Hi,
I'm afraid that doesn't surprise me. I work as a sub-editor, and without
wanting to sound too much like my dad (I'm only in my mid-30s), I find it
amazing that most of our young reporters come to us having passed all sorts
of proficiency tests in law, local government, shorthand etc, and yet
struggle with basic spelling and punctuation. I went to a perfectly ordinary
state school, but back then, the teachers would cross out whole pages of
work if there were more than a couple of errors.
Maybe I'm just turning into a grumpy old man!
Matt
-----Original Message-----
From: grasshopper [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 19 November 2003 06:49
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: New sub:The Sandalwood Horse ( Grasshopper)
THIS EMAIL HAS BEEN SWEPT FOR VIRUSES BY THE NORTHCLIFFE GROUP MAILSWEEPER
SERVER.
Dear Arthur,
I'm told many greengrocers,butchers etc deliberately misspelled words on
their signs. Apparently some people would pop into the shop to point it out,
and, of course, might buy something while they're there. However, while this
might have applied in the past, I think today it is mostly down to simple
ignorance. I was surprised, watching the BBC Learning Zone, which explained
how English exams were marked, that the examiners only take notice of
spelling in a small spelling test --for the rest of the paper, candidates
can 'express themselves freely' with as many incorrect spellings as they
like. Seems to me a sign of a general dumbing down, like the multiple choice
questions. What letter follows B in the alphabet ?
A) c
B) a
C) d
D) b
Kind regards,
grasshopper
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur Seeley" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 8:06 AM
Subject: Re: [THE-WORKS] New sub:The Sandalwood Horse ( Grasshopper)
> You fooled me! You captured the voice well. I was convinced it was a
> found poem. I was fascinated and amused by some of the spellings I
> encountered
on
> my recent holiday in the Algarve. Mind you I am also similarly amused
> by some of the spellings I encounter in my own country. A local food
> fair was selling Saviouries the otther day. Arthur
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