Spelling Test
One of the small things that can really annoy me when I’m reading other peoples’ work is poor spelling. I know that the purpose of language is communication, and that in the vast majority of cases spelling has no marked effect on my understanding of the written word, but still. For instance, when I used the word “effect” in the last sentence, I’m fairly sure I was right (I was using it as a noun rather than a verb), but it wouldn’t have made a difference to your ability to interpret my words if I’d used “affect” in its place.
In fact, that sentence could have been presented as
For instance, when I used the word “effect” in the last sentence, I’m farely sure I was rite (I was using it as a noun rather than a verb), but it wouldn’t have made a diffrence to your abilty to interpret my words if I’d used “affect” in it’s plaice.
and the (six) errors wouldn’t impair your understanding at all. I’d be on edge by the end of it, though. Before I get into a recursive self-analysis of each prior sentence, I’ll try to find my point.
Atrocious spelling is never inexcusable, but it is most excusable when the phrase in question is more commonly spoken than written. Take the construct “whet my appetite”: an awful lot of people would spell that “wet my appetite”, not realising that it refers to a sharpening of the appetite. One whets ones appetite as one whets a knife.
Another example would be “beyond the Pale”. I this case, the Pale refers to a region of Ireland controlled by the English in the Middle Ages. The Pale was the boundary of English rule, and so to be “beyond the Pale” was to be outside the sphere of good moral conduct. I am not, and have never been, “beyond the pail”, although I have been accused of it in the past.
These words don’t deserve to be maintained at the cost of wider and more comprehensive understanding between people, but I do like the stories. Maybe it’s worth sometimes being a little militant about spelling and grammar for the sake of cultural durability. I’ll leave you to decide.
This is from the