Spelling

Have always been an excellent speller - many thanks to my class teachers at Junior School. At age 16, I trained as a 'Touch Typist' and learned to spell with my fingers - even now, I often close my eyes and imagine typing a word out to ensure that I've got any 'double-letters' in their correct places ;-).

I correct predictive text.

When I was teaching English I soon learnt that good spelling and good brains are not necessarily connected. Some very clever people just cannot spell. My brightest student was a hopeless speller, but her ideas were very creative and original.

Framilode Don't be discouraged. It's not just us common mortals who have trouble with spelling at a certain age: the famous writer C.J. Sansom has written "faun" instead of "fawn" (baby deer) on at least three occasions in his latest book - and on different pages, so it's not a typo!

Like other posts on here. I used up to be a good speller but now have to look up some words I would have easily been able to spell not that long ago. I blame a mixture of getting older and using social media.

✍ snap

I have always had a problem, I know how to spell a word but to write it or type it I mix the letters up . Example , took a phone call yesterday from a chap on the firm, they needed more cement, i sent note to my brother , more cemnet needed , I spell the word in my mind but write it jumbled up

Probably due to not writing words so much nowadays. The writing we did back in the day gave us practise at spelling. Now we phone,text,email which are all kept short in the main.

I can spell if I am writing with a pen or pencil but as soon as I start typing it all goes to pot.I blame the ease of spellchecker.

I remember learning how to do joined up writing from the blackboard in primary school. When I started grammar school the Headmaster insisted we all learnt how to do italic writing and use it in all our exercise books. We had to have special italic pens. I’m afraid it ruined my handwriting and many of my friends found the same.

I hate acronyms as you probably know. I wish you would not use them. We will soon all be speaking in acronyms, apart from me, of course.

Yes I think the motor skills of writing out words reinforced the memory of how to spell words. It’s the same as telephone numbers, it was so much easier to remember them when you had to dial them. My spelling is still quite good but I find if I stop and think about how to spell a word it makes me doubt myself.

I find Alexa very helpful when I need a spellcheck. She can spell anything. But makes me very lazy.

I used to get complimented on my lovely handwriting. These days I can barely write a birthday card without cringing - it's almost as if I have forgotten how to write!

I do like good writing instruments and quality writing paper.
My present stash is Churston deckle edge bought 2 years ago on ebay as it's no longer sold. Some is Dawn Pink and some Mist Grey.
Envelopes are lined with tissue in a darker shade.
I'm now stocking up on Scriptum Amalfi, each sheet hand-made and Scriptum envelopes which are beautifully lined with marbled paper in different colours.
Letters to friends, past colleagues and my OH and children are always penned on beautiful paper or notecards. They are, so I'm told, read, kept and re-read.

Not so much the spelling, but instead of writing 'there' I'll write 'their' etc. Why?

so find I spell a word correctly but it doesn't look right and have to double check ?

I shall see how far I get here without predictive text butting in.I can still spell thank goodness, my OH has dyslexia,and often asks me how to spell something, thats ok, but he is Swedish so I have to be on the mark in order to give him the correct Swedish spelling, not my native English. Keeps my brain active!

Phew! I'm joining in the sighs of relief that it's not just us!!

I was always terrible at spelling. Use to get 3/20 and have to stand on a chair and get my legs smacked by the teacher. Computers, spell check and to some extent predictatext, (is that a word?) have enabled me to write reports at work and a newsletter for a club.

I had been spelling words wrong for years!

Not a great idea FountainPen.
It means that paediatric (say peediatric) becomes pediatric (say ped-iatric), thus Caesar becomes Cesar (say sez-ar)
The yanks will do anything to despoil our beautiful language, including calling both males and females GUYS.
Dreadful.

Thanks for all the replies - it makes me feel better. I have always been, and still am, a big reader and presumed that was why I was such a good speller. No more though. I have just noticed that it was drawn to my attention on another thread that I had spelt 'appalled' wrongly.

I am appalled that I can't even spell appalled.

ninathenana

Google spell checker is the US version which is often at odds with 'our' English language.

Me too but I blame the predictive text rather than my age!

Nothing to do with either. Tablets & phones do it all for you and therefore there is no longer a need to think how to spell anything.

Thank goodness it is not only me. I sometimes look back at posts and realise that I have used the wrong Homophones which makes me cringe.