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Forums - General Discussion - How come so many people are unable to spell simple words?

 

Are you an idiot that can`t spell?

Yes 36 38.30%
 
No 58 61.70%
 
Total:94

I don't think I make a lot of spelling mistakes, but English grammar is sometimes hard for me.



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"Could of", "should of", these are some of the most common and insanely annoying mistakes made on forums. How do people who are otherwise good at writing get this horrible linguistic misconception into their heads?



Ka-pi96 said:

Seriously? It really pisses me off. You can give some leeway to non-native speakers of course, but when native speakers do it(,) they just look like idiots. The worst part is that(,) lately(,) I've seen a fair few games with words spelt wrong. If you're charging money for a product(,) maybe learn to fucking spell the words that are in? Just saw some patch notes for a game with no less than 2 mistakes in, ironically a patch claiming to fix some in game grammar mistakes too. Oh, and it's a game from a British developer too, so they can't even use the non-native speaker and too cheap to employ a good translator excuse.

How about some examples of common mistakes? Maybe some people will even learn how not to look like an idiot any more from this...

People using then instead of than. They're different words. They mean different things, they are even pronounced differently. If you're using the words more, less or rather you should almost certainly be using than with them. Example usage: I would rather play Xbox than PlayStation. I bought an ice cream and then ate it.

People using where instead of were. Again, they are different words with different meanings. Where typically refers to a place(,) while were is a past tense. Example usage: Where is the library? Were you awake?

To/too. These are pronounced the same, but they are still different words with different meanings. To typically means towards something, while too is used for saying additional things or that there is a lot of something. Example usage: I went to the library. I bought too many games.

There/their/they're. These too are pronounced the same, but again(,) they mean different things. There typically refers to a place or point. Their is used to indicate possession. They're is a shortened form of they are. Example usage: There is a polar bear. That is their Wii U. They're unable to spell correctly.

Seriously people, stop spelling words wrong. Especially if you're trying to present yourself as a professional company. No more games with incorrect spelling or grammar please!

 

TLDR: Stop relying on your spell checker and learn to spell things properly yourself. Just because your spell checker says the word is spelt correctly(, it) doesn`t mean that it's the correct word!

 

SegataSanshiro said:

 

Grammmarly found 8 errors with your post.

Are they punctuation errors? 



Well... everybody commit mistakes when writing, even in their native language...... but considering that we´re talking about a product, it really is a problem.
Maybe some developers just lack people to do proper text review, maybe they think that´s unecessary work. But it is not... in any product with lots of text, you do need text review



Dyslexia, dysgraphia, lazy, not writing in mother tongue, trolling, for the lolz...



Hunting Season is done...

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Mobile is a good excuse that anyone can use, because if we don't then the terrorists win.



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Dravenet7 said:
Hedra42 said:

 

Nothing wrong with 'any more' if you're using British English.

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/any_more

 

Hedra42 said:

Not according to this: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/any_more

In that context it applies to Britain as it indicates that in North America it uses in the context "anymore". In that sense, sure. You are ok to use "any more" if you from the UK and, if Ka-pi happens to be from the UK, then that specific part I chose to highlight, I redact. It does not however, exclude the other grammar and spelling mistakes that were made.

Edit: Let me correct myself by saying that Ka-pi must be from the UK as a conditional to use it. Britain generally reflects the world in English rather than North America. I just happened to be born in the U.S. and used anywhere I went since that was the context I learned it form.

That would explain it - I am from the UK and assumed that you were too, from your profile. During my career I have had to write for both North American and Rest-of-world audiences, so I have needed to have a good knowledge on the spelling and grammar differences between American and British English. It's interesting to see how both versions of some expressions are becoming mutually acceptable on both sides of the Atlantic over time.



Hedra42 said:
Dravenet7 said:

In that context it applies to Britain as it indicates that in North America it uses in the context "anymore". In that sense, sure. You are ok to use "any more" if you from the UK and, if Ka-pi happens to be from the UK, then that specific part I chose to highlight, I redact. It does not however, exclude the other grammar and spelling mistakes that were made.

Edit: Let me correct myself by saying that Ka-pi must be from the UK as a conditional to use it. Britain generally reflects the world in English rather than North America. I just happened to be born in the U.S. and used anywhere I went since that was the context I learned it form.

That would explain it - I am from the UK and assumed that you were too, from your profile. During my career I have had to write for both North American and Rest-of-world audiences, so I have needed to have a good knowledge on the spelling and grammar differences between American and British English. It's interesting to see how both versions of some expressions are becoming mutually acceptable on both sides of the Atlantic over time.

I put down my profile information at random. I don't think there is anything in there that is accurate. I think I was visiting my uncle in the UK around the time I began visiting this site. Maybe that's why I chose it. I've forgotten the reason why to be honest.
It's interesting that you had literary work internationally. I can certainly understand a bit more now the reason grammar and spelling are significant to you.



Ka-pi96 said:

How come so many people are unable to spell simple words?

Because people (especially, in my experience, native English speakers) are insecure and refuse to be corrected. Instead of thinking that you're being helpful by telling them about proper usage, they take it as a personal insult and become aggressive. This means they usually don't get corrected because most people are afraid of starting a fight with them, and even when they are corrected, they throw a tantrum at the person for pointing out their mistake instead of trying to fix their error and learn from it.

In short, people who continue to make simple errors usually regard their sense of pride as being more important than self-improvement and communication skills. Ironically, the obsession with saving face makes them look much worse in the long run.



Easily avoidable mistakes are also a mild nuisance to me as well. Personally I try to write as correctly as possible, but even though we are taught (British) English in school since the age of 11 and movies, tv and video-games are never dubbed in our language (thankfully), except things meant for children, I'm still not a native English speaker. Barring some dumb typo, anyone's welcome to correct an obvious mistake I'd make.