The huamn mnid is an inrecidlbe tinhg. Trnus out taht as lnog as a wrod icndlues the rhigt aoumnt of ltetres and the frist and lsat oens are crorcet we can sitll fgirue out wahts been wrttien beaucse we jsut sacn raed. The mnid pckis up on the sahpe of a wrod and flils in the balnks.
That said, I think it’s a positive thing that we allow ourselves to “Language Nazi” one another so hectically; working as a community to make sure that we’re not writing like a clutch of etymologists on field duty. Well, the truth, in the most part, is that we make a mistake ourselves, cover up our tracks, then proceed to hunt anyone making a similar faux pas: but at least we’re learning together. Writers of the younger generations are losing touch with the language they use every-day because of the crutch of spell checkers. There’s no consideration paid towards focussed writing because with keyboards and text editing programs it’s all about being swift and efficient – who needs to watch what they’re actually writing when the red snake appears to cry shame in our textual Eden? I’ve gone back and right clicked on several words in this last paragraph alone – out of habit I type what I’m thinking and I worry about spelling later down the line – this is a terrible situation for a writer to be in, especially when putting pen to paper. It starts as help for what matters and ends up becoming a crutch.
The way the world and the internet is today we can make excuses for spelling nuances rather than our errors. Languages are crossing barriers and I personally feel that it’s only a matter of time before a mutated strain of internet speech becomes the most used language on the planet. Every day new terminologies are being coined by the smashing together of two unfamiliar words in a style befitting those hasty, embarrassing (used the spell checker here again) advertising schemes you see in poorly kempt supermarkets – “Get your spooktacular Halloween gifts” – when will it stop? But this doesn’t give us the right to shirk our responsibilities as English speaking citizens. By and large we refuse to learn foreign languages, because well; they’re much better at learning English, anyway, right?! The least we can do is learn how to put our own on paper.
It becomes more difficult to distinguish between English and American English as time passes; the rules are shapeless blurs that void horrific acronyms from the rancid bowls of the internet underworld. I was told recently that “lol” was now in the dictionary but I haven’t the heart to check. I wonder how long it will be before “I actually loled” is an acceptable validation of emotions in face-to-face situations. “No you didn’t. I’m sitting here watching you…”
So back to the title – spelled or spelt? I often see self proclaimed grammar nazis correcting their peers and signing off with that most cutting of emoticons, (spell checker wants me to change this word: it’s nice to know I have allies), the old semicolon-bracket. You know the one. The ‘conversation’ breaks down into scrutiny of one another’s spelling and grammar until several people are blindly stumbling around grasping at largely undefinable information. For example:
lol your funny
I think you’ll find it’s “you’re”. Please learn to spell.
no thanks i can spell just cant be bovered on here
Again you appear to be neglecting your language techniques. You’ve lost all sense of grammar and again spelt a word wrong.
“Spelt (Triticum spelta) is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and has found a new market as a health food.” Maybe you should practice what you preach.
lol
v.A past tense and a past participle of spell1.
American.
Douche.
I could go on. We’ve all seen this type of conversation deteriorate into a mess of missquotes, citations from unreliable open source websites and name-calling; it’s never pretty. From the bottom of my heart I wish it would cease. We’re all experts because we’ve got the web at our fingertips, so in turn we’re all dunces when the connection is severed. It’s about time we started taking responsibility. English or English American – let’s just do a bit of research before we go bundling around on our social networking sites and starting debates over petty divergences. XKCD have it bang on.
Yourdictionary.com’s take on misspelling is what inspired me to start a mini rant. It’s pretty interesting and should hopefully get some of us back on track. What’s the point in ‘learning to navigate’ with a sat-nav? You’ll never learn to map read. So what’s the point in ‘learning to write’ with a spell checker? Of course it’s unavoidable in this day and age, but you’d do well with a little switch to save your game.
I know I will be.
