How well can you spell?
Exploring English by KEITH WRIGHT
Writing is easy once you have mastered the art of spelling words correctly.
REGARDLESS
of how interesting the subject or substance of an article is or how
well written it is in terms of sequence and style, its positive impact
on a reader can be negated if it is pitted with spelling errors.
Having
access to spell-checking devices and computerised automatic spelling
correctors are modern blessings for today’s writers but for those
communicating in English, it is still a must that they have the
appropriate spelling skills.
In recent decades, the spelling proficiency has deteriorated.
While
the expansion of American spelling via the Internet has had an impact
and the spread of using SMS continues to have serious negative
consequences, being able to spell correctly has long been a problem for
many individuals.
Down Under
A few years ago, a
media outlet in Australia conducted a survey-cum-spelling test of 100
teachers. They were asked to spell 100 words.
The outcome was
that not one teacher could spell all of the 100 words correctly. Only a
handful achieved above 90 and embarrassingly for the Australian
education system, the majority scored less than 80 — some as low as 60.
Again
through research in Australia, it was found that the average adult used
around 15,000 different words when speaking during their whole
lifetime.
In contrast, only 5,000 different words were used for the written purpose.
The
reason for the difference was that while people knew how to say
particular words, they did not necessarily know how to spell them
correctly.
Therefore, they refrained from writing words they couldn’t spell, especially if their error may be seen by someone else.
They also sometimes used an alternative, “lesser” word they did know how to spell.
This “lesser word” strategy is a common practice when a person is confronted with spelling a difficult word.
While
someone might say that “the patient had pneumonia”, when it comes to
writing and they are unsure of the spelling, they might write instead
that “the patient was very ill”.
Instead of “haemorrhage”,
“bleed” is written. Instead of “correspondence”, “letter” is used.
Instead of “accommodation”, “room” is opted for and so on.
It is a
human characteristic that when it comes to writing something that is
“evidential”, ie., it can be read later by others, we do not like to be
wrong.
Contributing factors
Spelling problems arise because of six main factors:
(i) The words have been borrowed from other languages: chateau, repertoire, naïve, debut, chassis.
(ii) The words are homophonic: council — counsel, weather — whether — wether, way — weigh — whey.
(iii) The words contain silent symbols: subtle, column, aisle, neutron, hymn, baulk, mortgage, quartz.
(iv) The words are pluralised forms: radius > radii, volcano > volcanoes, pony > ponies, duty > duties.
(v) The words are wrongly pronounced: approach > aproch, estimation > estermashun, mirror > mirro.
(vi) The words are difficult and it cannot be remembered how they should be spelt: archaeologist.
While
each of the six factors above contribute to the spelling problem
experienced by individuals to varying degrees, the main reason why so
many people have problems with spelling is because they have to rely on
their memory as to how a word should be spelt.
The issue of
memory again comes to the fore unless the more difficult words one
encounters and has to deal with are constantly or repeatedly used in
writing.
If not, it seems that the memory capacity of many people is inadequate to perform the spelling task required.
Practice makes perfect
Rote
learning is often criticised but it is an old adage that if you say a
person’s name five times, you will never forget who they are — and if
you write a word five times, you will always spell it correctly.
While
repetition can be used as a learning tool, there is another solution to
the problem of poor spelling that can significantly aid the memory
retention process, that is, to learn why words are spelt the way they
are.
Just as one can learn why a word is pronounced the way it
is, so too are there effective, proven, traditional, historic mnemonic
rules or keys to understanding spelling.
Unfortunately, it is rare for an education system to teach “Why words are spelt the way they are” as the 4S methodology does.
In
the 4S Spelling Guide, the impact of homophonic words, silent symbols,
plurals and contractions on spelling proficiency is also discussed.
The
Mnemonic Keys to Understanding considered in The Spelling Guide include
rules that apply to “l” words such as “Double ‘l’ syllables are never
followed by a consonant”, eg. pillow, bullet, jelly.
Other rules include:
·“Multi-syllabic words end in a single ‘l’ syllable”, eg. tunnel, peaceful, signal.
·“Only single words with a regular, short vowel, double the final ‘l’ syllable”, eg. will, bell, doll, skull.
Other
keys deal with common spelling problems such as whether to use a “k” or
“c” — “ance” or “ence” — “able” or “ible” — “ie” or “ei” and many other
common spelling traps.
In the next Exploring English column,
consideration will be given to the importance of business writing. n
Keith Wright is the author and creator of the 4S Approach To Literacy
and Language (4S) — a modern, innovative and proven method of
accelerating the learning of English.
The 4S methodology and the
associated Accelerated English Programme (AEP) mentioned in this
fortnightly column are now being used internationally to enhance the
English proficiency of people with different competency levels.
The Star online
Sunday June 23 2013.
