I've always thought that many of these misspellings had to do with the different ways that people aquire language. Those who learn words and phrases from reading them tend to be able to spell them. Sometimes it is quite obvious from reading someone's writing that they pick up their vocabulary and phrases aurally. This is especially true with idioms.

Or indeed orally.

Or possibly Aura Lee.

Aurally -- through hearing
Orally -- through speaking

It can get a bit confusing there!

Right, aurally, as in learning the language by hearing it.

Don't even get me started on how people say "verbal" contract when they mean "oral" contract to mean a contract not in writing. Written contracts are also "verbal," that is, using words.

My pet peeve is people saying "try AND" do something, rather than "try TO" do something. I even see in it newspaper reports, "Congrees will try and amend the bill . . ."

Well, duh! It's Congress, not Congrees. I'm my own worst enemy.

Jolie, I thought I was the only one who was distressed by "try and"! Well done!

Anselm

Pegontheroad, So would I!

<<and there's "loose" for "lose", "lead" for "led", "gaUntlet" for "gantlet" and 100 different ways to spell "itinerary".>>

and "alot" for "a lot", "alright" for "all right", "pour" for "pore", "gambit" for "gamut" and "everyday" for "every day", when "every" is modifying "day" as in "I go to work every day."
"Everyday" is a modifier when followed by a noun. "I do my everyday tasks in the evening."

However, I do think that many misspellings we see on the board are simply typos.

And anymore.

The one that really bugs me is confusing sodium lauryl sulfate with sodium laureth sulfate.

Only kidding.

What always amazes me is the number of otherwise good writers who don't seem to know the difference between lie and lay. Shame!

I don't see this here but on other boards, it is common to use "prolly" instead of "probably". What??? Why???

Insight vs In Site?

VS

Many native English speakers receive a very poor education in the language itself and are thus prone to mistakes. Others believe it is politically incorrect to speak or write correct English and deliberately make mistakes. Still others are reckless because they do not believe that correct grammar and spelling are important to communication. There are many reasons why people write poorly.

&quot;Prolly&quot; is an imitation of a mispronunciation of <i>probably</i> that is common in some substandard dialects.

Fast typing is not an excuse for any of this. Typing quickly does not prevent one from typing correct English; properly spelled words are no more difficult to type than improperly spelled words, and properly constructed sentences are not necessarily any longer than improperly constructed sentences.

&quot;properly spelled words are no more difficult to type than improperly spelled words&quot;

HUH? This would seem to suggest that when someone makes a typo he did it on purpose. Sure it is just as easy to type their as there or just as easy to type Europe as Euorpe, but typos are typos. They are done by accident. Some of us type faster than we think. If I were typing an application for a job it would be one thing to take time to check and recheck, but some of us really don't think it's all that important if we happen to make a slight mistake when asking about how to catch a train in Italy.
A couple of my most common typos -- thing for think and that for than. Clearly I know the difference -- but please forgive me for making a mistake every now and again. My hat is off to those who have never made such mistakes or who take the necessary time to proofread a couple of times to make absolutely sure they never made a single error.

I think there should be a limit to the grammar police on an informal internet site like this.

As the worse typist of all I say Amen Neopolitan! What bothers me is the posters that are mean and rude. And it does not matter to me if their spelling, sentence structure etc. is perfect. Boorish, rude and impolite posters push my button. But generally I just ignore them as life is to short to respond and they will probably never change their ways.

A typo is an error that results from pressing the wrong key on a keyboard through a lack of coordination. Most of the errors that people call &quot;typos&quot; are not typos at all, but are errors in grammar or spelling, or sometimes the result of confusion.

Typing think instead of thing is not a typo; the keys involved are nowhere near each other. It's the result of mental confusion. Of course, everyone can get confused when typing quickly, but that doesn't make their errors typos.

More serious are errors that truly reflect a lack of competence in the language, as these represent an inability to communicate effectively. They are the result of a lack of knowledge, not typos or mere temporary confusion.

The old saw about grammar and spelling not being important as long as one communicates is fundamentally flawed, in that efficient and accurate communication is only possible when grammar and spelling rules are followed closely. Every error results in some loss of information, and some degree of misunderstanding. You cannot have your cake and eat it too: if you want to communicate effectively, you must follow the rules. If you do not follow the rules, you will be misunderstood, possibly to such an extent that your objectives will not be accomplished.

This is all the more important when all the users of a language are not native speakers. If you use incorrect English or slang when speaking to non-native speakers of English abroad, they may dramatically misunderstand you, with unfortunate results. Non-native speakers who haven't achieved native fluency (that is to say, the majority of non-native speakers) depend on you following all the rules; if you are too lazy or uninformed to do this, you <i>will</i> be misunderstood. Sometimes the consequences of the misunderstanding become obvious only long after it is too late to correct them.

Actually you can have your cake and eat it too. But you cannot eat your cake and have it too.