How do you spell words correctly?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of spelling words correctly, including how individuals learn to spell, the influence of language structure, and the cognitive processes involved in recognizing and recalling spellings. Participants explore various aspects of spelling in English and other languages, touching on personal experiences and observations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that recognizing words is a learning ability, with comparisons made to the human ability to recognize faces.
  • Others express frustration with the irregularities of English spelling, proposing alternative spellings for words based on phonetics.
  • A participant notes that spelling can be approached through learned rules and visual exposure to written words.
  • There are claims about the ability to spell unfamiliar words based on patterns and contextual clues, likening it to problem-solving skills in mathematics.
  • Several posts highlight the phenomenon of recognizing misspelled words when the first and last letters are in the correct places.
  • Some participants engage in playful banter about spelling and language, including historical references to spelling conventions.
  • Discussions about the evolution of spelling and its standardization are also present, with references to Middle English and etymology.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

The discussion features multiple competing views on how spelling is learned and the nature of language itself. There is no consensus on the best methods for remembering spellings or the inherent logic of English spelling.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the effectiveness of various spelling strategies and acknowledge the complexity of language learning. Some statements reflect personal experiences rather than established linguistic principles.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in linguistics, language learning, cognitive psychology, and those who struggle with spelling may find the insights shared in this discussion relevant.

wolram
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You note a word for the first time, how do you know how to spell it correctly?
and how do you remember all the correct spellings of words ?
 
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Dictionary. Also, after taking that spelling test, I obviously have no idea about how to remember to spell words correct :smile:
 
That's a good question, especially when having to spell in several languages. There is a phenomenon about recognising words which must be a learning ability since we only seem to write a few thousand years. This could be unlike another incredible human ability, recognising a million faces and still adding new faces to the database on a daily basis.

Or is writing a heritaged skill that we have been doing for ten thousands of years?

My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.

http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Dell/4500/quo_pooh.htm
 
Well for an instance, Once is sounded Wonce, and there are so many words
that sound the same, such as fair, there etc, the english language is stupid.
colour should be kulor.
 
Andre said:
That's a good question, especially when having to spell in several languages. There is a phenomenon about recognising words which must be a learning ability since we only seem to write a few thousand years. This could be unlike another incredible human ability, recognising a million faces and still adding new faces to the database on a daily basis.

Or is writing a heritaged skill that we have been doing for ten thousands of years?



http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Dell/4500/quo_pooh.htm
:smile: :smile: :smile:
 
the english language is stupid. colour should be kulor.

So why not spell "fish" like "ghoces"

gh as in laugh
o as in women
ces as in worcester
 
wolram said:
You note a word for the first time, how do you know how to spell it correctly?
and how do you remember all the correct spellings of words ?
There are rules that we are taught.

For example:

The non-word "fiturate" looks more reasonably spelled than a possible alternative spelling of this non-word, "fichuraight."

Partly because we are taught certain rules (i before e except after c) and partly due to visual exposure to so many written words.
 
I have never been able to explain how it is that I can spell a word I've never seen in writing before. There just seem to be basic patterns, that even more irregularly spelled words fit a pattern...something about the meaning or the rest of the word tells me that a ph might be used instead of an f.

I guess for people who can spell well, it's similar to someone who is very good at solving math problems...sometimes reaching the solution requires recognizing some patterns and having a good armamentarium of tips and tricks you've acquired through solving many other problems. Just as a math student will not be able to solve a novel problem if they have only memorized the solutions to the problems they have already seen and not learned problem solving skills, one cannot just approach spelling as memorization of known words if you need to spell words you may not have seen written before. In a way, it still is a problem solving skill, though not in the sense most people think of problem solving.
 
Anohter itnreertsing pehonemnon is taht rcegozinig what the wrod is spuopesd to be is not hrad wehn the frsit and lsat ltetres are in the croerct palecs.
 
  • #10
Moonbear said:
having a good armamentarium of tips and tricks you've acquired through solving many other problems.
?...
 
  • #11
pattylou said:
Anohter itnreertsing pehonemnon is taht rcegozinig what the wrod is spuopesd to be is not hrad wehn the frsit and lsat ltetres are in the croerct palecs.

Thats cool Pattylou. :biggrin:
 
  • #12
Danger said:
?...
I am not sure if that is good enough to get a warning Danger :smile:
 
  • #13
pattylou said:
Anohter itnreertsing pehonemnon is taht rcegozinig what the wrod is spuopesd to be is not hrad wehn the frsit and lsat ltetres are in the croerct palecs.
Ralley, peens?
I'm not so craiten.
 
  • #14
Danger said:
?...
acquired :smile: :smile: :smile: have a c

moonbear, and i thought i was i bad.

Please don't hit my button.
 
Last edited:
  • #15
wolram said:
acquired :smile: :smile: :smile: have a c

moonbear, and i thought i was i bad.

Please don't hit my button.

Now, even the loftiest may occasionally plummet, don't masticate them just because you get the chance to do so once in a century.
 
  • #16
Alluding to her age that way might earn a warning.:rolleyes:
 
  • #17
Insinuating she has made spelling mistakes prior in her life might get you banned..
 
  • #18
When you misspell a word, it usually looks strange and unfamiliar, that's why I usually realize which word I've misspelled, but unfortunately I don't know how to correct it sometimes!

Hey has patty spelled recognize correctly or it's something else? :confused:
 
  • #19
Andre said:
That's a good question, especially when having to spell in several languages. There is a phenomenon about recognising words which must be a learning ability since we only seem to write a few thousand years. This could be unlike another incredible human ability, recognising a million faces and still adding new faces to the database on a daily basis.

Or is writing a heritaged skill that we have been doing for ten thousands of years?



http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Dell/4500/quo_pooh.htm


That explains it then, i have 9950 yrs of catching up to do.
 
  • #20
wolram said:
i have 9950 yrs of catching up to do.
You mean that your birth certificate isn't etched on a clay tablet?:confused:
 
  • #21
Danger said:
You mean that your birth certificate isn't etched on a clay tablet?:confused:


Birth certificate ? I was found under a gooseberry bush.
 
  • #22
Better be careful; there's just something about that phrase that makes me think that it would excite Arildno.:-p
 
  • #23
Danger said:
Better be careful; there's just something about that phrase that makes me think that it would excite Arildno.:-p

Some times it is hard for me to understand some peoples thinking, but i
guess hairy critters brains work differently. :-p
 
  • #24
main bohot kum ghaltian karta hoon angraizi kay imlay mein halan ke meri pehli zaban angraizi hay hi nahin :smile:
 
  • #25
Thanks, cefarix!
You just blew out my spell checker.
 
  • #26
As spellyng ich a fairly recent innovation in termes of þe Englisch tonge, I tende to avoid it.
 
  • #27
jcsd said:
As spellyng ich a fairly recent innovation in termes of þe Englisch tonge, I tende to avoid it.
That should be "avvood", methinks.
 
  • #28
arildno said:
That should be "avvood", methinks.

I was trying to be clever by using common ways to spell words in the past before spelling was standardized. Unfortuntely I don't know how they spelt "avoid" in Middle English!
 
  • #29
I think they spelt it "eschew", jcsd.
 
  • #30
arildno said:
"eschew"
Gesundheit.

avoid

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English avoiden, from Anglo-Norman avoider, to empty out, variant of Old French esvuidier : es-, out (from Latin ex-; see ex–) + vuidier, to empty (from voide, empty; see void).

http://www.bartleby.com/61/96/A0549600.html
 
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