Tag Archives: Misspellings

Do I Have to Spell it Out for You?

31 Aug
Misspelling

Where is the “Cutomer” Service Desk?

While many people, especially those forty and under say, “Why do I need to know how to spell? I got spell check and auto correct,” I am trying to come up with ways to get students under my “spell” stressing the importance of not only spelling correctly but proofreading for often confused words and grammar issues as I prepare for the fall 2013 semester. It really can impact one’s ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

Of coarse, sum people take it fir granite that spell check will catch there miss stakes. Than they submit there resumes wit misspellings and wander why they don’t be gettin called in for intervues. They might be gud at wat dey do and have a grate work ethic, but the resume screener ain’t gonna get past the spelling issues cuz ain’t nobody got time fa that!

Even if you get the job u mite confuse costumers with ur mis spellings, text language and confused wurds like dis photo of da advertised posting i snapped looking to hire people at the local supermarket. We all know that auto core (this was supposed to say’ “auto correct,”but that is what auto correct came up with ;-)) don’t be always sayin wat we wanna say, so why not proofread? or is it that people be bein lazie and say, “u no wat i mean!”

Is spelling correct a dying art along with grammer, mechanics and basic proofreading as moor and more people simply except misspellings as da nu standard? Admittedly, I think its cool to use slang and text language cuz it is a language in and of itself, but the ability to cold switch, composing documents free of misspellings, grammar an mechanical errors for professional purposes or even to git ya point a cross clearly, is essential.

i refuse to believe that i am a loan wit dis concern and dat standard english and spelling words correctly will one day be considered archaic and that I will than be come a english historian providing in cite on wat once wuz. u kno wat i mean?

Best,

Tanya

PS. I hope you noticed the plethora of misspellings and grammer issues in dis post. Wich ones did u spot? Were there times wen u paused to figure out wat i meant cuz of the misspellings?  Du i got u under my spell?

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Profound Hip Hop Quote #39 Bound to “Miss” Spell

15 Oct

“I S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L
I only spell so all can T-E-L-L
Rhymes I got or write will S-E-L-L
For rappers who don’t believe me go to H-E-L-L.” 

—“Spellbound” by K-Solo

K-Solo SpellboundDo you know how to spell well?  Do you think it’s even necessary to know how to spell well? Really…there’s spell check, and most smart phones even auto fill the words for you, so you don’t have to even think about how to spell a word.  As an English professor, I am obviously biased and believe that it is not only important to know how to spell but an absolute necessity in more circumstances than people realize.

Yesterday, I was listening to a local news report on a woman who has been prosecuted for falsifying doctor’s notes and even a report claiming that she had terminal cancer in order to receive paid time off and to dupe the company and coworkers out of money to support her battle against “this so-called cancer.”  Low and behold, the woman was eventually caught because of the many misspellings and misused words in her “doctored” doctor’s notes.  Just imagine…if this woman knew how to spell she might have gotten away with this unsavory deception for quite a while longer.

Hearing this report got me thinking about the old school rap song by K-Solo, “Spellbound.”  What makes this song so profound is that he actually spells out some of the words in order to not only create a rhyme but to demonstrate his lyrical finesse.  How many people can honestly say they “S-P-E-L-L very W-E-L-L?” If you think spelling is not important, just ask people who read employment applications and resumes.  Companies receive hundreds and hundreds of applications and need to find ways to minimize the applicant pool.  One way is to get rid of those applicants who do not know how to spell well or who do not even take the time to proofread their spelling.  Think about the instances in your life when it is necessary to spell well or at least have the ability to double check your spelling for accuracy. Even if you do use spell check, that does not guarantee that you are spelling the word you want to use properly.

MisspellingThere are times when I have been to stores that have misspellings, and it drives me nuts.  We are all bound to misspell, but it is pertinent to think about the negative impression or possible confusion you may cause from your misspelling.  I took this picture of a local supermarket with a job opportunity. If I was interested in the position, I’d have some difficulties applying because there is no “Cutomer Service Desk.”

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

~Anonomz aka Tanya Harris

Bonus English Lesson:
Even though spellbound is a creative rap, the rhyme technique is rather simplistic because it uses basic words to develop the rhyme pattern.  I’d love to hear a modern day spellbound rhyme with more complex vocabulary words.

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