ere in the south of England, the second syllable of wanker does sound like 'cuh'

How can there be a 'typo' on a whiteboard?

If you're going to sneer at 'thick people', at least try to get it right.

No that wasn't the OP, it was me.