My Stupid Rant of the Day: Spelling

[solidstatemind]

Now, I'm not trying to be some sort of spelling/grammar fascist here, and I recognize this is kind of silly to get worked up about, but I've noticed that more and more, it appears as if the spelling here on the Escapist has been degrading steadily.

I understand that we're not in an academic environment here, and nobody is going through posts and grading them for spelling, but I can't help but be concerned.

Why?

In the real world, spelling matters. A LOT. You misspell one word- just one- on a résumé and you likely will not get the job you submitted it for if there is any competition whatsoever.

Another way it matters? If you don't know the proper usage of your and you're, or its and it's, (to provide just two examples) it undermines the credibility of any statement or argument you are trying to make. Basically: if you're not 'smart enough' to use proper English, why should any weight be given to your words? I'm not being a snob here; this is just an unconscious bias that most educated people have. I will freely admit that I have read posts and found myself wondering how old the person was.

I suppose somebody can argue that they're just rushing through it, but if you're really going to expect me to take the time to read your post, shouldn't you take the time to spell properly?

It's particularly vexing to me because the Chrome browser includes a spell-checker. If you know you're a particularly poor speller, why wouldn't you give it a try?

You may blow it off as 'just posting on a web forum', but people get into habits, and habits carry over from medium to medium. If you consistently misspell 'definately' (pro-tip: it's de-finite-ly) on forums, you're probably going to misspell it in an email to somebody important, or some other way that undermines you.

So, do I need to just increase the dosage of my OCD medication, or are other people seeing this/thinking this?

(Oh, and for the record, I'm not referring to people for whom English is a secondary language, but usually those folks are fairly easy to identify.)

 

[Alex Cowan]

*Agrees wholeheartedly*

In all seriousness I'm tired of being accused of fascism for acknowledging the incorrect use of one's native language. If someone, in conversation, pronounced a word wrong, or got their grammar confused, the chances are that they would be corrected. So why, when communicating through written messages, is the same thing somehow seen as wrong?

 

[thelonewolf266]

I use The Escapist as a means of entertainment and relaxation, therefore I don't want to spend lots of time going over my posts to make sure they are perfect as that would be boring and I suck at grammar and punctuation so there would be no point to it.However I do agree that people shouldn't make so many spelling mistakes as there is a spell checker.

 

[LobsterFeng]

I love spelling right, but I mess up a lot because I have dyslexia.

 

[Kopikatsu]

It's true! So very true!

I actually go around correcting typos in the News Room's threads.

One of them had the word 'mssive'. THERE IS AN A IN THAT.

Also, Chrome isn't the only one. Firefox does it, too.

 

[SckizoBoy]

One of them had the word 'mssive'. THERE IS AN A IN THAT.

What if they're trying to write 'missive'? Though that kind of adds weight to the argument, doesn't it?

OT: I fundamentally agree with you... but I generally cut some slack to those who clearly can't word process well (and much of the time, with most topics it's not all that worth it proofreading) or those for whom English is obviously not a first language.

However, I do find it somewhat shameful that the Scandinavians here generally type more coherent posts than anyone else, and typically in several languages. (Oh, the number of times I've seen conversations in Danish or Swedish... yeesh).

 

[Brandon237]

I use The Escapist as a means of entertainment and relaxation, therefore I don't want to spend lots of time going over my posts to make sure they are perfect as that would be boring and I suck at grammar and punctuation so there would be no point to it.However I do agree that people shouldn't make so many spelling mistakes as there is a spell checker.

A new thread I see?
Yet you have ninja'd me...
It was only post 3.
And my opinion is there already.

Not to mention most of my posts are made when I'm dead tired anyway. Although you have no excuse for words that spellchecker recognises.

 

[Mechanical Cat Fish]

I concur - this sort of thing matters more than people would initially think, and you do hear horror stories from teachers about students who use text speak in essays. There's definitely a line between that and errors on the Escapist though. That being said, I'm of the kind who cringes when they see spelling or grammar errors, and grows increasingly worried by the number of foreigners who speak the English language more accurately than the natives.

