Do you think that spelling things correctly matters?

Question

Our obsession with having to spell things correctly is only a few hundred years old. Before that you spelled things the way they sounded and where best understood by the reader. They are (in english and french) already noticing that the way words are spelled does not correspond on how those words are pronounced today but how they where pronounced when the word was first recorded into the dictionary.

Shoold wii start to spell tha wey we Spiike?

I am getting a lot of answers regarding answering dialects. A homogenized spelling system was introduced in my native country (Finalnd) very recently and it is slowly killing off the rich variety of dialects. To try and keep the dialects alive they have actually translated text (books, graphic novels) into those dialects in a effort to preserve it in the newer generations.

Being understood is good but losing variety in language (or any aspect of culture) is not in my opinion. It makes it harder for us to comprehend older literature.

LOL finalnd= Finland

I think I am doing pretty well for a non-native english speaker.

Ic Þoncie Þē!

I thank you all for answering my question each in your own way. I had trouble understanding some of what you said, like I do when listening to english being spoken in dialects I am more unfamiliar with. So can it be said that the different forms of spellings are a sort of dialect in written language?

In responce to Essex Ron (p2.)

Spelt is a type of wheat. "Spell-ed (like talk-ed not talkt)" seemed more the sensible choice of word. I admit a spelling mistake on "were" is a mistake easily made when my dialect says "hwere? Or Hwen?". And nationalities are not spelled with a capital letter in Finnish, easily confused when having to work with two languages on a regurlar basis. Then the words that are in the dictionary now, have had to be put in to (into) it at some point.

I BELIEVE that understanding different kind of spellings, is an indication of intellect. Intellect however has little to do with literacy. I believe available education has more to do with it.

Indeed I always use the spellchecker. I do not always agree with it and it does have the habit of missing obvious mistakes as well. As for the laziness, I expect I am guilty. I have other things to do than sit here.

Answer 1

if the misspelling changes the meaning, then yes.
if people can understand it regardless of the misspellings then, no.
most of the 'hang up' on spelling is concern about others correctly understanding what is being written. that is a valid concern. it is very easy to misinterpret written word, and spoken word.
spelling a word correctly means what is written is less likely to be misunderstood, or misinterpreted.

Answer 2

It rather looks like you have already started to do so. The question should read "spelt" things, NOT spelled (TWICE); "were" best understood, "were" pronounced, NOT where; "French" and "English", NOT french and english; and first recorded "in" the dictionary, NOT into.

Of COURSE it matters - it is an indication of intellect - the difference between being literate and illiterate.

Indeed, it is even easier in this day and age - if only you had used the spell checker you would have found out that "spelled" is NOT a real word. So it is also a sign of laziness.

Answer 3

Yes.

When you read, as is often the case on Y/A, a badly spelt piece of prose it is often quite tricky to read flowingly. This seems to apply especially to words that are not spelt phonetically (as lots of English words are not).

I fined it kwite dificult wen awl thees fonetik spelings r yoosed
and it kan take longa to rede then wen evrythin is spelt as it shud be yoosing the krect spelings in the dikshunry.

There (not their or they're) are many homophones in English where only the spelling shows which word is being used eg night/knight, wood/would, bald/balled, I'll/isle and probably hundreds more. Sadly, because it needs some thought to spell correctly many people don't bother; this often doesn't matter too much but can make some writing almost indecipherable.

I have no problem with recognised variations of classical spellings such as colour/color, centre/center; I can even stretch to thru for through and tuff for tough.

Oh, and I hate spellcheckers, have never used one, and suspect they are responsible for the number of there/their-type errors you see in these columns.

Incidentally, if all the native English speakers were as competent in their own language as you are, my Finnish friend, we would not be having this conversation!

Answer 4

President Andrew Jackson famously observed that "it's a poor man who can't figure out at least two ways to spell a word." President Theodore Roosevelt (sp?) tried to introduce phonetic spelling to the (American) English language, and failed miserably.

Good spelling shows that a person reads. Reading is the basis for all education. So---good spelling is very useful, an important skill to have in the job scene, in academia, in the world. Poor spelling has become sorta fashionable lately, but I believe that poor spelling should be a privelege reserved for those of us who have already demonstrated a capability for good spelling.

Have a star---good question

Answer 5

Not being able to spell makes the writers life much harder and that of the reader, we don't live 2 hundred years ago , we live now, with the introduction of spell check there is no excuse. I hate it when people spell easy words wrong either due to genuine mistake or because they can't be bothered to check what they have written. It's pure laziness, a culture the modern world is guilty of in all areas of life.
It definitely matters.
PS I hope I didn't spell anything wrong!!

Answer 6

Naw, coz ahm frim the noorrth eest and how ah taalk wud be haad fore a lo of peepole te nar whit ahm gannin on aboot.

yed haav te reely consentrayt and it wud tak ye aboot dubble the tiem te nar wit ah wiz sayen and aal fowks aal ower the cuntree wid haav diffrent spellins coz they seyz things diffrentlee.


I agree with the answerer before me. I only use the spell check for a giggle. I have noticed that I am inverting letters, 'some' might be spelt 'smoe' or 'camera' might be spelt 'camrea'. It's only ever two letters that are out of place. It doesn't mean that I can't spell, a penpal and I have called it keyboard dyslexia. I usually catch them in the preview though.

By having a single system of spelling, we can all relax and know exactly what each other means. Spelling correctly means that you have respect for what you have to say and that you have a great deal of respect for the person who is going to read your text.

Answer 7

Of course it matters. Since spelling was formalised, as you say, a few hundred years, it matters a great deal as so many words sound similar but with a different spelling have a totally different meaning. In order to communicate efficiently it helps to use the correct word. If you spell things as you pronounce them you have to take into account regional accents. You would then find that people from different regions would find it very hard to communicate in writing. I work with a girl who tends to spell words phonetically and we had a very funny episode when she had typed the word 'dimestick' in place of 'domestic'. I rest my case.

Answer 8

Not really, Many people make mistakes when miss spelling things. Everyone not perfect, People spell things wrong for all sorts of reasons, They are not concentrating, typing/writing too fast, they have dyslexia. All these things can go wrong when spelling. There are things out there when spelling that can help you, there's the spell checker, but its not that easy when you are writing it, you have to use the dictionary!.. Even my old English teacher used to spell things wrong and look in the dictionary. so that goes to show that everyone makes mistakes even if its spelling.

Answer 9

Have you heard of Ebonics? This is spelling things the way they sound. It didn't work well. One reason is that all people do not pronounce the same work the same way. Also different word sounding the same have different meanings - red and read.

Besides, have you ever tried to get a job with spelling mistakes on your resume?

Answer 10

No we should not start spelling phonetically. For many reasons, but I think the most important one being that even within the same country people pronounce things differently. How would we know what you're really trying to say?