Spelling

I consider myself to be a reasonably good speller. I make mistakes though and I noticed my mistake in my post yesterday: 'make' should have been 'makes'. My excuse is that English was the third language I learnt and keeping several languages on the go can be quite challenging.

I understand that some people find spelling/grammar difficult and I would normally just let it pass. However, I cannot agree with the idea that spelling doesn't matter as long as you get the message across. Surely we should aim to raise standards, not lower them.

Marydoll I blame the internet because I see so many people spell things wrongly that I begin to believe that is the correct way . I scream silently when someone asks for permission saying " is this alloud "

I have been with GN for many years and was picked up on spelling once and I have never forgotten it. I think it rude to have spelling and grammar corrected- think what you like but people have feelings so keep your thoughts to yourself.

I find it very difficult not to correct spelling. However, I do fully accept that some find spelling more difficult than others, and that it is little do with intelligence. One of the brightest students I ever taught was an appalling speller. I think she was awarded a first class degree in spite of it, because her ideas and arguments were so brilliant. I’ve also known people with dull brains who are very good at spelling.

However, to say it doesn’t matter if the meaning is clear strikes me as a bit lazy. There’s no reason not to try to get it right. If doubtful about a word, check it. It’s so easy now, with everything available online. Be sure to use Oxford dictionaries rather than the American Merriam-Webster (unless you’re American, of course).

I think I’m quite a good speller, but I have some difficulty with -ible and -able, and (especially) -ent and -ant, so I would check words like ‘independent’ or ‘responsible’.

I can't be the only one who has noticed that there are usually quite a few errors on the Pedants' Corner threads, made by people who are complaining about other people's use of language. ?

I'm the same Marydoll, previously always a good speller and now can have problems. I started a thread about this a few months ago and a lot of people wrote to say they had the same problem.

I do not appreciate any mistakes being corrected, however, and put it down to ignorance of the right way to behave.

Well done showergelfresh . I totally agree.

I haven't been here long but already I've had a PM from someone who told me they were in tears because their grammar had been criticised by a well-known poster who totally ignored the kernel of the message asking for help and instead got hind legs to point out her poor writing skills.

I wonder how many others simply slunk away in the face of such arrogance?

I used to work with people in a remedial reading class and realised there were so many different reasons why people cannot, however hard they try, spell correctly.

As someone who suffers from dyscalculia and was scorned, blamed and punished for it, I have learned to be a little more tolerant (I hope).

Goodpost Showergel......

Shower-gel - Great post, I wholeheartedly agree!

Septimia - Using a keyboard with a new iPad I’m irritated that the capital I is no longer automatic. I had become used to it appearing without effort before i had the keyboard.
If you see what i mean!!

showergelfresh Good post! In my opinion, it is better to post with errors, than not post at all. Some people need to show a little more tolerance.

I have a Masters in English language and literature and used to be an excellent speller. When I was teaching, colleagues used to come to me to check spelling and grammar.
However, nowadays (even on GN,) much to my embarrassment, I find myself making simple spelling errors, I'm not sure if it is an "age" thing or not. I hope I am not being judged on them.
Thank goodness for spellcheckers!!!

Yes - I also think the most important thing is to be understood.

Many people find writing quite difficult and it would be terrible if such people didn't post just because they worried someone would critisize their spelling and grammar.

Just remember that GabriellaG54 - not everyone finds it as easy as you do.

Maybe that poster whose spelling and grammar is not so perfect is an amazing artist or is a whizzo at mental arithmetic and has a successful business making thousands every month.

This is life. Nobody is good at everything.

It's pitifully ignorant and shameful to even think about judging anyone on their writing skills. Why on earth do people do this? It is the last thing that's even a sign of intelligence!

Honestly I have known people who think those who can't spell easily are non too bright! This is where madness lies.

I think as a forum for Grandparents we should focus on the message and not the delivery of the message.

A lot of us unknowingly will make errors, or perhaps not be as good spellers/readers as others. I had to look up what a split infinitive was, then look up infinitive!
Granted, long winded messages with little or no punctuation can be annoying. But I would never assume to correct another person unless I was very close to them.

Some writing is for expressing feelings and other writing is for explaining or instructing.

I'd not want a poem to come out of an Ikea flat pack. Oh wait a minute !

So my correction of your Potsdammer Place ( Potsdamer Platz ) was justified?
I thought it was but OMG did I get my head bitten off.
Do as I say, not as I do, it seems ???

That's fine.
I have always found fennel to be bitter. ??

It doesn't bother me if people make a few spelling and grammar mistakes. The main thing is to communicate.
I often make mistakes in writing, there are a few words I can never remember how to spell.
Anyway spelling of the english language is so irregular, ignoring many potential rules.
Gabriella I disagree with your view 100% .

Why do people write 'could of' instead of 'could have'

The way people pronounce 'could have' make it sound like 'could of'. I believe good spellers are also good readers. Grammar is a mystery to many and I don't think consulting a dictionary/grammar guide is for them. It's like a foreign language - they just don't want to know.

I'm always fascinated by those, usually new posters, who manage to type a whole page without a paragraph and use lower case i into the bargain!

I've done so much proofreading that any spelling and grammar mistakes are irritating - unless they're clearly typos or accidental.
However, when typing on GN most people are thinking about what they want to say, not about the quality of their English. This is especially true when they are distraught, so perhaps it's best to be a little generous about mistakes.

To do it personally, yes but this is a discussion.

I thought it was considered poor form to correct spelling and grammar on fora!

Why do people write 'could of' instead of 'could have' as in ''you could of phoned me ' instead of 'you could have phoned me '

The occasional poster writes half or more of a page of A4 with no paragraphs and in some cases no punctuation and I can not read it or if I did, it made little sense.

Of instead of have, loose and lose and there and their are all irritating to me.

closed 'i' as in in.

It's understandable Gonegirl
If you were to pronounce definite as it's spelt: de (with an open 'e') -fi (with the 'i' as in in) - nite (as in bite) it would sound wrong to virtually all of us.
I think most of us pronounce it this way: de (open 'e') fi (open 'i') nut.
It wouldn't be correct nowadays (if it ever was) to pronounce it as finite with de tacked on the front.