Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Spelin' not gud

That's a bit of an exaggeration, but I am not known for my spelling prowess. I find a bit of mis-spelling interesting, like a hidden gem in the sands of sameness.

Mark Twain seems to agree.

I don't see any use in having a uniform and arbitrary way of spelling words. We might as well make all clothes alike and cook all dishes alike. Sameness is tiresome; variety is pleasing. I have a correspondent whose letters are always a refreshment to me, there is such a breezy unfettered originality about his orthography. He always spells Kow with a large K. Now that is just as good as to spell it with a small one. It is better. It gives the imagination a broader field, a wider scope. It suggests to the mind a grand, vague, impressive new kind of a cow.


Some see bad spelling as stupidity, yet some of the smartest people I have met were horrible at it. I think the reason that I have a hard time with it is the memorization. Memorization is why I never got good grades in school. It bored me to the point of not caring and I just shut down. Math and science, where things have a reason behind them? I always did way better. But I digress...

This leads me to pronunciation. If we all talked the same, we'd be a bunch of boring robots.

Pronunciation is the spice of conversation. When I say 'milk', it rhymes with 'elk'. I say 'both' with an 'L'. Who the hell cares! Stuff like that makes people individuals, gives them an identity. It is an accent, it is fun.

However, I draw the line when it is forced. Lame.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

  © Blogger templates ProBlogger Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP