May 27, 2015

Spelling Bees are the X Games of spelling, says Geoff Nunberg

From USA Today

With autocorrect, does spelling matter? Linguistic experts say yes

By Mary Bowerman, USA TODAY Network

What does feuilleton mean?

If you're scratching your head while watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee and thanking your lucky stars for autocorrect, you're not alone.

But before you turn your back on spelling, think about all the times autocorrect failed you, says Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at the school of information at UC Berkeley.

He says the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the X Games of spelling. Before viewers start questioning their intelligence, they should remember the spelling bee is meant to showcase a participant's ability to memorize an arbitrary set of rules to spell words "that many of us have never heard of and will never use."...

Regardless of how informal text messaging and emails have made our everyday communication, spelling and grammar still matter, according to Nunberg. He says employers and acquaintances still make snap decisions, sometimes "unfairly," about people based on spelling errors....

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Last updated:

October 4, 2016