Why dose spelling mater?

Question

you can tell what i mean evin if i dont spell properly, you can be very smart and not be a good speller. not that you cant spell but you just dont see the impotance in it, or maby you hit the rong key or two keys while tiping, to Check Spelling takes to long, waste of time. for some fun with spelin` check out this, the oppisit of a spell check.
http://www.messedupwords.com/index.php%22

sorry, correct link, http://www.messedupwords.com/

I must think "[e-mail]" for this quote.
Andrew Jackson once said:
It's a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word.

Answer 1

My daughter is a math major. She just graduated college as valedictorian. She can't spell! And she's bloody brilliant!

I loved your Andrew Jackson quote. He must have written that out of frustration.

However, poor spelling makes a person look uneducated and that is very detrimental to your career path. And one should always try to do one's best in everything. Including spelling!

Answer 2

Andrew Jackson once said:
It's a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word.

I understand your frustration; i mean, if i understand what you intend to communicate isn't that mission accomplished?

Unfortunately, many people (employers/many teachers for example) do judge your intelligence based on things like spelling (almost anyone can just memorize information). Being able to spell (in this culture/western culture) gives the writing of those who do it well more credibility. This is the sad truth. If you want to be taken seriously (in writing anyway) spelling, punctuation, grammar in general, must all be mastered so that the wisdom in your words is not dismissed.

wouldn't education be far more worth while if we learned to improve the content of our thoughts without so much focus on the conventions that control their shape?

In the end, all these rules, conventions, provide standards that make sure we all spell potato the same way - so everyone is on the same page. This is both a help and hindrance. In high stakes communication -science, news, etc.- we want complete clarity; we do not want to have to guess about meaning. In other places, arts, casual/informal writings, too much thinking about "the rules" can shut down creativity.

So, does spelling matter? sometimes.

Answer 3

You're right. You can be very smart and not be a good speller. The problem is, many people will not see past your errors and will evaluate your intelligence by how you have expressed yourself-- poorly, with little attention to detail.

Rightly or wrongly, we are judged by how we communicate; the *way* we say it matters even more than *what* we say. If the message is lost due to the reader having to "translate" into Standard English what you have written, then spelling DOES, indeed, matter.

There are many ways to improve your spelling, but one effective method is to read more often, especially if it's good quality literature. After your eye has seen a word spelled properly several times, your brain will start to recognize how the word should look.

Answer 4

I think it's a societal issue.

Think about it: imagine we relaxed our expectations with respect to spelling. Initially, we'd all have to work just a little harder to figure out what is meant. Then we'll begin to adapt to this "bastardized" form of spelling. And a movement will begin to further simplify that form, since it is still not that different from the original bastardized version. And as that catches on, we will progress to a third generation, and to a fourth, and fifth, until, suddenly, the words we write are nothing like the originals, and we are all so convoluted (due to the lack of a standard language), that our communications break down.

Next thing you know, we'll be wearing loincloths, chasing our meals with a club, living in caves, etc...

The point is: Grammar and spelling epitomize civilization. Your quest to "relax" our language is, at best, uncivilized and may in fact lead to the end of our society as we know it (have you ever heard of the Tower of Babel?)

Answer 5

Well for one it is important for people to know exactly what you are talking about. Little misspellings can cause a world of difference in the meanings of the English language.

Also, you should always care about how you conduct yourself in every aspect of life. If you have trouble spelling then take the time to use your spell check. It will make you and your conversation, question or answer look and sound a lot more intelligent.

Answer 6

This is true....most of the time people can understand what you're saying anyway, but sometimes they cannot. Some people just want to be smart *sses!

I have tried the spell check myself. It helped me with the word, but messed up the entire paragraph that I had written. It actually did that a couple times, so I don't use it anymore! If I spell something wrong, oh well! You get my point!

Answer 7

There is an email that floats around saying spelling doesn't count we learn to skim and look the first and last letters and put together a word amazingly the email is wrote with the correct letters just the middle letters are scrambled and it still makes sense. Using proper spelling is just a way of showing your own intelligence and schooling was worth it.

Answer 8

My brother is dyslexic, so I know what its like having a bad speller around. True, you can still derive what the person is talking about, but it is a little slower to read than correctly spelled words.

As for you up there^^^^^^^^^^ the guy above me, my father has a whole paper with an article spelled out exactly like you say. Its pretty amazing what the human mind can do.

Answer 9

Well, gosh, I don't really have any idea of what you are trying to communicate--to me, "dose" is an amount of medicine to take or that I caught a venereal disease and "mater" means mother or part of a Latin term concerning school. You do as you like and continue to believe Check Spelling takes too long (yah, as if you don't have time to waste).

Answer 10

Spelling matters to a degree. If you are trying to spell cat and you spell cat dog, then it matters. If you make a spelling mistake in the word perfect and instead say perfekt, people will understand what you mean. spelling matters to the amount that you can understand the word, but to continualy mess up spelling words is not smart.

Answer 11

Because improper speiling cannes bee confusing as too what your trying two convey.

Imagine a doctor righting a prescription four someone and speiling a word wrong. Patience cannes bee killed buy taking the wrong medicine.

Plus, misspieling words makes it harder fore the rest of us tu reed.

Knot too mention the fact that employers will take won look at you're rezzumay and chuck it out the nearest window. I wood!

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LOL Paul G...

"Next thing you know, we'll be wearing loincloths, chasing our meals with a club, living in caves, etc..."