My spelling is Wobbly.

 'It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places,' said Winnie the Pooh.

My spelling is NOT wobbly, however. I'm mortified if I read a blogpost I've written or a screenplay or an article and find a spelling mistake in it later. Sometimes I beat myself with birch twigs and wear a brown paper bag over my head for several hours.

By the way, typos are not spelling mistakes but the result of clumsy fingers, nothing to do with not knowing how to spell. I allow myself the occasional tyop.

Peter and I very rarely argue.No. We engage in dialectical discourse...

...except, that is, when we go out for a meal and there are spelling mistakes on the menu.

'Yes, Peter, I KNOW the food is delicious, but to me spelling 'canelloni' 'canalonie' and 'galette' 'gallet' just shows lack of attention to detail, a willingness to settle for sloppy standards.'

'So, Caroline, you are saying that if Einstein had made a few spelling mistakes in his Theory of Relativity that would completely negate his genius?'

I wasn't saying that, actually...

Peter is quite difficult to engage in dialectical discourse sometimes.

When our spelling is perfect, it's invisible. But when it's flawed, it prompts strong negative associations.

Hooray!  A quotation about spelling that mirrors exactly my sentiments! Marylin Vos Savant (note the word 'savant' in her name) is an American writer and she is now officially in my Top Ten, even though I haven't heard of her.

(I won't mention bizarre American spelling here...)

 Marylin Vos Savant is in a very small minority. So am I. Not so many people think correct spelling is important.

Take a read of THESE:

"Correct spelling, indeed, is one of the arts that are far more esteemed by school ma'ams than by practical men, neck-deep in the heat and agony of the world." - Henry Louis Mencken

"It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word." - President Andrew Jackson

Well, I'm sorry, but to me spelling is important. Poor spelling is unnecessary and sloppy. For certain, not everyone is good at spelling but now there are spellcheckers (as long as you avoid the Cupertino Effect - see below)

This weekend, I received a letter confirming my place on a seminar called 'SUCCESS: The Power of Context.' Here was the opening line: 'Welcome to you're seminar.' Aaaaaaargh! NOT a success. It reflects SO badly on the organisation...

Then, last night we went out for a meal. The menu was peppered (excuse the pun) with appalling spelling errors...Eaton Mess, the desert menu, potato's... 

 

 Yes, the above is excusable! I couldn't even BEGIN to write in Mandarin...but to spell incorrectly in YOUR OWN LANGUAGE?

 "Spelling mistakes highlight to the customer that you have a careless and unprofessional approach to your business."  This is taken from a guide for restauranteurs.

 

I AGREE.

The meal was pretty good though! So do the spelling mistakes matter? I still think they do. They DO say a great deal about someone's commitment to high standards.

Oh, The Cupertino Effect... "is the tendency of a spellchecker to suggest inappropriate words to replace misspelled words and words not in its dictionary. It refers to the fact that the unhyphenated English word "cooperation" was often changed to "Cupertino" by older spellcheckers. Cupertino is the home of Apple Inc. and thus would be in most computer spelling dictionaries."

More useless information from Caroline Coxon

 

I leave you with:

 

I have a spelling checker,
It came with my pea sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue

Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.

Its vary polished in it’s weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.