muckefuck: (Default)
[personal profile] muckefuck
Spelling is one of those areas where I simply fail at being the non-judgmental descriptivist that, deep in my heart, I truly wish to be. I fervently believe that poor spelling is no indication of a person's intelligence or breeding; after all, I've known too many very clever and well-brought-up people who were simply lousy at memorising the arbitrary letter sequences of English to think otherwise. But I've been raised since birth in a society which overwhelmingly rejects such progressive notions and has conditioned me to react in mortal disgust at the untidy orthography of those who cannot mind their p's and q's (or e's and a's, as the case may be).

So when I walk into a set of beautifully refurbished offices in a neighbouring department and see a spanking new sign that reads "GATAR METIRIALS", every fibre of me wants to scream out "WHERE IS YOUR DIGNITY?"
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Date: 2009-03-27 05:34 pm (UTC)

From: [identity profile] aadroma.livejournal.com
When I think of you and spelling, I think of the whole "people misspell Gandhi all the time" rant you did years ago where you misspelled Gandhi... :: laugh ::

Oh stop. It was funny.
Date: 2009-03-27 06:08 pm (UTC)

From: [identity profile] stoutfellow.livejournal.com
I hear you. I find myself torn in exactly the same way.
Date: 2009-03-27 06:30 pm (UTC)

From: [identity profile] richardthinks.livejournal.com
wait, do these metirials pertain to Gatar, Pakistan (in which case they're probably highly sought after in intel circles)?

Or are we dealing with the kind of gatar that goes with drums?
Date: 2009-03-27 06:31 pm (UTC)

From: [identity profile] richardthinks.livejournal.com
...also now I'm all self-conscious about my egregious Portuguese spelling, which comes of me never having to write in the language.
Date: 2009-03-28 01:39 am (UTC)

From: [identity profile] strongaxe.livejournal.com
As somewhat of an amateur linguist, I find it convenient to think of "Colloquial English" as a similar, but totally different language than "Academic English", with its own spelling and grammar rules. By treating it as a foreign language with rules that differ from those I'm comfortable with, it's easier for me to deal with without causing permanent dental problems :)

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