Despite the fact that being an editor should indicate that I know how to spell most words in the English language, it doesn't. I don't even consider myself a child of the spell-check age either; I barely used computers in high school. But in college computers were everywhere and word processors were ever evolving.
No more notes or term paper ideas sketched by hand. (Which brings up the fact that people's penmanship nowadays also sucks.) Someone in your study group offered to take notes then type them up for everyone later. No one needed a dictionary any more either because spell-check catches it and fixes it for you. No brain power required.
Many publishing houses, including mine, have gone to digital-only editing and proofing, which means that all copy editing, line editing and page proofing are done on-screen--no more paper. It also means that our brains give up a little power because we know that spelling errors and questionable grammar will be flagged with those squiggly red lines.
I often get irritated that OS doesn't offer spell-check (or if it does I don't know where). But in the end, I know that it's for my own good. Many bloggers probably type their blog into a Word document first then transfer it to OS. Today I typed the word "poignant" several times and every damn time I couldn't remember how to spell it. Also, because I misspelled it so badly the spell-check couldn't figure out what the hell I was trying to type.
FYI, the word "poignant" may be found on page 1042 of Webster's New World College Dictionary, third edition. I have it sticky-noted.
The urge to rely on computers for spelling and grammar is difficult to ignore. Although I actually looked up a word in a hardcover dictionary today, I more often result to the online version of Merriam-Webster dictionary and thesaurus. When I started at my new job, there was only one hardcopy version of a dictionary in the whole editorial department. Several of my younger editors even come to meetings with their laptops for note taking; gone are the days of the steno pad and pencil. We are all products of a spell-check age.
But while I continue to embrace word-processing technology, I'm trying hard to hold onto my good old-fashioned hardcover dictionary … and third edition? Oh, how old it is.
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Dr. Ayala
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Comments
I have been a witness of the "Dumbing Down of America" for fifty years. My first realization that something was very wrong was when I saw a commercial on TV for a laundry detergent named: "DUZ" touted because it "does the job". I remember thinking "How can they get away with that?" I was not allowed to get away with creative spelling, and these were grown-ups.
My wife resents it when I correct her spelling or grammar. My kids (all grown) groaned, rolled their eyes and said "Dad, it's not that important."
My attempts to instill a feeling in them that language is important because it is how we communicate with each other fell on ears that, if not actually deaf, were numbed by the cacophony that assails us all in today's frenetically paced world.
Don't even get me started on today's "text shorthand"
I mean, "GR-8 2CU", really! Give me a BR-AK !
(sigh)
Keep spreading the word
-Stan
BTW, I really need to get a hard copy of the Urban Dictionary ... does it even exist?
Just today I discovered I've been misspelling "plagiarism" my whole life. Seriously, where did that I after the G come from?
Great post, we should all be on our toes. And spell check won't save you if you use the wrong "too" or simply the wrong word altogether!
I love it and I hate it. I write in dialect. Some words I write and get flagged for every other word. squiggly lines and highlights every where. i just keep hitting add.
I can spell, I always say, even not in dialect, until I hit publish.
Then they just glare at me.
I do appreciate the sentiment here.