Washington Post:
In an age where we LOL and ROFL, where we transmit through Siri and Alexa instead of typing, where auto-correct both fixes and generates errors in our written work, we have to wonder: Can anyone spell anymore, and does it even matter?
First, it’s hard to tell whether spelling abilities have declined, partly because it’s not usually tested anymore in a way we can isolate and track.
We certainly aren’t teaching spelling in schools the way we once were, partly because of national Common Core standards released in 2010.
I think this is a fascinating question. My wife and I disagree on whether or not spelling should matter to our 13-year-old. What do you think?
You have to know the correct spelling or you won’t know when autocorrect is offering an incorrection.
Also, if you have no idea how to spell the word, then your best guess may be too far off for autocorrect to have any useful suggestions.
it matter. Knowledge is important !
This is a totally different question when the primary method of input is expected to be via a keyboard on a computer versus a pencil and paper. My elementary school-aged kids get pencil and paper spelling tests in school every two weeks. they also do waaaaay more work on computers/keyboards than I did at that age.
Also expect spelling to change because of the methods we use to write. Why on earth do I have to spell it “night” instead of “nite”, etc…
Of course it should. To me, someone who can’t spell decently is only really semi-educated. Not everything is texting – let’s say your son is in college and has to write a paper. Or on a job and has to write a report.
Yes, spellcheck might bail his ass out… but you’ll have failed as parents if you let that happen. It’s like a person not knowing basic math because you can grab a calculator program on your phone or ask Siri the answer. I’m shocked this is even a question for any responsible parent. In fact, I’d question that adjective being applied to any parent who doesn’t care if their kid has basic skills.
There is no question that spelling accuracy is important. If you like to have jobs more challenging the digging ditches.
Why not nytt?
English tried not having standardized spellings, and it was a disaster we gave up.
(Input methods might well change spelling over time, but it’s not obvious why the easier tap-on-screen should pressure for shorter words than writing it out with a quill pen as of 1790…?)
For the same reason we all need to agree on what constitutes a mile or a gallon: standards matter.
Because unless your career and retirement will allow you to communicate in grunts and gestures, you want to be certain that you’re making yourself understood clearly by people who shouldn’t have to add the cognitive load of interpretation of whatever it is you’ve poorly written.
If you can’t write with precision, you can’t read with precision. And if you can’t read or write with precision, how can you think with precision? And in relying on “LOL” and “ROFL”, our attempts at communication become less and less a matter of forming thoughts and more a more a matter of picking thoughts from an available menu. Much like emoji. At least when we second-hand sentiments from Hallmark, they’re well-written.
As it is, people often take away a unique personal meaning out of what has been said. You and I can attend the same conference and leave with completely different impressions. Now imagen if we through spelling out the window.
I will pass on noting the number of typos in your comment. ;-p
I am dyslexic, so I have struggled with writing all my life. I am bilingual, and I have issues writing in both Spanish and English. So auto correct and spell checking are invaluable to me. I read a lot, but spelling has always been hard for me.
The same argument can be made about learning the multiplication tables or how to do basic arithmetics since we all have a calculator at hand almost all the time. But I argue that as powerful as our technology is, it is making us less reliant on our brains, in essence, making us dependent on the device. This can not be a good thing.
“Now imagen if we through spelling out the window.”
Indeed.
On a more serious note, that’s actually an excellent point. My wife works internationally, and often has to attend conferences with people who use English as a second (or more) language.
She and her colleagues have often noted that it’s the people who speak English as a second language who are far more precise in their use of the language. And that native speakers tend to assume that their particular idioms will suffice. Which doesn’t work even among, say, Americans, with our regional differences, but even less so among even other English-speaking countries, much less say, Yoruba speakers.
English is not my first language. But of course I should have read through it one time…
Just grate!
Any kind of learning is very important when growning up. Your son has to learn that learning is hard work just as anything of importance.
No pain no gain.
He will find that when he really needs to spell there is no way to be sure he has any help. The brain is just like muscles – it needs exercise when young.
Allowing him to “get off the hook” is not doing him any favors.
English is my first and only language. I try to be precise with it and enjoy using more than the standard 100-word Newspeak vocabulary. Some very fine people seem to take offense at that.
Again, ;-p
Anyone who has more than one language is inherently superior to me, regardless of typos.
Yes, sadly, that’s true, too.
But those people are confused as to why I used 3 commas in the preceding sentence, and what the purpose was.
I’m a huge believer in learning to read phonetically. I think this is connected to learning to spell as well. If you understand which letter combinations make which sounds, you will fundamentally be a better reader and speller. Also, it will allow you to increase your vocabulary at a much faster rate, since you’ll be able to read any word you come across and you will learn from context.
I’m saddened that this is even a question you can ask, Shawn. Please see my response to Economides below.
Crappy spelling means other people have to do more work to figure out what you’re saying. And it’s a great way to divide society even further than it already has been.
Its sew important two no how too spell.
Spelling and grammar only matter if you’re going to be President or something.
Both Sweden and Norway had spelling reforms in the beginning of the 1900s. They worked fine because the populations were small and confined.
No way that could be done with English, that is now spoken almost everywhere.
Maybe a variant of English (Esperanto-stile) could be invented. Doubt if it would be realistic.
In my mind, if a person is having trouble spelling, that person isn’t reading enough. Your spelling should improve the more you read words on a page as they were meant to be spelled. So if someone is a terrible speller, are they neglecting to read? If so, that’s a problem.
Of course spelling is important.
Example: Trump
mic drop
Yeah, it matters. Ever seen Idiocracy? Don’t do that.
Absolutely. It’s the same issue as to whether kids should know basic math since there’s always a calculator in reach. Most of spelling is problem solving, not memorization. Problem solving is ALWAYS valuable.
Spelling shouldn’t need to be taught. People will pick up spelling abilities adequate to their needs through reading and writing. Of course, not everyone has the same needs.