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One thing I've noticed in myself, and other posters as well, is that I have occasionally either misspelled a word or even used the wrong word, although I fully know the difference between them. For example, I have written "to" when I meant "too", "their" when I meant "they're", and (gasp!) "loose" when I meant "lose".
I really do know the difference, but unfortunately, am often in too big a hurry, and like it or not, the internet is more accepting of those types of errors.
Speaking only for myself, (although I hope every one else feels this way), if I have to actually put something down on paper for a work report, class, heck, even a work e-mail, I'm much more particular and try to make certain that those types of misused words don't appear.
One problem with forums like this and the internet in general is that I fear that the lower standards and abbreviations acceptable here bleed over into the classroom and the workplace and that there is a growing segment of the population that does not see or understand how up hauling the internet standards and habits can be.
One thing I've noticed in myself, and other posters as well, is that I have occasionally either misspelled a word or even used the wrong word, although I fully know the difference between them. For example, I have written "to" when I meant "too", "their" when I meant "they're", and (gasp!) "loose" when I meant "lose".
I don't generally misgargle those... but my fingers like to type in their notion of phonetically; frex, sometimes they produce "won" when my brain meant to type "one". This can go so far as to result in freaks like "dwon" instead of "done".
I was reading the comments section of a news story the other day, and was somewhat confused by the writer who professed to being "up hauled" by a certain turn of events.
I continued reading the rest of the comments and went about my business, only to realize, in the middle of washing dishes, what exactly the writer meant. I laughed so hard I dropped (and broke) the dish I was holding and had to wipe the tears away with the dish towel.
You broke a dish because of what someone else wrote? How up hauling!
Actually, your story is quite funny because of your reaction. I'm glad it was good for a laugh. I hope the dish you dropped wasn't a glass of milk, and I also hope that you didn't have milk coming out your nose...
I don't generally misgargle those... but my fingers like to type in their notion of phonetically; frex, sometimes they produce "won" when my brain meant to type "one". This can go so far as to result in freaks like "dwon" instead of "done".
My brain and my fingers aren't usually on the same wavelength, so I often start to type one word, and while I'm in the middle of it, I jump a few words ahead of where I was.
For example, instead of typing "I am having fish for dinner," I would type something like "I am having finner."
Since I touch type, and look at the screen as I type, I usually catch these errors, but I'm sure a few of them have slipped by over the years.
They're, their and there drives me nuts. I cannot believe how many people screw it up on a regular basis.
"They're going to the store. It's the store over there. They'll take their car."
See how easy that was?
I also completely agree on how poor spelling reflects on a population as a whole. It's no wonder the US is falling behind compared to other nations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger
I know there have been rants like this before, but I really need to vent about all the bad spelling and word usage I see online. It really gets to me after a while.
-Misuse of they're, there, and their
I'm sure some will think I'm nuts, but I see a correlation here between the bad spelling, the majority overweight population, the poor performance of our schools relative to other developed countries, the high levels of debt most people have, etc. In general, the US, as a nation, lacks discipline; and it shows in a million ways, large and small. Poor spelling is just one of many indicators.
My brain and my fingers aren't usually on the same wavelength, so I often start to type one word, and while I'm in the middle of it, I jump a few words ahead of where I was.
For example, instead of typing "I am having fish for dinner," I would type something like "I am having finner."
I'm a fast reader and my eyes tend to skip ahead of my brain... so you may type "I am having fish for dinner" but what I see may be "I am having finner".
I don't generally misgargle those... but my fingers like to type in their notion of phonetically; frex, sometimes they produce "won" when my brain meant to type "one". This can go so far as to result in freaks like "dwon" instead of "done".
I have done the same thing--usually with "hear" and "here". Then I'm annoyed with myself because I DO know the difference!
Another trend I witness is the combining of words that should not be. A prime example is the phrase 'no one', being spelled as 'noone. It's not like businessman, or weekday. (The CD spell check even underlined it in red for me!) That's what I don't get, is when something is underscored with a red line as you are typing, it's telling you something needs fixed.
Another trend I witness is the combining of words that should not be. A prime example is the phrase 'no one', being spelled as 'noone. It's not like businessman, or weekday.
If you look at older books, you'll see it as "noöne" fairly often. The split spelling of "no one" is actually relatively recent.
I'm more bugged by stuff like "alot" (you wouldn't say "alittle", would you?) and "alright" (would you also say "alwrong"?!) though both are increasingly worming past the editors and into print.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sirron
(The CD spell check even underlined it in red for me!) That's what I don't get, is when something is underscored with a red line as you are typing, it's telling you something needs fixed.
That's your browser that has a spellcheck for input fields, not CD. Mine (SeaMonkey, of the Moz/Firefox family) does it too. It's mostly useful as a typocatcher.
BTW you use an interesting idiom, "needs fixed" -- rather than the more common extended "needs to be fixed". The compact style probably derives from the era when educated people wrote in Latin, which is similarly compact. You don't see it very often anymore, but as it happens I'd just read a novel that uses it as well. I enjoy these older idioms; they lend an elegance often lacking in modern prose.
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