Do you judge others if they can't spell?

[Zoesmama]

For some, spelling is easy; they learn fast, assimilate words quickly, spell well. While for others, they find spelling hard; learn other topics well but English spelling remains incredibly tricky.

Which camp do you fall in to?

If you are one of the lucky ones who can spell well and 'just learned it', then well done. English spelling isn't easy. There are lots of irregularities and strange rules to learn.

If you are someone who found it difficult to learn to spell at school, then you are not alone. Close to one third of children leave school with a shakey grasp on spelling. This really can and does affect confidence and employment opportunities and leads to problems down the line when you have children and you need to home school them through a pandemic!

I'd love to know your thoughts on spelling.
How difficult did you find phonics lessons in lockdown?
Did you struggle to explain why some words have the 'i before e except after c' rule and some don't (there are 15 exceptions to that particular rule).

If you can spell well, do you judge others for not spelling well?

Charles11, I used to believe that and it was true for me as a child. But both my dyslexic family members are big readers, though they came to reading relatively late. There is something different about how they are processing the text perhaps. I realise I see details they see a bigger picture.

Though their spelling would probably be worse if they didn't read.

@BertieBotts

They're too small to read properly, but generally I'm not a fan of spelling reforms as I just don't think there's much need for it, they tend not to account for accents, plus it erases some of the history of our language. Phonics is an easier way to teach spelling than inconsistent rules.

I appreciate your viewpoint here and it's something that a lot of people say when the English Spelling Society talk about reform.

There is an alternative argument to this though. Language is a code, if it were a computer code that was holding an operating system back, if it were outdated, would we stubbornly hold on to the old operating system and refuse an update?

Bertie I thought they'd had a spelling reform.

I'm glad it's still there!

@ClearTheDecks

Charles11, I used to believe that and it was true for me as a child. But both my dyslexic family members are big readers, though they came to reading relatively late. There is something different about how they are processing the text perhaps. I realise I see details they see a bigger picture.

Though their spelling would probably be worse if they didn't read.

We hear of this a lot. It's a great tribute to your family that despite struggling with the code, they have persevered and continued to find ways of processing.

That's not really how computer code works, though.

spelling has always been difficult for me & I was a late reader (undiagnosed sever short sightedness - & lets place her at the back of the class)
when I got glasses I went from Janet & John to borrowing my sisters "Day of the Triffids" (sci fi buff at 10 :)) within a term - but - my spelling didn't keep place -I learnt to read by word shape & memory.
I did well at school none the less & as a (very!) mature student I got a good degree. (I use to keep spell check & thesaurus behind the screen when writing essays - the spell check quite often failed with my spelling!) I read literally thousands of books before I was 16 including factual ones but while it extended my vocabulary it certainly didn't improve my spelling! (I love spell check!)

Speech has a lot to do with poor spelling

Diffrent springs to mind, if the children can’t hear the word properly they don’t have a chance.

Teachers aren’t allowed to correct spellings. So are words like their there and they’re need to be taught.

Plus dyslexics struggle massively with spellings and this isn’t taken into account with exams, plus they tend not to use 100 words when 5 will do.

It depends on the context. I would expect anything vaguely official to have been checked and edited. But I can see how eg social media posts it’s less important, so long as you can understand what the person is saying. And typos happen to all of us! I do think though that there are so many tools now to help with spelling etc, that there is less excuse. I have a dyslexic dc, and I encourage him to use those tools.

@mumwon

spelling has always been difficult for me & I was a late reader (undiagnosed sever short sightedness - & lets place her at the back of the class) when I got glasses I went from Janet & John to borrowing my sisters "Day of the Triffids" (sci fi buff at 10 :)) within a term - but - my spelling didn't keep place -I learnt to read by word shape & memory. I did well at school none the less & as a (very!) mature student I got a good degree. (I use to keep spell check & thesaurus behind the screen when writing essays - the spell check quite often failed with my spelling!) I read literally thousands of books before I was 16 including factual ones but while it extended my vocabulary it certainly didn't improve my spelling! (I love spell check!)

Incredible dedication. I so respect what you did and how you helped yourself. Many more children, than we admit to, have trouble with spelling. A lot of it stems from different ways of processing information. And often, if people find it easy themselves, they fail to understand how someone else can find it difficult. Thank you for sharing this.

As previous posters, I wouldn't judge in a personal context but I do in a professional context, e.g. a presentation or a CV. I would expect someone to know they had a spelling issue and get someone else to proof read it for them or use a good spell checker. My work is all about presenting information clearly though.

Spelling reform would make life much easier but with English being spoken in so many countries I can't see how it could be done. Would you see one country going alone and doing it?

It is an interesting issue OP. However I frankly don't like any of the proposals you posted - they don't seem simplified at all. The Readscript means a new alphabet which would separate English from all the other western languages.

