“When our spelling is perfect, it’s invisible. But when it’s flawed, it prompts strong negative associations.”
Marilyn vos Savant
If you don’t believe this, try sending a job application laced with misspelled words to a prospective employer.
Chances are that you will remain “between jobs” for a long time.
Good spelling is the mark of a learned lady/gentleman and in an increasingly competitive world it has become more important than ever.
With many traditional jobs quickly fading away, it is imperative to keep up your writing skills just in case you need to reinvent yourself.
Unfortunately, many kids are now using SMS to communicate among themselves and it is one of the greatest disservices ever offered to them.
SMS relies on a crude phonetic language (with a total disrespect for syntax or grammar) to convey ideas or instructions, and it is bad news.
Thanks to SMS (and a collection of varied electronic devices) we are raising a bunch of kids who will be thoroughly illiterate (and probably unable to compete) when they grow up.
By the way, if you didn’t know, SMS stands for “Shoddy Muddled Spelling”.
And kids, if you try to entice a bookish girl with a weird SMS, you might get the following answer:
“Sorry I don’t date outside my species.”
Ouch! That hurts!
The art of letter writing is quickly disappearing but e-mail doesn’t give you license for sloppy spelling.
Just remember that facility borders on incivility.
Instead of hurried, slapdash messages, take the time to think and use basic grammatical rules and correct spelling.
And beware of Spellcheck and autocorrect. If you are not vigilant it can easily lead you astray.
Now, as the kids would say,
Cul8r; luwamh
(See you later; love you with all my heart)
Isn’t this romantic?
Alain