Where did the letter D go?

[NachoNachoMan]

Why do I keep seeing the word and spelled an - with the writer omitting the letter d?

E.g. Me an Charlie went to the beach today.

I get spelling isn't everyone's strong point - I am a numbers person myself, and spell words incorrectly sometimes, but surely and is one of those common words that kids learn to spell pretty early on in their education.

There's common errors like there, their and they're etc. which I can understand why people get those wrong.

Is an instead of and a thing now? Or is it people being sloppy? I've seen friends who have a decent level of education spelling it like that - and it drives me potty.

Surely if you can't be bothered to write three letters a-n-d you can use & or +...

Today I have seen two posts on social media (not mumsnet) containing words with the letter D missing - describing someone as a legen and someone else saying they don't understan... my phone has tried to auto correct them as I am typing this post. It does make me question if it's now a thing to miss out the letter d!

YABU: Shurruuupp grammar Nazi, me an me m8s are legens an can spell however we want

YANBU: I've noticed it and it annoys me too

Itz new govt rulez. The letterz d an s have left the alphabet so the remaining letterz can socialize in groupz of six. Make az much zenze az everything elze.

I think people know how to spell it. It’s more a case of they are writing it how they would talk in casual conversation. When people speak quickly they often don’t add the D

Using ‘there’ when they mean ‘their’ or ‘they’re’ winds me up far more. I hardly ever see the correct word being used in context and it can’t all be down to dyslexia or whatever.

hopefully there isn't any!

Is this correct? I would write, hopefully there aren't any. I think because any (and the mistakes are plural) happy to be corrected, just interested.

I don’t think I have seen the word allowed spelled correctly for a few years now, it’s become aloud.

@Sugarhouse I was going to say the opposite. His instead of he's is really common where I am, because of the accent. But its annoying. "How is he?" "His a lot better, thanks"

I have seen that and I don't think it's autocorrect when and is such a common word. I think it's people typing how they speak.

I always wonder if people who spell lose as loose think everyone else is spelling it wrong, especially on the weight loss threads where most people spell it correctly but there’s always a few who repeatedly use loose.

I've wondered that myself about people who spell very common words wrong, but I think perhaps some people don't actually notice the spellings of words they read, whereas others (like me) do notice when a word is different to the image I have of it in my head. It might even have to do with whether someone is a visual or auditory learner (i.e are words sounds to them or pictures on a page). I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence but probably those who don't notice spellings, or for whom words are sounds not pictures, might struggle more with spelling.

There's an influx of saink (something) and naink/ nank (nothing) on social media where I live.
I can hear the pronunciation in the south london type accent but still. Have these people never read anything

@TheFormerPorpentinaScamander 'needs gone' and 'needs cleaned' are Scottish and have come to us via a particular part of America, very good article online if you care to look (can't do clicky links).

My MIL has an infuriating habit of dropping letters in her messages and Facebook posts, so hope becomes ope, the becomes th. She writes sentences like 'ope u ad a luvly time @ th park 2day'.

She's in her 60s and can write perfectly well with a pen, it's as if she thinks she has to use 'text speak' online and just makes it up.

I have various degrees and a vvvv wordy job, I was star proofreader in my day - and honestly ... it’s just to save time and RSI typing on a small device. Humans do things in the easiest way. It’s why we have evolved so much. I don’t really like it in speech but can totally see why it happens in typing.

@wejammin my MIL does this too! Drives me insane!

Yes I have a friend on FB who does this and it's incredibly annoying.

Another one which I baffled me - I used to have someone I followed on LiveJournal (hahha) who every time she wrote an (as in, "We had an awesome time!") would put an apostrophe on it, as though there was a missing letter So she would write "We had an' awesome time!"

I think she thought it was a shortened version of and? I have no idea, but it used to bother me so much, and I was never brave enough to actually ask her why she did it.

I've not noticed a missing d particularly, but I have seen an awful lot of "ar" or even "are" when the writer means "our" - eg "So happy that are daughter got great exam results."

That gives me the rage as I don't see how it can be autocorrect or dyslexia.

[quote DameCelia]@TheFormerPorpentinaScamander 'needs gone' and 'needs cleaned' are Scottish and have come to us via a particular part of America, very good article online if you care to look (can't do clicky links).[/quote]
I didn't know that and will have a look for the article. But I'm not in Scotland, and the people I see posting it are not Scottish. I've also seen "need said" and "need told" recently.

@TheFormerPorpentinaScamander
Pittsburghian English, based on some Scottish and Irish dialects, apparently.

It's not new, I've seen it for a few years (even on MN). Annoys the bejimminies out of me. It's one letter, type it!

[quote MilesToGoBeforeISleep]@Staffy1 My mum always insists on watching a 'boxed set' for the same reason 😂[/quote]
YES!!! Hooray!!! It is a " Boxed set!!!!!!!!!!"

My child wrote "whear are ower files cept" in an email....to his teacher and copied in his entire class.
I think we're going to have to leave the country.

It's s a boxed set of DVDs ( originally.)
Not a set of boxes.

@Candycats DH and I have mostly stopped posting on Facebook because he was getting so mortified of putting up a photo of the kids and getting a comment from her every single time along the lines of "awww Nana's Q.T.pies ar th best an I luv them 4eva ope to c u soon kiss em 4 me". Whyyyyy?!

Maybe it’s with the Th? Th is typically missing in Essex where l live, cue Furrock (Thurrock), Feo (Theo) etc

Just in case this hasn't made MN before:..

"Ode to a Spell Checker"

"Eye halve a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marks four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a quay and type a word and weight for it to say
Weather eye yam wrong oar write.
It shows me strait a weigh as soon as a mist ache is maid.
It nose bee fore two long and eye can put the error rite.
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it,
I am shore your pleased to no.
Its letter perfect awl the way.
My checker told me sew."

Haha, that's great @notimagain!

Reminds me of Joey's letter to the adoption agency in Friends

"Box sets". Unless they are sets of actual boxes, I want to see "Boxed sets".