I mean question is clearly qweschun if anything. ;) What accent are we speaking btw?

I'd judge someone who can't spell and who submittted a formal piece of writing without checking it or getting someone to check it. It's not hard to look things up, especially if you know you can't spell. It's amazing how many job applications md business emails I see are full of errors.

On FB and MN etc, I assume it's a typo. However, I admit people who say things like his when they mean "he's" and should of etc plus the too/to thing on FB does affect my opinion. Again, not if it's a one off, I'd assume a simple typo but if done regularly.

My DH can't spell for toffee. He falls into the can't learn camp. He reads vociferously and is bright but will never spell things correctly. My dd takes after me and spells perfectly every time with no effort. There's nothing to judge; I'm simply lucky.

Hullo there OP.

Could you clarify please? This thread is research, yes? For the English Spelling Society.

I remember some books with 'phonic' spelling as a child. 'Ov' instead of 'of' (bad example) so this is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember that it looked like a 'foreign language'. The teacher said the books were to help slow readers (her words). I couldn't see the point of learning to read and write in two different ways.

My daughter is severely dyslexic and high intelligence. I think that learning another spelling system would confuse things even more. We have some fantastic laughs about her spelling in her text messages. She's proud to be dyslexic - proud to be different. Hence previous post. She is confident in her abilities. She has bought her own home and has a fabulous young family.

Lough = loaf. This was after I'd asked if she wanted anything from the shop. I knew what she meant. The driving examiner had to point in the direction she had to travel on her driving test as she still doesn't know left from right - if she has to think about it she gets really confused. She passed first time.

You can be successful without the ability to spell. Those people who sift out job applications with spelling and grammar mistakes are probably sifting out people who are gifted in other ways.

A school friend who couldn't spell and had the most atrocious, spider handwriting didn't know she was dyslexic until her late teens. She's (appropriately) been a GP for nearly 30 years (notorious for bad handwriting).

I judge people who judge.

@BGirlBouillabaisse

I can spell perfectly, but my brain can't do anagrams. I also have perfect pitch but can't understand spoken instructions, or can't follow them. I think I have undiagnosed ASD.

I would never judge anyone for being unable to do something! It's all part of a spiky profile; we all have strengths and weaknesses (because we require diversity of ability at a population level!).

What do you mean by this? Not being able to follow instructions? Not being rude, genuinely interested.

I'm a stickler for spelling mistakes as I've always been quite lucky and knowing how to spell. DS2 has taken after me, he actually has learning difficulties but can spell pretty much any word you ask him to ( he's 11). DS1 hasn't been so lucky!

I wouldn't pull anyone up on their spelling though, unless in a jokey way which I know they'd laugh about.

My DS 25 is very intelligent but dyslexic and cant spell, neither can my DH (undiagnosed dyslexic), so i dont judge bad spelling.
I went to school in 60s and 70s and we were not really taught to spell and i wasnt that good at spelling tests. I learnt a lot of rules after i left school

Crikey, strange idea that you would "judge" someone as if poor spelling were a moral failing! Well if it makes anyone feel better for non-spelling dc, I am pretty bad at spelling: for words with lots of unstressed vowels I usually need several tries before the red underline disappears. Nonetheless I am a successful scientist and professor in a leading university. If it's important, just use a spell checker!

It depends - I judge if it seems “lazy” I.e. someone finds me on the work email system and addresses me with a different version of my name i.e. Hi Sarah rather than Sara it uses American English, when we are not in America. I also hate when something has been written and reviewed like a report or a sign and is incorrect. If it seems like an accident or dyslexia etc. That can’t be helped.

to get through exams for psychology where you have theorist & various disorders with complex spelling I used a reporters notebook & copied pages of the words I needed - it also helped me remember them!

crikey severe!!! misspelling!

In my professional life, yes I do judge if someone sends me a badly spelled or punctuated document.

Even if someone did not have a great education, there are enough technical tools and helpers around to make it careless.

I know of a recent Arts graduate who cannot remember the difference between their, there and they’re. English is her first language. I judge the schools responsible in that case but I would not employ the individual because as a company, we seek to present a professional and well educated image.

Yes I do, more so when it's simple things like there, their and they're or to and too.
It may be a local thing but I see a lot of been instead of being, carnt for can't, arnt for aren't as some of the regular misspellings that infuriate me. Often used by people who completely ignore grammar.

Personally, eg in day to day life/texting/SM I do judge as these are fairly simple words anyway but it's actually harder to misspell with auto correct than it is to get them wrong.
Professionally I don't think I this type of thing is acceptable. If someone sent me something in a professional capacity with bad spelling and grammar I would definitely judge them negatively.

The other reason a spelling reform doesn't work well in English is because English is a language which has stress - and whether or not a word is stressed or weak can depend on where it is in a sentence. Spelling doesn't do well with words which change pronunciation depending on where they are in a sentence.

This is useful: