A light hearted view of common spelling mistakes, Which ones get yer goat? Options

[Jayjay]

Who's forcing?


The 'great unwashed' don't care. The well educated tend to. Like I said, society will not make progress if we degenerate the way we communicate. Colloquialism tends to come from migrants and the ill-educated or lazy. I don't think we should take our lead from those examples.


I'm not sure I see your point here.

are you suggesting the scots and welsh talk in a southern english accent or should all Newburians be saying 'eh up ****'?

We could mix it up a little 'eh Jimmy like do pop round to ones hice for a jar yous be well jel mon'

[JeffG]

For example, if you were a potential employer and had 2 cv's, one with correct spelling and one with spelling errors, which would you throw in the bin?

Here's another one: redundant apostrophe's [sic]

Ha ha! I didn't spot the earlier post before I posted mine Easily done, eh?

[Andy Capp]

are you suggesting the scots and welsh talk in a southern english accent or should all Newburians be saying 'eh up ****'?

We could mix it up a little 'eh Jimmy like do pop round to ones hice for a jar yous be well jel mon'

Comprehension seems to be another discipline 'on the way out'.

[Squelchy]

are you suggesting the scots and welsh talk in a southern english accent or should all Newburians be saying 'eh up ****'?

You seem to be confused between 'accents' and 'dialects'.'

[Andy Capp]

are you suggesting the scots and welsh talk in a southern english accent or should all Newburians be saying 'eh up ****'?

Most Scots I know speak well and have a good vocabulary. I suspect, however, that is because they had the wherewithal (through good education or acumen) to migrate and 'better' themselves.

Good English isn't the be and end all, but I don't see why we shouldn't try to better ourselves.

[stewiegriffin]

Most Scots I know speak well and have a good vocabulary. I suspect, however, that is because they had the wherewithal (through good education or acumen) to migrate and 'better' themselves.

Good English isn't the be and end all, but I don't see why we shouldn't try to better ourselves.

Really? So where would these heathens be migrating to in order to 'better' themselves? Not Newbury, that much is certain. Scotland has a better education system than England, so maybe the English should head north of the border so that they may mix with those of superior intellect.

They might then end up making fewer spelling errors and grammatical **** ups. Then again, they might end up in Easterhouse, in which case spelling would be the least of their problems.

[Andy Capp]

Really? So where would these heathens be migrating to in order to 'better' themselves? Not Newbury, that much is certain. Scotland has a better education system than England, so maybe the English should head north of the border so that they may mix with those of superior intellect.

Newbury is exactly where I mean and why it is a desirable place to live in or near. I don't think the Scots have a superior intellect, but of the ones I know personally, they seem to have better manners and are well spoken. All installed before they came here, I'm sure.

[On the edge]

Argumentative today, aren't we?

OK, the masses know best do they? EastEnders appeals to the lowest common denominator, and just like the media, serve to titillate all that is insidious in human nature. Sure, if that doesn't matter let's all go that way. If the majority think we should leave Europe, regardless of the technical merits and ignorance of the mass, let's all go that way, that sounds sensible (irony).

Most people do not have impeccable spelling, should we therefore default to that level? Personally, I'd rather a public broadcaster that can enlighten public awareness rather than have a race to the bottom.

We certainly shouldn't default to lowest denominator, but then again we shouldn't pick up every single little nit that crops up. That's simply being pedantic and often an excuse to prevaricate. I am certainly no exemplar and don't claim to be. I've been picked up for bad spelling and usage only to discover that those criticising didn't actually know what they were talking about and had it wrong themselves. For instance, it is quite OK to start a sentence with and, also there is nothing really wrong with splitting infinitives. Absolutely fine when the meaning is in doubt but otherwise don't bother.

Eastenders appeals to a segment of the audience, in fact a majority. Who are you to set the standard? Regrettably the BBC has confused the role of public service broadcaster and provider of mass entertainment. That's why I firmly believe the BBC should be broken up. The commercial elements left to commercial stations. This would leave the BBC simply providing news and perhaps comment. We'd need to be very careful, having a State broadcaster charged with educating its audience might well suffer from the law of unintended consequences. There used to be a famous station in the east that did just that when the Soviet Union existed.

As for titillating all that is insidious in human nature; the Globe in Southwark still achieves that with Shakespeare - well worth a visit. They still let the likes of me and the great unwashed stand in the pit!

[On the edge]

...Scotland has a better education system than England, ....

So they should have, given the amount we are paying for it!

[stewiegriffin]

So they should have, given the amount we are paying for it!

Who is the 'we' you refer to? Strictly speaking it's the London economy that keeps the rest of Britain afloat. Even Newbury.

[On the edge]

Who is the 'we' you refer to? Strictly speaking it's the London economy that keeps the rest of Britain afloat. Even Newbury.

Agree to some extent, but along with many others who simply treat Newbury as a dormitory, I work in London.

[Strafin]

http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/story/20...stabbing-death/

Just thought I would throw this in as a point about whether or not correct spelling matters...

