Words seemed spelled wrong, what is up with that?

I have noticed this too. My friend and I were actually talking about it the other day. She asked me if it ever happens to me. We had a good laugh about it afterwards!

Originally posted by aorAki

Originally posted by BrokenCircles
. You could of kept it to yourself.

Not spelling per se, but it is "could have" not "could of". I see this sort of thing all the thyme. Spell cheque doesn't cover semantics.

If you have the time for it, check this out.

If I cared, it could of looked something like this-

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/74557f811763.gif[/atsimg]



This thread could easily go on forever.

I think information overload could be part of it. Our internet culture feeds us (largely useless) information at an incredible rate, and perhaps things drop off the other end when the brain takes in too much. Another possibility is the public nature of internet blogs, comment sections, etc. Seeing wrong spellings all the time must have a price, not mention shortcuts like the ones people take in texting.

The big question I have is what are all these poisons in the water, food and air doing to us? I'm a child of the fifties and sixties, and I could swear people were a lot more discerning and roundly knowledgable back then. I like to think we never would have let things get as bad as they are now. But perhaps my memories are messed up. After all, I must be a victim of the poisons, too, so how much can I count on my own discernment? I have definitely stumbled on some profoundly wrong memories over the years, ones that I was absolutely sure were right. There are some interesting books and theories on the nature of memory out there these days. They say every time you remember something the new memory replaces the old one, so the memory gradually "evolves" over time.

The English language itself is definitely a slippery beast, too, being such a hybrid. "Weird" is a good example - one that throws me every time is trying to keep straight lose, loss, and loose, and how each is pronounced. Once I see all three written out I'm OK, and I can remember the usage of each, but I have to spell out all of them every time to make sure I'm using the right one!

I have no idea what you're talking aboute

Very interesting what some say is going on . But I have to wonder how this phenomenon manifests itself with people who speak languages that have no spelling. Like some Latin based ones or others where phonetically you enunciate the word and write it as per the sounds its letters make and nothing else - no silent letters etc..
It appears quite moronic to some cultures I must say to have a double L or P ( LL, PP or TT ) in the spelling of a word since one seems quite sufficient to produce the intended sound. Its like a conspiracy to make learning the language a total hardship.

But then again if I guzzle aspartame and fluoride and continue hearing this hum while breathing in those nice plane trails, I'd be looking at a stranger in the mirror quite soon methinks nevermind strange looking words.

But who knows, maybe our densities are merging like someone else suggested and we are entering some lala land of in between where the fine dying art of cunning linguistics will make way for cunning telepathy.........

Originally posted by Schkeptick
I think it's brain leak. I was an ace speller once, too.

What I've noticed is that I've found myself wanting to misspell* words that I see wrong online frequently. Or repeat grammar errors & run-on sentence structures that I frequently read on message boards like ATS.

Eventually popular mistakes become part of the lexicon. So today's terrible spelling/grammar on message boards is tomorrow's new English.


*this word has been the most misspelled word in this thread, LOL!

Originally posted by BrokenCircles

Originally posted by TKDRL
I used to be able to tell if a word is spelled wrong, just by looking at it. For some reason there are words that now look wrong to me, but are not.
It is weird.

That one^^^^

With certain words, I am stubborn.
I don't care how many spell-checkers, or how many people tell me it is spelled as - 'weird.'

I disagree. To me, the word is spelled as - 'wierd,' and that is the way I spell it. Due to this, I often don't use that wierd word.

necessarilly

reply to post by badw0lf


I think you forgot the second part of the poem.
I before E except after C. Or words that sound gay, like neighbor or sleigh.

It doesn't go like that exactly.... but I forgot the way it really goes.

reply to post by goldentorch


I too have struggled with words recently, my mind just a blank when confronted with words I should know, perhaps in my case it really could be age. I also feel it sometimes can depend on when you were educated as I would tend to use misspelt rather than misspelled with misspelt seemingly becoming rather archaic in the U.K.

And sometimes I even mess posting up and talk to myself, oops must be age in my case!
2nd line

reply to post by fixer1967


I might have a sorta answer here mate. I have the same problem when I glance at written words. At college I was tested for dyslezia extensively and they couldn't get a conclusive result. At school I got an A in English but always had trouble with spelling. I think you might have a similar problem, linked to dyselxia, but not full blown.

Hope that points you in a direction to help you out

reply to post by fixer1967


So I'm not nuts.....not totally throwrug anyway

I'm a reader. Been addicted to it since I was about 7.

I HATE when I see a word and I just get fixated on it. It just doesnt "look right". Its to the point of being a "visceral reaction". I've just blown it off as being "info overloaded" or something.

I'm pretty sure there's a logical reason.

Sometimes when I'm typing on the waffle iron, I can look over at the coffee table sleeping on its bed and I wonder how they must think? Must be something in the jelly beans I've been washing my hair in.

reply to post by clintdelicious


But what if you are actually pretty good at spelling? I am able to figure some words out just by what I would imagine there etymology (latin or germanic root for example).

Your idea is better than I've ever considered though.

