Englsh speling is dificult and unlogical

 
Random thoughts on English spelling

I am convinced that the ability to spell is genetic. If I had been born with a math gene instead of a spelling gene, my life would have been much different.

Calculators and spell check are great, but unless you know the process, calculators are useless. And spell check isn’t the be all and end all for correct spelling. It is no help with many of the most common misspellings in the language.

For example, spell check accepts as correct these sentences: 

• Our fervent wish is that they our safe. 
• Their were to many problems to count.
• There convinced that there house was locked when they left there.
• We will except every offer accept the one made by the judges.

(However my spell check does insist you make a choice between “my” and “our” in the sentence: “Unions our my cup of tea.” It can’t be both.)

People tend to judge poor spellers harshly (and unfairly). When I taught college freshman composition, I often did this experiment.

I would take a superior composition and run off copies for each student. Students on the right would get the original composition, and students on the left would get the same one with many misspellings.

I then asked them to evaluate on the basis of concept and development. Students on the right quickly gave it high marks. Students on the left always had a problem looking beyond the errors.

Even students who were themselves poor spellers wanted to talk about the lack of intelligence and character of the writer, instead of the content.

You can blame our ancestors for the problems in English spelling. They made the rules. There are many historical reasons for our spelling problems.

For one thing English has tended to borrow words from other languages and retain the spelling while we anglicize the pronunciation. “Lieutenant,” “chaplain,” and “beautiful” are among many words borrowed from French. At least 25% of the words in English were borrowed from French.

The Greek goddess, Psyche, is responsible for a lot of words that are not spelled as pronounced.

From the German are Dachshund and Doberman Pinscher.

“Colonel” is borrowed from both French and Italian. We borrowed the pronunciation from French “coronel” and the spelling from Italian “colonnello.”

It’s possible that rules for English spelling were formulated by those who were drinking heavily at the time, but that’s just a theory.

I will leave you with this 15 second video. Thanks to Dan

Comments

[Khyra]

Mom is sitting here smiling -

Or is that hear ;-) ?

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

[Jerry S]

Great post. now i'm now worried about misspelling words. I can blame it on some dead drunks.

[jackie]

i think words should be spelled the way they are pronounced..period

[georgia little pea]

So many words would be missing from the English language if we gave them back to the source! And how variable is it, in pronunciation. I've also often wondered what would happen if I just left my comments as dictated by the (haha intuitive) iPad. I doubt anyone would understand them!

[Mel Freer]

Great post. I am one of those "good spellers". I've often wondered of it was genetic, but since I also know that I was an early reader as a child, and an avid reader growing up, I just chalked it up to that.

What I've noticed over the years is that I visually remember what words look like and when I go to spell a word I just "know" when it looks wrong. I can't explain it. It's just what happens to me.

BTW - I don't judge bad spellers. I'm not going to lie. I used to be quite a judger of bad spellers, but have now come to realize it's more of a talent/gift and that not everyone has it.

[Stumpy and cyndi]

That video kills me, every time.

[the 4Bs]

it's a good thing that dogs have secretaries for all of that typing and spelling stuff.

we live on 122nd st. thank dog for that. it's more of a calculator address than a spelling one!

[Pamela]

Just stopping by on awards night--you've won a Stylish Blogger Award. Come on over to Something Wagging This Way Comes to pick it up.

Congratulations!

[Col]

I am one of those that seems to be missing the spelling gene. My dad was the same. He always told me that not being able to spell was a sign of intelligence. Bless him. :-)

[cube]

Spelling and reading came easy to me. Math was a necessary evil that I had to overcome because I chose to study science.

BTW I always thought that it was dyslexics of the world... untie.

[Lori R.]

My husband learned to spell when he started posting political arguments to "bulletin board systems(BBS)", which was a form of computer communication pre-dating the Internet and blogs! He was diligent, because, as you say, he didn't want to sound/look dumb!

Now we have a very bright child with learning disabilities whose spelling is completely atrocious. She is also very impatient. We have to slow her down and force her to spell check. But I don't think it's the end of the world. Jay Leno always goes on about what a terrible speller he is, doesn't seem to have done him any harm!

Bad spellers unite! You have nothing to lose but the tyranny of illogic! Hoo sez wut's rite and wut's rong ennyway?!