As a journalist, I'm very aware of the importance of spelling. We're talking Day One of Journalism 101 here. It's the first and foremost rule, especially with names. Misspell a name in this business, and you will hear about it. If it happens enough, it could cost you your job.
This week's On the Street was all about spelling. What better place to ask a spelling question than at the Catherine McAuley Adult Spelling Bee. We asked people if it was important to spell correctly, and why or why not.
I was a little worried that we wouldn't get enough variety for the answers. We were at a spelling bee, for crying out loud. Who's going to say no? Well, the first person I spoke with did, citing the popularity of spell-checker.
Everyone else said yes, it was important, and their reasoning was interesting. The most common reason was the impression that one can give off if he or she spells incorrectly. One guy took mercy on the spell-checker, saying it's important to spell well so the spell-checker doesn't have to work as hard.
I also got a kick out of the last guy I talked to. His team had made it deep into the spelling bee. I think they were in the top five out of 22 teams. He said it was important to spell well, because it can make or break how well you do at a spelling bee.
With computers now automatically changing most of the words I spell incorrectly, I'm not sure how proficient I am as a speller. We've become so used to it. I think it's safe to say that spell-checker hasn't made me a better speller. By now, I do get a little nervous when I type something official without a spell checker (such as this blog).
A high school girlfriend of mine was a spelling whiz. She always gave me a hard time about spelling, especially when I wrote her a letter. I always signed it "yours truely." If you don't see the error there, consult the dictionary. Give the ol' spell-checker a rest.