Comments on One stinkin' letter can make all the difference!

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Re: Jimmy

See, Naut? One stinkin' letter can make all the difference! Like I said, I'm actually a lousy speller too, and spell-check can't catch everything! That's why homonyms are always tough, because spell-check sees a word spelled correctly, but it's out of context with the rest of the sentence. Yeah, American English can drive one batty sometimes, and I now know that a gaff is either a barbed spear for landing large fish or a spar to which the head of a fore-and-aft sail is bent! Thanks!

posted by JimmyA on December 17, 2012 at 8:12 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Re: Re: That is my problem friend. Spell check doesn't catch all my mistakes

That's so strange, Kabu! I've discovered not too long ago that I have dyslexia also! It doesn't necessarily involve any particular letters, but there have been so many times when I would be at the keyboard pounding away, and when I finally look up at the paragraph I was just working on, I see a handful of words underlined in red! As I go back to make all of these corrections, I realize that in each and every case, I simply inverted two letters somewhere in the middle of the words! It's a simple, honest mistake ( I keep telling myself ) but it's very frustrating at times too!

posted by JimmyA on December 17, 2012 at 8:04 AM | link to this | reply

Jimmy

That’s a funny one! I am a bit compulsive about proper spelling, which doesn’t mean I don’t make mistakes - I do often, and frequently I don’t catch them because I’m too lazy to proof-read, quite apart from being a lousy typist.

And then there are the differences between the Queen’s and the American version of English – we here in Canada tend to adhere more to the Queen’s form, being part of the Commonwealth, and all, LOL...

Oh, and it’s ‘gaffes’, not ‘gaffs’...LOL...

posted by Nautikos on December 16, 2012 at 1:48 PM | link to this | reply

Re: Re: That is my problem friend. Spell check doesn't catch all my mistakes

I have a mild form of dyslexia and it involves the letter e. I have trouble not putting an extra e in words.

posted by Kabu on December 16, 2012 at 1:14 PM | link to this | reply

Re:

Thanks, adnohr. Yeah, sometimes it's hard for a writer . . . any writer . . . to admit that they're a terrible speller. And I must admit, I'm a terrible speller! Too many words have too many components that sound like something else, and are easy to get mixed up. That's why I can never proof-read enough!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:30 AM | link to this | reply

Re:

And because of the basic structure of English words, FSI, that seems to happen quite often. Since much of our language is actually bastardized from others ( from the Greek . . . from the Latin . . . from the French . . . from the Italian, etc. ) it's easy to see how much of the confusion got started in the first place!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:27 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Yes, i didn't even know this word corral

See how easily one can be confused, Straight? Especially if it's a word that you either don't hear very often, or hardly use at all! To this day, for whatever reason, I still get prescription and subscription mixed up, much to the chagrin of my pharmacist and newspaper carrier!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:24 AM | link to this | reply

Re:

Absolutely, Annicita. Another pair of eyes can be a big help. I don't mind people pointing out my errors either. That way, not only do we learn, but it helps to "polish up" whatever it is we are working on at the time. I would love nothing more than to have everything I write be completely error-free!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:22 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Very true...and sadly mishandled

I try my best, Isaiah, to proof-read everything I write as accurately as possible, but even then, certain mistakes can still get by you. Someone once told me that there are two almost sure-fire ways to proof-read something. One, have someone else proof-read your work ( they're probably less subjective and more likely to see the things that you, as the writer, often miss ) or two, proof-read your work backwards. This way you're actually looking at the words themselves and not necessarily content or sentence structure, but that method probably only works to catch actual spelling mistakes, and may not help to catch other possible writing "gaffs." As for your "swapping" idea, I will have to think about it, only because I'm not sure at this moment how we would actually proceed to accomplish it. Thanks for the offer though, and I will get back to you about it.

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:19 AM | link to this | reply

Re: JimmyA

I understand completely, Wiley! They can make spelling mistakes with almost anything else, but don't mess with the money!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:08 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Ewe kant except Spell-checker two ketch awl yore spelling goofs,

Point well taken, Ciel. Sometimes I think it would be a heck of a lot easier if we could spell certain words exactly how they sounded ( why is there a W in two? Why does gnat begin with a G? Shouldn't school start with an SK rather than an SCH? ) Like I wrote, no one said mastering the English language was easy!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:07 AM | link to this | reply

Re: That is my problem friend. Spell check doesn't catch all my mistakes

Believe it or not, Kabu, so am I! There are so many words out there with certain sounds in them ( is that spelled with an e or an a? ) that I constantly get confused! But sometimes you can spell the word you want incorrectly but actually still come up with another word. That's why I say you can't always depend on spell check!

posted by JimmyA on December 16, 2012 at 9:02 AM | link to this | reply

I'm a terrible speller, so left spellcheck on my Iphone. It plays the funniest tricks sometimes. Great post!

posted by adnohr on December 16, 2012 at 3:52 AM | link to this | reply

It's interesting what happens when words are mixed up and a letter is added or taken out...

posted by FormerStudentIntern on December 15, 2012 at 11:23 AM | link to this | reply

Yes, i didn't even know this word corral

though i know coral

posted by Straightforward on December 15, 2012 at 7:00 AM | link to this | reply

yes we all make typos. it's so easy especially since you are not in school any more and having a teacher point it out to you. i don't mind others telling me...helps me with my edits....

posted by Annicita on December 15, 2012 at 4:56 AM | link to this | reply

Very true...and sadly mishandled

You're right, even in sending a manuscript for review by an editor an author has to do more than proof-read the copy: they have to go over it with a fine tooth comb. Well written "self-improvement" post. I have a propisition on "the hinderance":how about we do the "promotional" thing: I download yours...you download one of mine. This way we can leave a comment on each item purchase, from other author's P.O.V.s Give it a thought. And get back to me in message if you want.

Isaiah

posted by RamfamilyWritings on December 14, 2012 at 5:39 PM | link to this | reply

JimmyA

The only place I worry about spelling is when I receive a cheque payable to me....