I have always been pretty good at spelling, but I have found that repeated exposure to poor spelling, grammar and usage has had a debilitating effect on my own. I have seen the wrong version of complimentary/complementary so many times that now I am unsure of the correct one; I keep typing their when I mean they're or there; I now have no idea how to spell broccoli. I believe the way you pick up language is through exposure - reading lots of well-edited books and articles, listening to lots of well crafted speech, practising correct usage and being corrected by your teachers when you are wrong. It doesn't help your learning when there are so many inconsistencies that you are exposed to. We do have different expectations of the quality of writing eg the standard is more loose for online chats, verbal communication and personal emails vs business emails, job applications, essays and articles. But unless standards are maintained somewhere, others won't be able to refer to those to derive the standards. I think people responsible for advertisements and signage have a lot to answer for. If I got a sign made and it had a spelling mistake, I'd certainly do something about it. But no, I have seen signs for a chirpractor, and a bicylce shop. You would really think they'd care. I have had to buy stationary and walked down many a confectionary aisle of the supermarket. There are occasions where proof reading is just essential. I have just been marking some essays which told me about unstainable ecosystems, that people are permitted from fishing in a marine reserve, and that we should be concerned about the pollution size of fish due to overfishing. Other pet peeves: finding mistakes that even a spell check would have picked them up in printed material; ect; opps instead of oops (just say opps out loud, people!); should of, could of and would of; when people respond poorly to being corrected or claim that they don't care or it doesn't matter. Sure, languages change and evolve. But just because lots of people drive too fast, steal, or beat their kids, it will never make it right.
I believe the way you pick up language is through exposure - reading lots of well-edited books and articles, listening to lots of well crafted speech, practising correct usage and being corrected by your teachers when you are wrong. It doesn't help your learning when there are so many inconsistencies that you are exposed to.
We do have different expectations of the quality of writing eg the standard is more loose for online chats, verbal communication and personal emails vs business emails, job applications, essays and articles. But unless standards are maintained somewhere, others won't be able to refer to those to derive the standards.
I think people responsible for advertisements and signage have a lot to answer for. If I got a sign made and it had a spelling mistake, I'd certainly do something about it. But no, I have seen signs for a chirpractor, and a bicylce shop. You would really think they'd care. I have had to buy stationary and walked down many a confectionary aisle of the supermarket.
There are occasions where proof reading is just essential. I have just been marking some essays which told me about unstainable ecosystems, that people are permitted from fishing in a marine reserve, and that we should be concerned about the pollution size of fish due to overfishing.
Other pet peeves: finding mistakes that even a spell check would have picked them up in printed material; ect; opps instead of oops (just say opps out loud, people!); should of, could of and would of; when people respond poorly to being corrected or claim that they don't care or it doesn't matter.
Sure, languages change and evolve. But just because lots of people drive too fast, steal, or beat their kids, it will never make it right.