Wordsmiths

“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” – Rudyard Kipling

“Communication is often difficult under the best of circumstances, and poor spelling compounds the problem.” – Virginia Ann Davis (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Disregard for proper spelling lowers standards. There is a lot to learn in the world, and language should form a solid base for that learning.” – Tricia Dee (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“If somebody can't be bothered to spell correctly, can they be bothered to get the information correct?” – Paul Russell (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Incorrect spelling is an indication of lack of education at best; at worst, just sloppiness.” – James F. Balderson, USA (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“In this competitive world, spelling does matter.” – M. Graham (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“As a truly bad speller myself, I have to say that spelling matters. It affects every part of my life. I am unable to write even the shortest note to anyone except close friends without a rough draft and a good dictionary.

Sometimes I can't even use the words I want because I have no idea how to spell them. In this computer age, spelling really matters. If you can't spell it, you can't find it.” – Ruth Gavin, Brit in the USA (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“A reader for whom English is a second language can find a word in a dictionary only if the spelling is standard. It is very insular to think that free expression is more important than adherence to orthographic rules. English is not our private domain, it belongs to the world.” – Andy Cook, France (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“If standardised spellings seem to be too straight-jacketing for ‘creativity’, think of what Orwell once said: ‘First you learns the rules; then you breaks them’. So there cannot be any running away from learning the rules for a social and technologically dependent species such as ours.” – Vithal C. Nadkarni, India (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Incorrect spelling often obscures the meaning of what is being said and even when the meaning is still clear, the impact is reduced because the person reading it is paying more attention to the physical construction of the phrase than the content.” – Gordon Mullan, England (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Misspelling casts doubt in the reader's mind on the value of the message. The reader equates good English with clear thinking.” – Asad Abidi, USA (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Spelling DOES matter. Spelling mistakes give the impression that the writer is uneducated. This is especially important when applying for a job. Mistakes in a resumé put off potential employers.

In this day and age, when a computer spell-check program can be used, spelling mistakes are unforgivable, and can only be put down to a lack of basic knowledge (of spelling) or carelessness.” – Mal Lansell, USA (but I am British!) (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Language exists as a means of transferring information, whether it is tax data or a sonnet. It cannot do this job if the communicating parties cannot agree on grammar, syntax or spelling.” – Louis Finegan, Ireland (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“I memorise English words by both spelling and pronunciation. If I find a word misspelt, I may think the word is a different word. I believe many English learners have the same way to remember English words as I do.” – Iwan Effendi, Indonesia (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Certainly, proper spelling matters. Our impressions of others are formed largely by the way they communicate. Those who misspell or make serious errors in grammar are judged, usually with some accuracy, to have similarly sloppy habits of thought.” – David Towne, USA (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“Poor spelling creates the impression of a sloppy, imprecise attitude, which will undermine confidence in the meaning of the text. It gives the impression of hurried, poorly thought-through work; of an indisciplined, sloppy mind; and of a lazy and uncaring attitude. It is not unreasonable for the reader to conclude this, because poor spelling is often to be found in poor work.” – George Kendall, UK (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“A word that is misspelt stands out from a sentence like a yellow sunflower in a field of red roses.“ – Naidu Buyyala, USA (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)

“The sounds of a language are like the notes in a musical score. Change the notes and you lose the beauty of the original composition.” – Marcial Losada, USA (participant in a BBC Talking Point reader survey)