My command of the English language is pretty good for
someone who didn’t attend college or university. It might even surpass that of
someone who did attend college or university—based on what I’ve seen in
writing from folks who have important-looking letters trailing after their
names, I feel fairly confident in saying this.
My favourite comedian, the late David Brenner, claimed
to be a notoriously bad speller. On being caught in a written mistake, he asked
his grade school teacher how the word was correctly spelled. She said, “Look it
up.” He replied, “How can I look it up if I don’t know how it’s spelled?”
Bwahahahahahahahahaha!
I spell better by hand than I do when typing. Most of
my errors are committed by typo—and some of them have been beauties. Drop the
“l” in “public”, for example, and you get enough shaming to be extra-diligent
for the rest of your life, especially in a professional environment.
Then there’s the “US vs UK” dilemma that has resulted
in my turning off the spell checker in every computer I’ve ever used. It’s
hardly an act of dare-devilment, either. I know people who run the program and
still make mistakes.
My eagle-eyed mother caught a spelling gaffe in a very
recent post. I’ve fixed it, so if you missed it the first time, don’t go
looking now. But I fear for the future of proper English as a written language.
Hypocrite that I am, for I use modern spelling compared to that employed by
Samuel Pepys, and his spelling would have been atrocious compared to
Shakespeare’s, I cleave to the spelling I learned in elementary school. If I’m
dating myself by spelling “colour” instead of “color” or “all right” instead of
“alright”, then sow bee it.
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ReplyDeleteI like that meme that has been floating around that says, 'I speak/read English, not Bingo!' I am the annoying friend who texts WHOLE words instead of things like 'B4'. Several people in my circle are 'spell it as it sounds' types. So you can well imagine how much I love receiving your letters.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that, Beanie. Watch your snailmailbox :)
DeleteI've got a new one poised to write back in! It's sooo nice! I love stationary.
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