 

[Kopikatsu]

One of them had the word 'mssive'. THERE IS AN A IN THAT.

What if they're trying to write 'missive'? Though that kind of adds weight to the argument, doesn't it?

OT: I fundamentally agree with you... but I generally cut some slack to those who clearly can't word process well (and much of the time, with most topics it's not all that worth it proofreading) or those for whom English is obviously not a first language.

However, I do find it somewhat shameful that the Scandinavians here generally type more coherent posts than anyone else, and typically in several languages. (Oh, the number of times I've seen conversations in Danish or Swedish... yeesh).

The context made it blatantly obvious that the word in question was 'massive'.

I've never heard of the word missive, though...

 

[Geeky Anomaly]

I guess for me, it depends on what the topic is. If it's something serious, like political debate and the likes thereof, I try to keep my posts legible and formal; especially if I have more to say than, "you're right, I agree."

If it's something that doesn't really matter, like, "check out this funny video!"; I'll be more inclined to say shit like, " Lulz, shitz funnei!"

 

[Geeky Anomaly]

One of them had the word 'mssive'. THERE IS AN A IN THAT.

What if they're trying to write 'missive'? Though that kind of adds weight to the argument, doesn't it?

OT: I fundamentally agree with you... but I generally cut some slack to those who clearly can't word process well (and much of the time, with most topics it's not all that worth it proofreading) or those for whom English is obviously not a first language.

However, I do find it somewhat shameful that the Scandinavians here generally type more coherent posts than anyone else, and typically in several languages. (Oh, the number of times I've seen conversations in Danish or Swedish... yeesh).

The context made it blatantly obvious that the word in question was 'massive'.

I've never heard of the word missive, though...

mis·sive
noun
1.
a written message; letter.

adjective
2.
sent or about to be sent, especially of a letter from an official source.

 

[Goofguy]

I'm all about proper spelling and grammar but I consider my time on the internet (particularly this site) as 'down' or relax time to just speak my mind and see what's going on in the world. While it's great to instill good habits by correcting spelling and grammar deficiencies, it comes off as being somewhat superior or uppity. Now OP, I'm not saying this is what you are doing however, I believe you ought to just let it slide.

 

[Cheesus333]

I really don't think it's as important as you say it is. Fair enough, if something's written so catastrophically poorly that you can't interpret the message - or have difficulty doing so - then yeah, there's a problem with communication. But people come here - the Escapist, of all places - to escape, and that includes getting away from people breathing down their necks. This is a relaxed environment[footnote]If The Escapist were a place, it would be a coffee house with all the chairs arranged in little circles. And the coffee would be video games, somehow.[/footnote], please don't bring an element of formality into it.

Ignore my need to impulsively correct my own tiny mistakes, though, that's a personal thing >.>

 

[SckizoBoy]

The context made it blatantly obvious that the word in question was 'massive'.

I've never heard of the word missive, though...

*meh* Bad attempt at a joke, apologies.

'Missive' (from Wiktionary):

missive (plural missives): (formal) A written message; a letter, note or memo

Though I don't really think it can be applied to 'note' or 'memo' since it is generally used to describe more formal (legal and otherwise) or personal communications (i.e. long letters). Though nowadays, it is an 'old' word (I've never heard anyone else use it), though still applicable to e-mails and the like. Therefore, one cannot write a missive on Twitter.

 

[aaaaaDisregard]

Don't forget that most of the people who post in English aren't native speakers. Built-in spell checker may help with simple mistakes, but it can't tell the difference between "your" and "you're".
You are lucky to be born in the English-speaking country, so the least you can do now is tolerate poor spelling of the rest of us

 

[RamirezDoEverything]

I agree, I cringe when I read facebook posts of my high school brethren.
Horrible grammar, poor word choice, zero punctuationD), etc etc.

