To not understand why people correct spelling

[Lockeddownagain]

Just reading a thread on here and someone felt the need to correct the spelling of another then put sorry in brackets. They aren't sorry or they just wouldn't have done it. I'm super dyslexic and spell stuff wrong all the time but why do people need to correct it. If you are a spelling corrector would you tell me why you do it?? Thanks

@sevensleeps

I don't see why it's necessarily a 'dick move' or 'superior'. Why do people have to take it so personally? Often when I see people write 'would of' instead of 'would have' for example I feel an urge to correct it, not because I'm feeling superior, but because I think if that person got told and noticed this mistake going forward they would avoid coming across uneducated in the future. So it would help them?

I don't ever actually point it out because I know people feel strongly about it but I know that whenever I first realised I repeatedly got some spelling wrong or misused a phrase or something I was glad when I did learn the correct way.

But some people are uneducated. They know that and having it pointed out time and again when all they're trying to do is relax and have a chat on the internet, must be extremely wearing and very bloody annoying.

It's like the people who correct them are too thick to realise they're probably the 100th person to do it.

I personally don't like the word uneducated it seems a way of putting somone down to me.

And I think this is part of the problem.

For many, being uneducated isn't an insult it's just a fact. They have their own story/reasons no doubt, and it's nothing to do with anyone else.

I don't normally correct people's spelling but errors absolutely glare for me. It's like they are in a different colour or moving. It's very jarring and distracting.

There seems a lot of defensive anger on this thread, from people who apparently want to continue mangling their grammar and spelling, and assume anyone correcting them must only be doing it out of a feeling of superiority.

I probably sound quite angry, but very much on behalf of other people. I don't mangle grammar and spelling. I'm a language teacher. I corrected my teachers' spelling when I was at primary school. I grew out of it. I very much do believe that primary schol teachers need to have good spelling and grammar, but unfortunately this isn't always the case.

I'll say it again... correcting strangers' individual spelling mistakes is not kind and does not make them into good spellers.

I have to mark students' work for spelling and grammatical accuracy. That doesn't make them into good spellers either. Often they are unable to remember the correct spelling in future pieces of work, even when they have been told multiple times. Checking their work helps of course, and they can probably eliminate some of their more frequent errors if they try hard.

Expecting adults to learn better spelling and grammar skills by having errors pointed out at random by strangers is ridiculous. As is expecting them to check their posts or care much if they make mistakes. They will have accepted long ago that they are not great spellers, and that in some situations they need to check because it's important. Posting on a chat forum is not one of those situations. Correcting them is rude. Expecting them to be grateful for unsolicited criticism is, in my opinion, the height of arrogance.

It depends on the context.

If someone is posting about an employment issue and is using mumsnet as a sounding board for what to say to their employer, then I will correct their spelling because they're going to send that to their employer! They need to spell correctly.

If the OP is being patronising about other people or acting superior then I'll correct them because they need to realise they also make mistakes. Especially the bloody mumsnet, "myself." That word is almost never used correctly on this forum. This place is full of me, "Myself and my husband," and you just know the person typing it thinks they're being clever but they just look fucking stupid. It is totally wrong and drives me mad. But I also correct my kids' teachers when they send letters and use myself instead of me. I dont want my kids learning that.

I'll say it again...correcting strangers' individual spelling mistakes is not kind and does not make them into good spellers.

Exactly. It's not much different to slim people telling fat people they're fat, in the sense that humiliation is never going to help.

@Becles
Because correct spelling makes life easier for people with disabilities (including dyslexia), non English speakers, many people (average reading age is about 11) to understand what's being said.

I dont truly understand your logic here (and I read the entire post) as a dyslexic person and a person using English as my second language. No it doesn't help me if something is done correctly. It is not a memory thing. It is a processing thing. I often can't see the difference in the stuff that gets corrected.

I personally work hard on getting it right but English grammar is something I struggle hugely with as honestly you have no sensible rules. You can have a sentence that is only 2 words. You can need a comma after 1 (however,) its like someone took great pleasure in creating something utterly complex with additional rules to add to rules to then have other rules to explain them (i before e except for after c why not just have i before e?) Its just complex.

I do not understand pronouns and when I dare to say this out loud I have always got some "charmer" explaining. "A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence" my dyslexic brain can not make sense of that sentence. All it does is make me not verbalise I don't get it in the future. It doesn't help me.

