Typo Errors

Timbuck

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I've ntocied a lot of "Tpyo errros" letaly on tihs froum is it jsut me taht finds them anoynonig ?.... does anbyody ever raed waht they hvae just worte or do a splel cechk. :)
 
If they are using a smartphone, and if not auto-correct errors, or fumbling on the screen of a tiny phone, maybe those posts were made from a proper computer while under the influence of ethanol or other ingested substances (whether medical or recreational use).

Using the tiny keyboard on the touchscreen of my phone is a true test of my patience, both with the key-targets being too small, and the auto-correct fighting me, and sometimes I just let it go as it is with the wrong-but-corrected-words, and hit send due to extreme frustration. I do not use the voice-to-text feature for privacy reasons.

However, if I am using the computer, there is an always-on spell-check that shows red squiggly lines under any word it that it thinks is misspelled, and I try to correct that before hitting send. Maybe lots of people do not know of this feature?

Oddly enough, many computer tech-jargon words will have these red squiggly lines, which in those cases I have to ignore them. So the spell-check is imperfect at best...
 
The spell check with its red squiggly lines is a help, but also an annoyance, to those of us who aspire to use English spelling. American spelling is significantly different and often I'm not sure if I've really made a mistake, or if the computer just wants me to conform to American ways. It's getting so that I use a mixture of both, and am ceasing to care!

John Colter.
 
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My sperm check a is reeled good art fisting things I typo in wrong.

On a more serious note, as a gentleman of a certain age I reserve the right to engage "grumpy old git" mode and "post before check", or even "post before think" modes at a moment's notice. I also recognise that others are within their rights to do likewise, even if I am the target of said grumpiness. I can only apologise if I am the cause.
 
That's OK, Titch - you're Australian. We'll make allowances.

John Colter.
 
As an ex-teacher I still find myself mentally correcting everything I read.
I used to get a bit annoyed about spelling errors and poor grammar and redundant or missing apostrophes and ......and ......
Now I try to get over these things to make my life a more relaxed place.
Very soon I shall try to get over 12 year old newsreaders using the wrong words, poor phrasing and mispronouncing words they don't understand. My wife assures me they can't hear, no matter how loudly I correct them.
Instead I will try to systematically remove the errors in my uke building
Miguel
 
"to systematically remove"

Hey, you split an infinitive! That is only allowed on Star Trek.:)

John Colter.
 
Thank you, John. I realised as I was typing that I was committing what some would consider a crime against the English language. As a student, I would get points deducted for split infinitives. As a teacher, I warned pupils against splitting the infinitive. As an aspiring luthier, I don't give a rat's .... any more.

Wikipedia states "In the 19th century, some linguistic prescriptivists sought to introduce a prescriptive rule against the split infinitive. The construction is to some extent still the subject of disagreement, but modern English usage guides have dropped the objection to it."

Miguel
 
"I don't give a rat's .... any more"

Me neither, Miguel. Just yanking your chain!

JC.
 
I don't mind the typos too much as long as they're not obfuscating the meaning the poster is trying to get across. My brain is used to autocorrecting whatever it reads anyway, if it's not too busy misreading what's actually there in the first place. I have a lot of friends who have some form of dyslexia or for whom English is not their first language, and I know it's hard for them. Besides, my foreign language friends put up with me butchering their native language, so who am I to complain?
 
It should be, "I don't give a rat's ... anymore" with three dots rather than four because "ass" only has three letters. I just thought I should point this out for the purposes of grammatical clarity.

Unless he meant 'arse'.
 
An ass is a type of equine quadruped, or to the British, a foolish or stupid person.

John Colter.
 
Infinitives, prescriptivists ??...That's the first time I've ever come across those words ...Too late now to find a use for e'm I suppose. I should have stayed at school longer instead of going into the factory.
 
You can always learn something on UU and for me that’s been the case with this thread. I’m not sure what I’ll do with either the split infinitive or ellipsis information, but sooner or later all education has value?

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/exercises/grammar/grammar_tutorial/page_28.htm

Split infinitives.

The infinitive of a verb is the form given in the dictionary where no specific subject is indicated. In English it is always characterised by the word 'to':

e.g. to work, to pay, to eat, to find, to inhabit, to bribe...
A 'split infinitive' occurs when the 'to' is separated from its verb by other words. The most famous split infinitive comes at the beginning of every episode of Star Trek, when the crew's continuing mission is announced as: "to boldly go" (rather than "to go boldly").

The dots thing several posts above might be new to some people too. Here’s one meaning of an ellipsis.

https://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/ellipses.asp

An ellipsis (plural: ellipses) is a punctuation mark consisting of three dots.

Use an ellipsis when omitting a word, phrase, line, paragraph, or more from a quoted passage. Ellipses save space or remove material that is less relevant. They are useful in getting right to the point without delay or distraction:

Full quotation: "Today, after hours of careful thought, we vetoed the bill."

With ellipsis: "Today … we vetoed the bill."
 
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It's wonderful to be in such erudite company.
And thanks, Pete, for reminding us what we should be focusing on.
Oh dear, I finished the previous sentence with a preposition. :(
Miguel
 
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