David's World

October 4, 2005

English Spelling Nazi

Once I've become rich, I will donate a lot of money to a good cause. The good cause of the week is the (imaginary) "Spelling Foundation Ireland". Someone needs to tell people who put big letters on signs on busses and in airports that "Please insure you have a valid ticket" should give up an 'i' and add an 'e'. They should write "airport by-laws" when they prohibit passengers to step down on the tarmac, not "bye-laws" (bye-bye!). PS.: A reader points out, that bye-law is a correct alternative. He is right. Language is illogical.

Honestly: grammar Nazis aren't what the world needs, and I find spelling utterly unimportant. In my view, the documentary Spellbound exposed a ridiculous amount of iditotic überachievement in a completely unhelpful category of human ability.

But the bottom line is: knowing and adhering to conventions (and that's what spelling is all about) helps us communicate. It's easier to read: you don't get that itchy feeling in the back of your head.

As some of my Irish friends would put it: "For fuck's sake, John, laarrrrrn to spell before you put up any more soigns, will you?"

You would probably enjoy the book _Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation_.
Don't wait until you're rich, carry a red marker and practice vigilante emendation.

I'm afraid you are wrong: "Bye-law" is an absolutely correct spelling! (But "by-law" is correct, too.)