Letters to the Editor
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Oops..spelling error noted in the quote from Rev. Snyder..
That should be "discrimination"..not "disccrimination". The ability to spell is still intact, but unfortunately the eyes are going a bit dim and the typing was never really great!
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Williedigital argues in his letter that close is good enough, but...
...it isn't good enough for me, because I'm one of those natural pain-in-the-asses for whom an incorrectly spelled word is like a musician hitting a very wrong note, and a letter to the editor full of such wrong notes unfailingly leads me to believe the writer must be a poor thinker. Told you, pain in the ass.
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A "HeadsUp!" to The Canadian Geezer
"Count me in as one of those who has signed up for a membership in the "Correctness Party, the party of good spellers, of people who pay attention to details. Would that we could send a fair number of the ’Nattering Nabobs of Negativism” back to school for remedial work as well."
Sorry, but you can't have it both ways. When that illustrious politico, our own Vice President Spiro Agnew (in Nixon's presidency), spoke of "Nattering Nabobs of Negativism," I believe he was referring TO your Correctness Party, the party of good spellers, people who pay attention to details.
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Well, of course, Trumanbaby...
Hillary's Washington pastor, Dr. Snyder, would say that sort of thing, being (a) at a Methodist church and (b) in Washington, D.C.
Apparently U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton listens to her pastor about as much as U. S. Senator Barack Obama listens to his.
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Amen, Mr. Keillor!
Phew! For a while there I was beginning to think I was the only one still out there who cared about such things as spelling. The 'close enough' enough method now has schools in New Zealand apparently allowing students to do homework and exams using the same - including allowing for 'text speak' so that U and I understand 1 another. 'LOL.' Pardon me while I vomit.
The danger of the 'close enough' method is that we should probably be as forgiving of poor spellers as of a bank employee who makes a punctuation error and wipes out 90% of our life savings, or of Florida election officials who disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters by saying they were criminals in 2000 and were therefore ineligible to vote. Here in the former Soviet Union it means that untold numbers of people have grown up with a bizarre, Germano-English vocabulary and now employ a spelling and writing style that combines elements of the two yet is actually neither. But they're convinced it's English. Not surprisingly here as well, important but glaring details are glossed over in every conceivable facet of life b/c 'people generally understand what we're trying to say'. And this isn't just the locals - it's the Americans, Canadians and Brits, too!
God help us all.
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Huh?
So the claim is that there is a link between a generally relaxed attitude spelling and typos on medical forms and voting records? Why would you think these things are at all related?? One situation deals with correctly copying some characters (which someone who doesn't even speak english could theoretically do just as accurately) and the other situation deals with departures from structure in written passages.
The "purpose" of language is not communication as "clearly" as possible. If it was, one of the many proposed "universal languages" would have been adopted rather than ole' slapped-together English and a much greater emphasis would be placed on syntax, which is the real key to clarity.
The purpose of language is communication, and the range of thoughts and emotions that humans may wish to communicate are often and quickly limited by the strictures of written language--especially copy-edited business-speech. A misspelled word may be an "off note" in certain circumstances, but many other times it is an expression of creativity and experimenting with the boundaries of language. I'd rather live in a world of rock and roll, jazz, and hip-hop rather than nothing but perfectly performed symphonies. One wonders if you people have ever read a poem or novel in your life??
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A vote for correct spelling
The purpose of language is communication. It has no other reason for being. I really don't understand why anyone would champion the idea of “close enough”. When I read something written using approximations of spelling, there is a little pause at each error to interpret the intent. When there are many of these errors, it hardly seems worthwhile to look for the meaning.
It is lazy and careless to mix up those very simple words such as its/it’s and there/their.
One of my pet peeves is the misuse of “so-and’so and I” and “so-and-so and me”. Eons ago I was taught that you could tell which was correct by hearing how it sounded by leaving out “so-and-so”.
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Acht! Du lieber! (sp?)
watt iz yer deal, mon? Tearing down is not edifying. You have recently minimized your faith, and now, Meester Keillor, you continue to point to the chimpanzee that looks like Peking Duck anyway. We already know this. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
My parents removed me from public school when the teacher sent home a grammatically incorrect note. They had their lives threatened (literally)for "not supporting the Baltimore City" system in a time of desegregational flux.
The point? The point? Proper spelling may be likened to not picking one's nose in public. Compromise of civilized standards is but an insidious opening to the long slippery slope ultimately leading to disrespect for self and others.
Accepting ignorance is disempowering to your fellow man. Who gave you the right to point your finger at the monkey, you overdressed hayseed? Hope you are enjoying the blooms in the city.
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Spelling and grammar
What indeed has happened to the correct use of the nominative and accusative cases among people who should know better?
This morning on NPR I heard one of the anchors query a correspondent in Iraq about the upsurge of violence in Basra by asking "Who's fighting who?" It wouldn't surprise me to hear one of Mr. Murdoch's minions so misspeak, but NPR?
Likewise, Salon.com occasionally suffers from such mistakes: I posted a letter about one on Jan. 3 of this year.
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Expression vs. Ignorance
In response to williedigital:
"A misspelled word may be an "off note" in certain circumstances, but many other times it is an expression of creativity and experimenting with the boundaries of language. I'd rather live in a world of rock and roll, jazz, and hip-hop rather than nothing but perfectly performed symphonies. One wonders if you people have ever read a poem or novel in your life??"
Generally the most nuanced and moving poetry and jazz are created by someone who has mastered the basics of his or her craft and understands exactly what each space, break and word conveys. If anything, this highlights the importance of clarity and precision in writing.