So when I read posts like yours I genuinely wonder if you think you are coming from a point of support and help and doesn't understand that for some of us its not as straight forward as seeing it written down right, or having some weird additional rule explained for the 300th time.

I have a official diagnosis as dyslexic I am entitled to extra time in exam situations. My daughter is also dyslexic she has a report that outright states her grammar and spelling is to be disregarded in her uni work (she is currently writing her dissertation) we have had to fight tooth and nail to get people to take notice of this. To make them understand that this actually is a disability and it HAS to be taken seriously.

So it saddens me when I see posts like yours as they to me are so lacking in compression of dyslexia and to some extend living in a country that is not your mother tongue.

Please note I am not saying we should simply stop spelling correctly or using correct grammar. We do however need to have some empathy as to how it is to learn another language and grammar structure. And how dyslexia works in the brain. I am 52 I have been living in the UK for 30 years. I write better English than I do my native tongue. I can't now do correct grammar for either language as I mix them up.

I am however more than halfway through a counselling degree and so far my dyslexia has not held me back. I do rely on grammarly heavily and the understanding of my tutors to find a method that works for us both.

It's because it makes them feel superior. What they don't realise is nobody can be good at everything and someone who isn't spelling well is probably better than them at somethings. It's all pointless.

If it changes the meaning it needs to be corrected eg; free tickets or three tickets.

[quote Enko]@Becles
Because correct spelling makes life easier for people with disabilities (including dyslexia), non English speakers, many people (average reading age is about 11) to understand what's being said.

I dont truly understand your logic here (and I read the entire post) as a dyslexic person and a person using English as my second language. No it doesn't help me if something is done correctly. It is not a memory thing. It is a processing thing. I often can't see the difference in the stuff that gets corrected.

I personally work hard on getting it right but English grammar is something I struggle hugely with as honestly you have no sensible rules. You can have a sentence that is only 2 words. You can need a comma after 1 (however,) its like someone took great pleasure in creating something utterly complex with additional rules to add to rules to then have other rules to explain them (i before e except for after c why not just have i before e?) Its just complex.

I do not understand pronouns and when I dare to say this out loud I have always got some "charmer" explaining. "A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence" my dyslexic brain can not make sense of that sentence. All it does is make me not verbalise I don't get it in the future. It doesn't help me.

So when I read posts like yours I genuinely wonder if you think you are coming from a point of support and help and doesn't understand that for some of us its not as straight forward as seeing it written down right, or having some weird additional rule explained for the 300th time.

I have a official diagnosis as dyslexic I am entitled to extra time in exam situations. My daughter is also dyslexic she has a report that outright states her grammar and spelling is to be disregarded in her uni work (she is currently writing her dissertation) we have had to fight tooth and nail to get people to take notice of this. To make them understand that this actually is a disability and it HAS to be taken seriously.

So it saddens me when I see posts like yours as they to me are so lacking in compression of dyslexia and to some extend living in a country that is not your mother tongue.

Please note I am not saying we should simply stop spelling correctly or using correct grammar. We do however need to have some empathy as to how it is to learn another language and grammar structure. And how dyslexia works in the brain. I am 52 I have been living in the UK for 30 years. I write better English than I do my native tongue. I can't now do correct grammar for either language as I mix them up.

I am however more than halfway through a counselling degree and so far my dyslexia has not held me back. I do rely on grammarly heavily and the understanding of my tutors to find a method that works for us both.[/quote]
Thank you for writing that . English is my first language. But I agree with everything you have said . And it's exactly how I feel. I have just never been able to explain it .

@nearlyspringyay

If it changes the meaning it needs to be corrected eg; free tickets or three tickets.

Yes, agreed.

Why is spelling and grammar so poor in this country? Why is the average reading age only 11?

I received a letter from a social worker a few days ago and struggled to read it due to the lack of punctuation.

Like others I find mistakes jarring, but I don't correct them on here. I correct my children though. At 15 it baffles me as to how she still doesn't know the correct spelling of something like loose/lose and basic grammar. Text speak possibly has a lot to answer for. Our language is fascinating and I love seeing it written correctly. However, I know that there are disabilities that affect this so would never correct it on here. With friends I have to check what they mean as lack of punctuation can make the message they send misunderstood.

@nearlyspringyay

If it changes the meaning it needs to be corrected eg; free tickets or three tickets.

An example which you've never seen on MN. Or, I wager, anywhere else.

It's not just disabilities that can cause poor spelling and grammar.

It can also be a poor education, which is rarely that person's fault.

