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Bad spelling 'should be accepted' Bad spelling 'should be accepted'
(41 minutes later)
Common spelling mistakes should be accepted into everyday use, not corrected, a professor has said.Common spelling mistakes should be accepted into everyday use, not corrected, a professor has said.
Ken Smith says the most common spelling mistakes should simply be accepted as "variant spellings".Ken Smith says the most common spelling mistakes should simply be accepted as "variant spellings".
He lists the 10 most commonly misspelt words, which include "arguement" for "argument" and "twelth" for "twelfth".He lists the 10 most commonly misspelt words, which include "arguement" for "argument" and "twelth" for "twelfth".
The professor says his proposal, outlined in an article in the Times Higher Education Supplement, follows years of correcting the same mistakes.The professor says his proposal, outlined in an article in the Times Higher Education Supplement, follows years of correcting the same mistakes.
Why can't 'truely' be accepted as a variant spelling of 'truly'? Ken Smith
Mr Smith, a criminology lecturer at Bucks New University in High Wycombe, listed the 10 words most commonly spelled wrongly by his students.Mr Smith, a criminology lecturer at Bucks New University in High Wycombe, listed the 10 words most commonly spelled wrongly by his students.
He said: "Instead of complaining about the state of the education system as we correct the same mistakes year after year, I've got a better idea.He said: "Instead of complaining about the state of the education system as we correct the same mistakes year after year, I've got a better idea.
Why can't 'truely' be accepted as a variant spelling of 'truly'? Ken Smith
"University teachers should simply accept as variant spellings those words our students most commonly misspell."University teachers should simply accept as variant spellings those words our students most commonly misspell.
"The spelling of the word 'judgement', for example, is now widely accepted as a variant of 'judgment', so why can't 'truely' be accepted as a variant spelling of 'truly'?" class="lp" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/default.stm">HAVE YOUR SAY"Mediaeval" and "Medieval" - both correct, but many people consider the latter to be the dumbed-down American spelling.Mahatma, Stirling class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=5211&edition=1&ttl=20080807143337">Send us your comments"The spelling of the word 'judgement', for example, is now widely accepted as a variant of 'judgment', so why can't 'truely' be accepted as a variant spelling of 'truly'?"
Mr Smith also suggested adding the word "misspelt" to the list and all those that break the "i before e" rule - weird, seize, neighbour and foreign.Mr Smith also suggested adding the word "misspelt" to the list and all those that break the "i before e" rule - weird, seize, neighbour and foreign.
The professor said he was not asking people to learn to spell words differently.The professor said he was not asking people to learn to spell words differently.
"All I am suggesting is that we might well put 20 or so of the most commonly misspelt words in the English language on the same footing as those other words that have a widely accepted variant spelling," he added."All I am suggesting is that we might well put 20 or so of the most commonly misspelt words in the English language on the same footing as those other words that have a widely accepted variant spelling," he added.