It Started With a Cat.
A few days ago I received a text from my wife, informing me ‘the cat has passed its M.O.T.’ This surprised me on two counts. Firstly, we do not have a cat. Secondly, I was not aware of any recent legislation in the U.K where the roadworthiness of cats had become a legal requirement.
The whole episode ended over a conversation around spell checkers and idle thumbs. It got me thinking about the importance of spelling and, in this social media age, is the stress over a misspelt word worth the agony.
Recently, I have been encountering more online debates on the subject of spelling and grammar. Although the consensus err on the side of correctness, others suggest a good spelling mistake can add flavour to a piece of writing.
In his book, The Nuts and Bolts of Writing, the author Michael Legat wrote;
‘Nowadays, however, the ability to spell well is often regarded as a mild eccentricity, and many teachers feel that it is far more important to encourage children to express themselves in an interesting way than to bother about whether the words they use are properly spelt or not..’
I am in favour of a touch of mild eccentricity, and I also see the point he makes. If we look at the history and development of words, we find modern day words which, if written in the way they first appeared, would send the red pen brigade into a frenzy. Maybe spelling is as fluid as history itself?
An excellent example is the etymology of the name of the town Aylesbury , Buckinghamshire. Fifty-seven variations of the name are on record.
History Littered with Bad Spellers
Whatever category of speller you fall into, it seems the ability to spell is not a bar to success. The inability to spell plagued some of the most influential people of our time. A former teacher of Winston Churchill, said of him, ‘writing is good, but terribly slow, spelling about as bad as it well can be.’ William Butler Yeats’ biographer wrote that ‘Yeats’ spelling, indeed, seems at times a matter of inherent guesswork,’ and the author, Agatha Christie admitted that ‘Writing and spelling were always terribly difficult for me.’ Although, in support of Yeats and Christie, both were believed to have suffered from dyslexia.
The Joy of a Blooper
If I am honest, I think a good misspelling brings with it a touch of zest and flavour. The shop sign reading, ‘Shoplifters will be prostituted,’; or the advertisement stating, ‘Now hiring smiling fences.’; or a notice board on a golf course warning, ‘Exorcising of dogs not allowed on the course area.’ How can they fail to bring a smile?
Today’s misspelling could be tomorrow’s next entry in the Oxford Dictionary. Culprit, despatch and syllabus were all slips of a pen which stayed from their original form.
It seems the art of spelling is not dead; it just changes with time. What do you think? I would value your thoughts.
This is a brilliant post, Davy. Much because it addresses an aspect of language that many of us care to ignore. Especially since technology has taken a callous leap. Auto correct has given the world nothing and taken away the sheen of intellect. It’s fascinating how certain words have evolved and adapted due to the mistakes of humans. Now, that’s an error that has a new meaning. haha! And spelling bloopers are always fun to read. And there may be a cat somewhere that relates to that message. 🙂
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful words, Terveen. I agree with your view about auto-correct and how it has diminished intellect. There are numerous people advertising A.I. systems to create blog posts, which makes me wonder where all this is heading. Intellect may become a thing of the past 😥
Great post, Dave. Lots to think about. Bloopers can be very amusing and can add charm to a piece of writing. Many services are offering various forms of auto-correction now. There is a place for these in some instances. For example, my son (who I mentioned in the comments of my recent ‘My Success’ poem) was more or less written off by his school because of his poor lack of grammar and spelling. As it turned out, he has Dyslexia and Dyspraxia. His school, having indicated that he’d amount to very little, couldn’t have been more wrong. He’s now a commercial director of a large technology company but relies on spell-checker programmes like Grammarly to help him formulate business letters, emails, etc. For him, this is a godsend as it’s allowed him to make his way in this world without being held back by his difficulties. I love your examples of bloopers, especially the one that reads, ‘Exorcising of dogs not allowed on the course area.’ Very funny. I hope you are well.
All good here, Ellie and thank you for your insightful words. I agree, spellcheckers do have a place, especially for those who struggle with grammar and spelling. I think some misspellings bring humour into the world. They could be the next big thing in the Oxford Dictionary. Have a good weekend.