For example, this is a post I just picked up:
Tim ******
WOOOHOOO storms. U kno it's bad when they mention the street u live on and it's only urs

This is why I have lost fate in humanity, soon my jackass generation will be leading you all!

 

[Thespian]

In the real world, spelling matters. A LOT.

Lies. Spelling doesn't matter for shit. There is no job that being able to spell will assist you in.

Does that mean that spelling errors in resumés, papers or general arguments you are trying to put forward doesn't decrease your credibility? God no.
It's as you said in the OP - Spell Checker's are everywhere. Handwriting, spelling, all that crap is useless now. Word Processors and Browser's in-built spell checks make it all obsolete.

OP was right to say that there is a bias that people have against poorly spelled things. And it's true - When you are communicating via text and thus have no facial expressions or emphasis to get your point across, your tone is very easily altered. For me, the "tone" of anything - A message, post, e-mail, comment, et cetera - is really affected by the spelling. If the spelling is horrible to the point where it is clearly more than a few understandable mistakes then I just get this idea of the person on the other end of the screen is an idiot. I'm not saying I act on it, or presume that they are, it's just the image I get. But yeah, point is - Spelling is damn easy, especially with everything around today to help you in it.
If you don't have a problematic condition, and English is your first language, then poor spelling just mean you didn't bother putting any effort into the message. All well and good if you don't want to, but it doesn't encourage me to listen to what you have to say.

(And now to find out I made several spelling errors in this post >_>)

 

[Griphphin]

It's important to consider the medium they are posting in and how they perceive the importance of proper spelling, punctuation, etc. in that medium. A poster earlier in this thread commented on how he frequents the forums for R&R purposes, and that making sure everything is completely in order in his post isn't worth the trouble to him. I'd say that if you're not constructing a logical argument or rebutting one, It's perfectly okay to not bother with making everything perfect, as long as it's easily readable.

As for myself, I'm a little particular about typing correctly regardless of the medium. This leads me to type and re-type sentences so that not only are my spelling and punctuation in order, but I am also making the point I really want to make, in the way I want to make it. For example, I've spent about 10-15 minutes on this post specifically retyping to ensure that I don't come off as antagonistic, as that is not my intention. Of course, that takes a while to do, and I do not hold and ill will towards other people based on how seriously they do or don't take facebook posts or youtube comments.

 

[EBsessed]

Don't forget that most of the people who post in English aren't native speakers.

Where exactly are you getting those numbers from? It seems to make logical sense to me that the majority of people who post on English-language forums probably speak English as their first language.

My problem with this issue is when people who speak English as their primary language and have been speaking and writing it since they were in kindergarten still don't seem to have a very good grasp on the concepts of how the language works. If you had been playing a sport for 20 years and still couldn't comprehend the basic rules of the game, you'd have a problem. It's a dissonance in my mind how so many people who are raised speaking English fail to understand the basic rules, such as apostrophe use and the difference between similar sounding words like to, too, and two, or your and you're, or there, their, and they're. After speaking and writing the language all throughout one's life, I see no reason why it shouldn't be mastered by adulthood unless the person being scrutinized has a mental defect which causes him to have such a deficiency.

Perhaps there are more bad teachers than we realize and they're not helping kids enough to understand how English works. It could be a problem in the education system rather than a problem on an individual level. Even so, I find it hard to excuse people who pronounce "especially" as "expecially" or "ask" as "aks." These are not difficult words.

On a somewhat related note, how about the different ways people pronounce things across the US? We all speak English, yet we have people pronouncing the very place they're raised in completely wrong, ignoring the spelling and grammatical pronunciation of the words entirely. "New Orleans" becomes "Nahlins" for native residents, "Jersey" becomes "Joysey," "Louisiana" becomes "Loosiana," "Missouri" becomes "Missouruh," the list goes on. You LIVE there, man! Of all people, a native resident of a place should know how to pronounce its name correctly! I just don't get it.