The Perfect Edit - Living With Your Spellchecker

Business Proofreading & Editing at Your Convenience

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Living with your spellchecker

What would we do without technology?

Technology keeps us warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and it allows us to do so much more than before. But one more thing that technology gives us—in the form of spellcheckers, most frequently encountered in Microsoft Word—is a false sense of security.

You think your spellchecker is looking out for you, but HOW EFFECTIVE is that protection? Electronic spelling and grammar checkers are about as helpful as this knight is intimidating. In other words, they're not!

knight Electronic spellcheckers are great inventions, but they DO NOT prevent incorrect word choice. The fact is, English is a complicated language. There are many words that sound the same (sometimes even spelled the same) but have different meanings. Unfortunately, spellcheckers are not able to distinguish among the subtleties of language. And in any case, as Richard Lederer says, "They are no match for knowing what a word means and how to spell it."

So let us worry about what your spellchecker may have missed. Contact us for your next presentation, report, or memo.

In the meantime, here's an article which discusses some of the technical reasons why English does not lend itself well to computer grammar and spellcheckers, as well as a recent study on the pitfalls of using a grammar and spellchecker, as reported in ABC News.

We also direct you to the poem below for a more humorous take on our friend, the Spellchecker. Believe it or not, Microsoft Word will not detect any spelling errors in this poem!

Owed two the Spell Checker

I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.

Eye ran this poem threw it,
Yule be reel glad two no.
It's vary polished in its weigh;
My checker tolled me sew.

A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.

To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.

And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of nun eye am eye a wear.

Each frays a raid up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule.
The checker poured oar every word
To check sum spelling rule.

That's why aye brake in two averse...
My righting wants too pleas.
Sow now ewe sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas.

—Attributed to Jerrold H. Zar

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