I MAY not be the world’s best speller but I get bothered by spelling mistakes that would have been avoidable had the task of writing been given more care. Despite the acceptability of abbreviations in texting and Facebook comments, I believe that the old school habit of writing each word fully and consulting a dictionary for the correct spelling are an essential part in decent and educated communication.
Some mistakes are forgivable especially when the words are written by a non-native English speaker. However, for words copied from a guide or draft, may the sky of Henny Penny fall on that hard noggin.
Have you seen the picture where one literary great buried at the Libingan ng Bayani had a cross where the word “leterature” was inscribed? That caused quite a stir. The poor late National Artist for “Leterature” must be rolling in his grave. If he rose to haunt whoever chiseled that word (of all words), may other victims of spelling injustice follow suit.
For an English-speaking country like the Philippines, mistakes in grammar and spelling are inexcusable. I may be harsh for writing this, but I feel that it is a pity to have this advantage of including English in our school curriculum only to waste this advantage to our disadvantage.
The BPO industry exploits this advantage of ours, yet, I think we might have more people qualifying for call center work if only they had better English communication skills. One country head for a major call center intimated to me during the first year of the call center’s operations that many interviewees’ grammar and phonics were found wanting and that continuous training was needed to maintain quality of communications.
We usually write the way we speak, so spelling is a reflection of what we know. Spelling mistakes are borne out of plain ignorance, laziness to consult a good source, or lack of common sense. Some of our stores are usually violators of spelling rules.
Nice, crisp, proper spelling gives off a more professional vibe for a store and tells the customer (or “costumer” as one internet café printed) that he is respected and is valuable enough for the staff to go the extra mile in having the signs error-free.
The “ei/ie” arrangement is usually a killer, so just remember: “i” before “e,” except after “c,” or when sounded like “a,” as in “neighbor” or “weigh.” The English language is a tough one to learn for someone who has limited exposure to it, or if he studies it as an adult.
Its rules have too many exceptions that a student has no other alternative other than to learn as he goes along. Yet, speakers of other languages have it easier these days what with the far-reaching internet, cable television, and inclusion of English in more school curricula.
If we have to write, let’s do it right. Otherwise, let’s just have a good laff...este, laug. I mean, lugh. Rats.