My phone hates me and changes most of my posts and I'm so impatient I post without checking. I wouldn't pick another poster up as I don't always get it right. It doesn't stop me getting irritated at the "could of" and "should of" as it's just wrong

If I made a spelling error or typo at work, though, I absolutely would pick up and want to be picked up on any bad spelling or grammar

It can also be a poor education, which is rarely that person's fault.

Surely, having spelling mistakes pointed out is education.

It is in my line of work.

@etulosba

It can also be a poor education, which is rarely that person's fault.

Surely, having spelling mistakes pointed out is education.

It is in my line of work.

It is in mine too. I'm not at work when I'm on MN though, are you? As designated spelling monitor?

@AlternativelyWired

Why is spelling and grammar so poor in this country? Why is the average reading age only 11?

I received a letter from a social worker a few days ago and struggled to read it due to the lack of punctuation.

Like others I find mistakes jarring, but I don't correct them on here. I correct my children though. At 15 it baffles me as to how she still doesn't know the correct spelling of something like loose/lose and basic grammar. Text speak possibly has a lot to answer for. Our language is fascinating and I love seeing it written correctly. However, I know that there are disabilities that affect this so would never correct it on here. With friends I have to check what they mean as lack of punctuation can make the message they send misunderstood.

Because schools don’t have time or staff to educate basic properly. Extra services likes literacy help has been cut to the absolute bone, if not cut completely, because cutbacks.

Text speak doesn’t help at all and autocorrect doesn’t always help, especially when it comes to grammar.

I used to work as a literacy and numeracy support worker (I was numeracy rather than literacy). We were employed by the LA and we went into different schools on set days to give targeted support to specific children. I worked 4 days a week, term time and we just about covered all the children that needed the extra help. I saw some of them weekly and the rest fortnightly depending on their need. My colleagues were similar. Despite the fact that there are more issues now, and more children who need help, that service was cut completely by the LA in one of the austerity cutback rounds.

Teachers don’t have the time to work on that one-to-one basis with children for that kind of thing. They’re juggling too many plates as it is.

@SingaporeSlinky

I don’t correct people on here, but I do shout the correct word in my head. Not because I feel superior, but it’s just really annoying, and I hope when someone else does correct them, that the Op realises and might learn from it (although unlikely). Sometimes it’s obvious it’s autocorrect, but more often than not, it’s someone just mixing up ‘bought’ and ‘brought’.

This^

I also feel the same when people write 'we was going to ....', 'we had a deaf in the family', 'nip it in the butt' or 'recommend me ...'

I don't think there's a need to correct on an internet forum (unless someone is being a dick to another poster about SPAG, then they're fair game). I have to at work as my team submit court reports and it is important they are correct.
Surely modelling is the appropriate approach - using the correct spelling yourself in a response allows the poster to see the correct spelling without drawing attention to their mistake.

@etulosba

It can also be a poor education, which is rarely that person's fault.

Surely, having spelling mistakes pointed out is education.

It is in my line of work.

We're not at work though, we're chilling out and chatting on the internet.

Imagine having that leisure time turned into 'work' by strangers constantly correcting you?

I can't see it being much fun and of course there's the idiocy of them believing they'll be the one to make a difference when all that person's life, they've not managed to get it right.

Great post, Enko. I'm afraid that a lot of people just don't really acknowledge or understand the various causes of poor spelling and grammar and do not recognise the obstacles which make these problems difficult or impossible to fix. When I first started teaching, I didn't really get it either.

There's this assumption that pointing out specific errors is in any way going to help solve the problem. But that really honestly isn't how it works. Correcting a stranger's spelling of a word on the internet and thinking you're doing them good is potentially a bit like telling off and embarrassing a morbidly obese person with lifelong psychologocal food issues and underlying health problems for eating a KitKat.

@etulosba

It can also be a poor education, which is rarely that person's fault.

Surely, having spelling mistakes pointed out is education.

It is in my line of work.

Not as an adult who is seeking social interaction and advice on a parenting forum.

There's this assumption that pointing out specific errors is in any way going to help solve the problem. But that really honestly isn't how it works. Correcting a stranger's spelling of a word on the internet and thinking you're doing them good is potentially a bit like telling off and embarrassing a morbidly obese person with lifelong psychologocal food issues and underlying health problems for eating a KitKat.

Exactly. This is so, so simple and yet the people who profess to be so well educated, just can't seem to understand it.

Or they do but they think their irritation is far more important.