Spelling Problems
Not long ago. I wrote a letter to my sister to discuss some health issues we share. I wanted to ask her about her cholesterol, but I was uncertain as to how to spell that word. So I went to my Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, but I could not find it. This experience reminded me of a line from William Gibson’s play, The Miracle Worker, when Annie Sullivan, in an attempt to write to her teacher about how badly Helen Keller needed discipline, could not find the work “discipline” in her dictionary. She complains, “Where’s ‘discipline’? What a dictionary! You have to know how to spell it before you can look it up to spell it.”
How true that is. Have you ever tried to find the word that describes an inflammation of the lung tissue? The word sound like it should begin with an “n,” but it starts with a “p,” pneumonia. The word even has a silent “e” which adds to the confusing spelling. How about the hero who rides a white horse and saves the damsel in distress? The word also sounds like it should begin with an “n,” but, no, the word begins with a “k,” knight and has an additional “gh” which further confuses us. My problem with my letter to my sister arose because cholesterol has a silent “h” after the initial letter. I was looking for a word that began with “col. . .”
I own an English handbook which says, “The spelling of English words seems sometimes to defy reason.” (I consider that an understatement.) “English spelling reflects the language‘s many historical sources. As English has absorbed words from other languages, it has assumed or adapted their spellings; thus the spelling of a word in English often cannot be determined simply by the pronunciation.” The three words I have mentioned –“pneumonia,”” knight “, and “cholesterol” – prove this statement.
This brings me to another point: I think English is a hard language to spell. We have words that sound alike, but are spelled differently – “there,” “their” and “they’re.” We generally become confused over the “I before e” and the “e before I” rule. Thus I have read that “receive” is the most misspelled word in our language, yet I have a feeling that the word “separate” runs a close seconded to being the most misspelled work. Do we double the last letter or a word or not when we’re adding more letters to a word? We almost have to memorize the spelling to be sure.
Think of all the various ways we deal with plurals Is “child,” childs?’ No, it’s “children.” Is “sheep,” sheeps?” No, it’s “sheep.” Now we’re not sure about “fish.” The plural is really “fish,” but we have heard people say something like, “My grandpa fishes every day,” so ours ears accept “fishes” and now my dictionary offers this as an acceptable plural spelling.
My English handbook continues. “Misspelling can seriously undermine your credibility and, in some cases can lead readers to misunderstand.” Ah, that’s the rub: Our language is hard to spell, but if we don’t spell correctly, we are considered ignorant and uneducated. That’s unfair, but, unfortunately, it’s true. Since computers have become so much a part of our lives, we think we’re “saved” because of the spell checks. But can your computer really tell the difference between “cent”, “scent” or “sent” in the meaning of your sentence even if you spelled the word correctly? Probably not. I am not a good speller. As a result, I keep a dictionary close at all times. I suggest you do the same.