Why spelling and punctuation matter

I had a good laugh at these, from this article

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Spelling and grammar is generally not good these days. Most people do not read much anymore and so they spell things as they have heard them said on television or in movies. And when teachers in school have poor knowledge of grammar and spelling, the problem is compounded.

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Another problem is that there are fewer subeditors these days on print editions, and seemingly none on online editions. This goes for Kindle books as well. The spelling and grammar there is atrocious. When I read a book, I expect the author to be a better writer than I am!

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From working in journalism myself, I know that many journalists can paint beautiful pictures with their prose, and wax lyrical about the most esoteric of subjects. But they very often cannot spell or use grammar very well. This is where subeditors came in. They turned texts into something more beautiful.

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But on the bright side, howlers like these do brighten my day.

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Author: Janet Carr

Fashion, beauty and animal loving language consultant from South Africa living in Stockholm, Sweden.

One thought

  1. My late partner was a sub-editor on “The Times”. He would have agreed with you totally, as I do. I loved Ann Patchett’s comment. Thanks for giving me a giggle over my morning coffee.

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