Uruguayan English Ads

These are two ads I saw for English Classes in Montevideo, Uruguay. I love how they use the vos (like the tú form, but used mostly in Argentina, Uruguay and El Salvador...not sure where else) form of the command venir= to come. ¡VENÍ!

Technology and Language: Spell Check

First, a poem from "Candidate for a Pullet Surprise," The Journal of Irreproducible Results:

I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles to reed,
And aides me when aye rime.
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should bee proud,
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.


What really is spell check? That spell check actually checks your spelling is a misnomer, because when you run spell check on your computer, you are asking it to compare the words you have typed to the computer's internal dictionary. That means if a word is not in the computer's dictionary, such as places, last names, and unique first names (like our own Miyaunna) the computer will consider it misspelled, even though it is correct. My last name is considered spelled incorrectly on OpenOffice.org (running on my Linux computer). Suggestions for correct spelling include Shortener, Softener, Schooner, and my favorite, Shotgunner. However, as I am just noticing, on Windows XP/Mozilla Firefox/Blogger, Shortener and Shotgunner are spelled "incorrectly."

As with the poem above, it is apparent that spell check does not check content. Using an incorrect word (due for do, sew for so, knot for not and so on), will escape the notice of a spell checker - like when I meant to type ganging up and typed gaining up instead, and didn't realize it until Kyle so "graciously" pointed it out. Being able to check grammar in a word processing document may be one way to make sure that your grammar is correct, but it is not fail-proof, just as spell check is not. Computers do not think for themselves - they have been programmed to process information in a specific way. Grammar and spelling are not always cut and dry - consider Kyle's post about a vs an, and how under different circumstances, both an historic and a historic can be correct. Grammar evolves, new words are born, and computers may not have this updated knowledge. There is no substitute for human proof-reading - whether we realize it or not, we instinctively know more about own language than a computer does.

With all the negatives of spell check out of the way, I will say that used with the correct frame of mind, spell check can be very beneficial. As Miyaunna said in her comment about the poll results for what kind of influence you think spell check has had on our knowledge of language, spell check keeps her on her toes. When you are already a decent speller, spell check serves more as a time saver to clue you in if you have misspelled a word, or if, as it happens to me often, typing too fast causes you to mix up letters within a word. And spell check also allows you to see how a word should be spelled, which can help you with spelling in the future as long as you learn from your mistakes (as opposed to just letting the spell check correct your spelling without bothering to learn the correct spelling).

Spell check has had an influence on language - whether it is perceived as negative or positive is debatable depending on how you view the situation. Could you imagine a world without spell check? How would it affect you?

Word Buzz Friday

Hello all. Since Sara is currently on vacation in Montevideo, you get me. I'm a poor substitute, but bear with me and I'm sure you'll survive.

For last week's word buzz, Sara featured snarf, a word which I thought sounded like a combination of sneeze and barf. Coincidentally, my linguistics assignment for the week was to read a chapter on language processing, in which word blends were covered. Have you ever tried to say two words at once and it came out mushed together? I know I have. Those mushed up words are called blends. One fine example of a blend? Spanglish.

Here are my two favorite blend words, both of which I mangled all on my own:

Rememory: a combination of recall and memory. Example: "I would do better on my tests if I had good rememory, because those cheat sheets are hard to recall with my poor memory."

Dipsy: a combination of ditsy and tipsy. And yes, I was dipsy when I came up with this word.

What are some word blends that you know of, or have come up with?

Comic Strip Thursday

Even though Tasha is on her spring break and won't be posting a comic of her own, I thought it would be nice to still have a comic this week. And since I am not a drawer, I found an old Pearls Before Swine comic for your enjoyment.

(click to view the entire comic)

Poll Number 5 Results

What kind of influence has spell check had on our knowledge of language?

4 people said positive influence.
1 person said neutral or no influence.
1 person said negative influence.

I was the lone dissenter who chose negative influence. Even though spell-check has made our lives easier, I think it has actually decreased our knowledge of language. With spell-checker, we don't have to bother with learning how to spell words and we spend less time reflecting on our word choice, because we think that the spell-checker will catch our errors. I believe this is negatively influencing our knowledge of language.

Which influence did you choose, and why?

Word Buzz Friday

I was writing something last week on Twitter, I believe, when I used the word snarf without thinking. Amanda responded that she liked the sound of it. What did it mean? I replied that it must mean throw up or vomit, because that's the only context I've ever heard it used in. She twittered back that it looks like sneeze + barf= snarf. Genius!

Then, I did some research and found this. However, if you are like me, you rarely ever click on links. So the best of the definitions is here:

snarf

/snarf/ 1. To grab, especially to grab a large document or
file for the purpose of using it with or without the author's
permission.

See also BLT.

2. (Unix) To fetch a file or set of files across a network.

See also blast.

3. To acquire, with little concern for legal forms or
politesse (but not quite by stealing). "They were giving away
samples, so I snarfed a bunch of them."

4. Synonym for slurp. "This program starts by snarfing the
entire database into core."

5. (GEnie) To spray food or programming fluids due to
laughing at the wrong moment. This sense appears to be
widespread among mundane teenagers - ESR.

6. This term was mainstream in the late 1960s, meaning "to eat
piggishly". It may still have this connotation in context.

7. A creature on the Thundercats, fond of eating, usually
covertly.

Who knew that snarf had sooo many meanings???

A quick anecdote!

First of all, I apologize for not posting a comic last week - I had a nasty cold. That and homework means no comic this week, and two weeks of spring break wandering through Europe means I'm putting my weekly post on hiatus until late April - I know, I just started this thing! What am I thinking? I hope to come back with plenty of fresh ideas to amuse you with.

Now it's story time...
I know I've mentioned in my comic how often my accent is misconstrued - I blame it on living so many places that I'm not sure how I'm supposed to sound anymore. Even talking with other Americans I'm told I sound Canadian. I don't mind, I'm even considering going there for grad school. So I've gotten to the point where I go somewhere with English speakers and expect it.

So what do I most definitely not expect? Well, that would be the things that a cold apparently does to my voice. I was slightly sick two weekends ago when I went to Edinburgh - wasn't about to cancel the tickets! So whilst wandering about the city, I stopped in a coffee shop to kill time and warm up, ordering my black coffee and chatting with the barista as he pours it.
"So, what brings you here from Australia?"


By the by, I may still be updating my travel blog so feel free to check it out.