I think that this is a great thread, Fixer, and that everyone has contributed interesting ideas and hypotheses on why this is happening. I, too, always considered myself to be proficient at spelling and in the use of proper grammar and probably developed these skills from the vast number of books I read when I was young, but it was a different world back then. I find that the majority of mistakes I make these days are attributable to my own typing skills and the problems I've been experiencing have less to do with the quality of these "hard" skills, per se, and more with my ability to express my thoughts in a short and concise manner. The older I get, the more words I need to use to fully make my point. This is a problem in today's fast paced world since it takes more time for me to edit something down than it takes to type out the original text. Also, I definitely think that there's a generational difference in the way one writes. I say this not as a criticism but as an opinion based on what I've personally observed. I used to be the manager of a department in a large company and had anywhere from 20-30 staff members under my purview ranging in age from those in their early 20's to others in their Baby Boomer years. The differences I saw in their written communication skills were significant and I came to my own conclusions as to why this was so.

Firstly, multitasking in today's world translates to something very different than when I was in my early 20's. The emphasis today is on getting as many simultaneous things done as quickly as possible and though I don't want to stop typing to find a link to where I saw this, I once read an article that described how the brain of today's younger generation(s) actually develops and looks slightly different than those of older generations. This was caused by our natural process of adaptation to the increased amount of stimuli simultaneously being filtered and processed. My young daughter has even told me that she functions and retains data better when processing multiple stimuli at the same time (i.e. doing her homework while listening to her IPod and intermittently texting with her friends). Since she gets decent grades and is happy with her way of communicating, who am I to question this??

Secondly, in their rush to get all of these things done quickly and function within the communication norms of their own generation, certain short cuts have become adopted as the new norm (I see this whenever I get a text message from her where she'll type "u" instead of "you" or "R u going 2 the movies 2nite?"). This probably originated from being limited in the number of characters one can use in any given text message, but there's a principle in cognitive behavioral psychology which says that you can replace one automatic thought (or behavior) with a different one by consistently catching yourself when the original automatic thought occurs and replacing it with the new one over a long enough period of time (someone once told me that it takes 21 days for the brain to integrate a change in automatic thinking, but I never saw any verification of this). I believe the same holds true in the opposite context and if you're exposed to a different spelling of a word or a different form of communicating over and over again, why wouldn't this become the new automatic process?

So, that leads to the question of which is right and which is wrong as posed by some in this thread. I think it depends on the situation, environment and individuals involved in the communication being exchanged. I don't feel it's indicative of a person's level of intelligence and some of the smartest people I know possess terrible spelling skills for a variety of reasons; I agree with the previous poster who said that anyone who judges or devalues another based solely on this factor is guilty of snobbery. With that said, I also believe that it's important to use proper spelling and grammar in an academic setting where you're going to be graded on the correctness of these skills, or in the corporate environment because, whether we like it or not, the recipient is going to form a subconscious impression of both the writer and the organization he/she represents based on his/her written communication skills and if a company doesn't feel you're representing them in a positive light, you won't have that job for very long (why else would most job ads list "excellent written and oral communication skills" as a necessary qualification for employment?). Of course, that can cut both ways and if you work in an industry largely owned and populated by the younger generation, a more formal style of writing can be viewed as a detriment. These are just a few of my own personal opinions. I warned everyone that it would be long-winded and appreciate anyone who took the time to read through it.

Timidgal

Originally posted by fixer1967
I do not start many new threads so I may be posting this in the wrong space. If so please move to the right place. Spelling problems, we have them. But it seems that more and more words seem spelled wrong to me and when I use spell check I find out I am the one that is wrong. OK So I am not the spelling be champ by no means but you know what I am talking about. You see a word and it just looks wrong. I am not the only one that is noticing this odd "thing". I call it a thing because I do not know what to call it yet. I know a teacher that last year go so embarrassed over correcting some school papers she almost quit her job. She marked spelling errors on papers that were not miss spelled. She noticed that the same words were being missed spelled on every paper so she looked them up and to her dismay she found out she was the one wrong and she is an English teacher of all things. Just wondering is anyone esle has notice this.
This is a little like the Twilight Zone "Wordplay"

edit on 5/15/2011 by fixer1967 because: Spelling of all things

No, you are correct. For all of the intulectual thought that goes on here, you would think we could all take the time to spell check our posts. End of mini rant... And yes I had to use spell check on this reply

Originally posted by gypsychology909


But who knows, maybe our densities are merging like someone else suggested and we are entering some lala land of in between where the fine dying art of cunning linguistics will make way for cunning telepathy.........

Excellent point here. Many times I'll be thinking something in my head and finally say something outloud to someone and they look at me as if I've grown three heads.

For some reason, I expected them to be following along with something they obviously cant hear

As I said to my dear old Mum: "Language is in a state of fux".
She smiled wryly and didn't admonish me as she knew I was right.

The average individual gets micro brain lesions regularly. I don't know if this has always been the case, but it seems to be so ever since we've been looking for them with the correct equipment. My guess is that the environment is a bit too screwed up these days, and we're now having "brain farts" more and more often as a whole. People are either adapting, and pushing their selves to keep rebuilding their psyche, else they're degenerating a bit, imo.

reply to post by fixer1967


Very, very strange. I have been thinking this for a few weeks, I thought I was developing some sort of dyslexia. Strange how it doesn't seem to be just me.

Gonna run through the rest of the thread now to see the consensus (BTW consensus didn't look right but alas it was).

ALS

According to a new report, 47 percent of Detroiters are ”functionally illiterate.” The alarming new statistics were released by the Detroit Regional Workforce Fund on Wednesday.

hot air link

This is just one city! I'm sure many other large cities have the same problem. Texting, in my opinion, has also compounded the problem with abbreviations. Add in slang and the lack of focus that English be the primary language of our own country, I do not see the problem getting better anytime soon.