[Andy Capp]

We certainly shouldn't default to lowest denominator, but then again we shouldn't pick up every single little nit that crops up. That's simply being pedantic and often an excuse to prevaricate. I am certainly no exemplar and don't claim to be. I've been picked up for bad spelling and usage only to discover that those criticising didn't actually know what they were talking about and had it wrong themselves. For instance, it is quite OK to start a sentence with and, also there is nothing really wrong with splitting infinitives. Absolutely fine when the meaning is in doubt but otherwise don't bother.

Eastenders appeals to a segment of the audience, in fact a majority. Who are you to set the standard? Regrettably the BBC has confused the role of public service broadcaster and provider of mass entertainment. That's why I firmly believe the BBC should be broken up. The commercial elements left to commercial stations. This would leave the BBC simply providing news and perhaps comment. We'd need to be very careful, having a State broadcaster charged with educating its audience might well suffer from the law of unintended consequences. There used to be a famous station in the east that did just that when the Soviet Union existed.

As for titillating all that is insidious in human nature; the Globe in Southwark still achieves that with Shakespeare - well worth a visit. They still let the likes of me and the great unwashed stand in the pit!

I think you underestimate the ability that TV has to subvert behaviour in people, particularly the young and naive. Drawing analogy between Shakespeare's Globe and EastEnders is silly as is insinuating the alternative should be state controlled TV. I'm merely pointing out that popularity doesn't mean better.

[On the edge]

I think you underestimate the ability that TV has to subvert behaviour in people, particularly the young and naive. Drawing analogy between Shakespeare's Globe and EastEnders is silly as is insinuating the alternative should be state controlled TV. I'm merely pointing out that popularity doesn't mean better.

What is better then? That isn't a smart question, I'd really like to know. Soap Operas have been very popular for many years. EastEnders is written by a professional team and played by professional and very well paid actors. What's wrong with it? It isn't to my taste and certainly not to yours, but I can't see why you consider it base. The comparison with Shakespeare is very pertinent. He was creating the 'soaps' of the day and suffered from exactly the same criticism.

We can all call for more comedy / documentary / historic drama and so on, but the fact remains, one man's meat is another man's poison. The broadcaster will go for the most popular, of course, or he's out of business. Popular might not mean better but it doesn't mean bad either.

Turning to television and its ability to corrupt, I was just trying to point out that it does not need to be monopolised by a public service broadcaster. One of the alternatives is state control, the other is strict regulation. I worry more about the present set up, where the BBC has assumed the role of arbiter, the voice of reason and challenge. That is just as dangerous than the alternatives.

[Strafin]

The broadcaster will go for the most popular, of course, or he's out of business. Popular might not mean better but it doesn't mean bad either.

Noo they won't though will they because it's the "uniquely funded" BBC. Their remit is not to be popular, (not solely anyway), but to offer a wide range of everything to please all groups, no matter how large or small.

[On the edge]

http://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/story/20...stabbing-death/

Just thought I would throw this in as a point about whether or not correct spelling matters...

Very sad indeed.

Whilst not condoning this in any way, the address concerned wouldn't be a particularly common one to those without a full UK knowledge, so was open to misspelling anyway. Arguably same could easily occur round here; Donnington or Donington?

We aren't actually told what was entered, simply that it was spelt wrongly. Given that the address is clearly a key identifier there should have been a checking regime in place. After all, even when we give addresses in everyday transactions, they are generally checked against the Post Office address file. Even so, when the request for information about this suspect was made by another Force, given the seriousness of the offence, surely someone would have had the gumption to extend the record search criteria.

This says more about lax IT system design and poor Police procedures than just spelling mistakes.

[On the edge]

Noo they won't though will they because it's the "uniquely funded" BBC. Their remit is not to be popular, (not solely anyway), but to offer a wide range of everything to please all groups, no matter how large or small.

Who defines how well they succeed? The Politicians. What are they driven by? popular acclaim.

[Squelchy]

Noo they won't though will they because it's the "uniquely funded" BBC. Their remit is not to be popular, (not solely anyway), but to offer a wide range of everything to please all groups, no matter how large or small.

BBC Remit

[On the edge]

Thanks for that. Makes you wonder why we need a Westminster government at all.

[Andy Capp]

Who defines how well they succeed? The Politicians. What are they driven by? popular acclaim.

It is an independent board. My feelings about EastEnders are personal and are neither irrelevant, nor fact. I believe the analogy about Shakespeare and EastEnders being bogus is because they are different things. One was an outlet playing a wide variety of performances to thousands, the other is a particular story playing to millions. Other than that, I don't believe Shakespeare and his other writers always wrote well, but Shakespeare wrote some of the most recognisable and influential text in the history of story telling.

In my view, EastEnders is largely unrealistic, corny and unimaginative, but I believe that is true of most soaps these days: all battling for the same audience. The thing is, you seem to miss my point of my bringing the topic of EastEnders up. I'm not saying it shouldn't exist, I am simply illustrating what happens if you leave it up to the 'masses'. X Factor et al. is another example.