The rest of my family can't spell. How can I help?

Question

I am an anal speller and drive people nuts pointing out mistakes. My adult kids, my hubby, and my 11 year old granddaughter suck at spelling. How can they be helped especially my granddaughter?

Answer 1

You should hold family spelling bees! That sounds like fun to me!

Answer 2

Well to be honest, there's not a lot you can do; just love them to pieces! Actually, it's not the spelling that should worry about; it's the grammar that people really look at;)

An interesting book I read that helped me understand why people have the trouble with English language was called "The Story of English"

Essentially, the English language was formed and forged by three successive waves of people, languages and influences; mostly at the point of a sword.

The first group to land on England was the Romans under Julius Caesar in about 45 BC.. The second wave were the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia, Angles and Justland (Denmark) over the course of the next several hundred years (c. 8th century AD-1100) They mixed mingled and started developing the origins of what is to become the Old English language.....that's why, English is a Germanic language, not a Romance language .

The Second wave were the Normans under William in 1066. The British Isles were now a part of France (what was then Normandy..or Gaul). Latin was superimposed onto the English subjects So you have now a mixture of Latin phonology in with a German-based language structure. Over time the people went from speaking strictly French, Latin and Greek (for professions), to a more homogenized form of the language that was understood by people on both sides of the Channel.

There was tension between England and France that ended with the Hundred Years War (1337-1453). England was it's own country, and thus the Emergence of Middle English was born...it only greatly enhance with the likes of Chaucer, Shakespere et al.

The Third Wave started when British subjects started landing on North America, first in 1607;more profoundly in 1620 in Massachussets. The Wave was cemented when the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in1776, this was the start of what is to be Modern English; the standard we use today. While we still see the melding of other language/cultures in with the main English langage (as we have now), the difference you will find is that we cease to use the British standards of style and spellings; we continue to form our own region accents. Even today you will still differences in spelling styles, word usages (British "lorry"=Am. "truck"; British "truck"= Am. train car; "British billion"=American million") etc.


You see there are reasons why people still haven't grasped spelling. As you see English spellings are very chaotic and not very logical based on the source of the word and by how much it's had to morph just to be a part of our rich language.

Just love them, know it may not be their strong suits. But encourage them to always use the correct grammar:)

Good Luck!

Answer 3

I am the same way! But I'm the other way around: I correct MY grandmother. Hehe! I think, whenever they make a mistake, you should explain to them why they are wrong, and ask them, "How can you make that better?" I find this to be helpful, and I've even heard some of my own peers correcting others!

Answer 4

ok