Bad handwriting, poor spelling-Uglyography

I found this word today and thought how perfect it would be to get back to Wordwright Wednesdays. I love some of these old, now defunct words as they may not be used any more but they are definitely still relevant in our lives. And today’s word is definitely still relevant.

Now, to be fair here, my favourite subject at school was always English, but I’m not a grammar nazi or a vocabulary snob. But I am a bit over seeing such poor spelling everywhere. Social media is full of examples of the reason why we rely too heavily (or not enough) on spell check. Some things will not be picked up by spell check, such as the correct use of to, too or two and to ‘know something’ as opposed to ‘no way is that the right word you meant in that sentence.’

And as for handwriting, well don’t get me started there. I look back over the handwriting of generations before me and it is beautiful cursive script which flows across a page like butterflies let loose from a cage. And then, there’s us! A generation stuck between cursive and printing who never quite got the memo as to which we should use. Is handwriting even relevant anymore with everything being so computer driven? Well, it may not be as important as being able to spell but I still think there should be a heavier emphasis on it.

I can barely read my own handwriting anymore and I hate that fact. I love reading words written in beautiful script. It is elegant and deliberate and I personally, think we should all write this way. On the flipside of the handwriting/printing debate, I wonder how many prescriptions have been filled out incorrectly due to the ineligible writing of doctors. I mean, I have rarely seen a doctor with good handwriting, though I did know one. So, I’m all for them printing scripts out, as there can be no wrong interpretation of their instruction then.

But let’s get back to spelling. Has anyone else noticed that since Hugh Grant had the infamous indiscretion with Devine Brown, that nowadays, everyone seems to spell divine as devine.. No people.. Write devine into Word and you’ll see the red squiggly line come up underneath it. Even as I’m writing it here, the red squiggles taunt me, telling me I’m wrong. (I already know it) Divine is just that. Two i’s, one e. Maybe Hugh isn’t to blame for the misspelled word but it seems that since that moment, the word is being spelled in the same way as his indiscretion’s name was spelled. Coincidence? I think not!

English is not an easy language, I get that, but it’s not impossible either and it is made even easier with the use of spell check. We all have some words that screw with our minds. Two of mine are vacuum and accommodation. Don’t ask me why, but I had to change them both as I just typed them. There are others too. So I’m not saying that we should all be perfect spellers, but I think it’s sad to see the deterioration of our written language. We have more resources than ever before and we are going backwards.

So, today Uglyography is my word of the week. It speaks for itself doesn’t it? If you type something today, look for the squiggly red lines to guide you.. And if you put pen to paper today, good on you. I really should do it more often and with greater care. They say practise makes perfect.

Happy writing….Livvy xxx