SpellingE

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Spelling E

Spelling E
Alison van Diggelen June 14

They say some of the best discoveries were made by accident.  Well I just made a wee discovery that may not change the world, but will certainly change the way I communicate with the world.

On Tuesday morning, I sent a batch of e-mails to friends in Australia, Belgium and England.  Accidentally, I pressed, “copy all recipients”.  Hours later, what a fright to be on the receiving end of some of the most shocking typos and spelling mistakes imaginable on my missives.  I cringed to think how I’m littering the world.

This discovery occurred in the same week as the 73rd Annual Cripps Howard National Spelling Bee.  George Abraham Thampy of Maryland Heights, MO is a national hero for spelling words such as serendipity and trophobiosis correctly, whereas I sat in a self-imposed dunce chair staring at my poor spelling of “the” (“t-e-h”) and weather (w-e-a-t-t-h-e-r) on sent e-mails, just wishing I could have another try.

I then started reading my incoming e-mails with a more critical eye and found some real whoppers.  At first it made me feel better: the “I’m not alone” syndrome.  But then I began to reflect on the direction things are leading in this “new economy”.  Why do basic rules of grammar and spelling have to be thrown out in this technological revolution sweeping the world?  Why is it our standards have slipped so badly that typos and sloppy grammar are the norm in e-mail communication?

In Silicon Valley there appears to be a correlation between how busy people are and the quality of their e-mail.  Being busy in Silicon Valley is a status symbol whether you’re CEO of a multi-million dollar company or CEO of your home.  It’s almost as if fully punctuated, perfectly spelled communications would give the wrong message, i.e. I have the time to cast an eye over my writing and correct the errors.

I imagine T-shirts proclaiming “Real men don’t spell check”.

In Silicon Valley, no one has time for superfluous things.  We’re all being so highly efficient and focused on the stuff that counts; the creative stuff and the numbers stuff.  Some might argue, “Why can’t we be creative about our spelling?   You get the drift of my e-mail, don’t you?”  So we’re left to read between the typo-ridden lines, “Hey, I’m super productive and have no time to read this over, barely time to write it.”

I embrace the advantages, which the technological revolution has brought us.  E-mail gets business done efficiently; has allowed us to keep in touch with family and friends all over the world without running up huge telephone charges; and has made writers of all of us.  It’s handy and it’s fast, maybe too fast.

Some argue that it’s just like verbal dialogue and no one but the most gauche go around correcting people’s spoken mistakes.  Henry Higgins is dead and buried.  However, that’s the interesting thing about e-mail, it is written, can be printed out and therefore has a permanence which can work against you.  How can we insist on our kids spelling correctly when we are so sloppy in written communication?

So this month, in honor of our twelve-year-old national hero who can spell “propaedeutic” and “ersatz”, and the education of our children, let’s take a few seconds before pressing the send button and clean up our e-mails before they go out to the world.

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