Hum Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 An online entrepreneur says that poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses. Charles Duncombe says an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half. Mr Duncombe says when recruiting staff he has been "shocked at the poor quality of written English". Sales figures suggest misspellings put off consumers who could have concerns about a website's credibility, he says. The concerns were echoed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), whose head of education and skills warned that too many employers were having to invest in remedial literacy lessons for their staff. Mr Duncombe, who runs travel, mobile phones and clothing websites, says that poor spelling is a serious problem for the online economy. "Often these cutting-edge companies depend upon old-fashioned skills," says Mr Duncombe. And he says that the struggle to recruit enough staff who can spell means that this sector of the economy is not as efficient as it might be. Figures from the Office for National Statistics published last month showed internet sales in the UK running at ?527m per week. more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
articuno1au Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I can vouch for this. I won't touch a site with spelling mistakes on it :\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadEndAccount Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Anyone remember having spelling tests every week - competitions in the class who could get the most right x number of weeks in a row? tell anyone under 18 these days and they'll think you're pulling their leg. Yes back in my days we used to have spelling tests, reading comprehension exercises (read a book then answer a set of questions afterwards) plus basic language concepts such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, proper nouns, adjectives etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firey Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Anyone remember having spelling tests every week - competitions in the class who could get the most right x number of weeks in a row? tell anyone under 18 these days and they'll think you're pulling their leg. Yes back in my days we used to have spelling tests, reading comprehension exercises (read a book then answer a set of questions afterwards) plus basic language concepts such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, proper nouns, adjectives etc. I remember these, I don't know about other countries, but we had/have grade 3 and grade 6 testing. Then in grade 10 we had to do a literacy exam, you couldn't graduate high school unless you got (I think 75%) on the literacy thing. I mean, I haven't been in grade 10 in nearly 7 years so it may have changed.. but still Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Veteran Posted July 15, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 15, 2011 Anyone remember having spelling tests every week - competitions in the class who could get the most right x number of weeks in a row? tell anyone under 18 these days and they'll think you're pulling their leg. Yes back in my days we used to have spelling tests, reading comprehension exercises (read a book then answer a set of questions afterwards) plus basic language concepts such as nouns, verbs, adverbs, proper nouns, adjectives etc. Wait, they don't do that anymore? O_o No wonder spelling is so atrocious these days! I wondered. Yes, I won't order from a website with spelling mistakes either, and I used to have a small side business doing editing for people. Spelling and grammatical errors tend to "jump out" at me, I guess because I did well with those lessons in school and I value the written word. It kills me when I see a billboard or sign outside a business with mistakes like that! Couldn't possibly spend my money there, and yet most people don't seem to notice or care =/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted July 15, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 15, 2011 I don't mind typos but blatant spelling errors and poor grammar push me away from most sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farstrider Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I can vouch for this. I won't touch a site with spelling mistakes on it :\ Agreed, sites like this are, quite simply put, unprofessional! I don't mind typos but blatant spelling errors and poor grammar push me away from most sites. Once again, I totally agree with this sentiment! That said, even typographical errors are basically spelling errors and 99% of them should be filtered out by a simple proof reading process. Most programs, from web browsers to word processing programs, have spell checkers! At the end of the day you are being unobservant, lazy and unprofessional by allowing errors to appear on business sites! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted July 15, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 15, 2011 Wait, they don't do that anymore? O_o No wonder spelling is so atrocious these days! I wondered. Yes, I won't order from a website with spelling mistakes either, and I used to have a small side business doing editing for people. Spelling and grammatical errors tend to "jump out" at me, I guess because I did well with those lessons in school and I value the written word. It kills me when I see a billboard or sign outside a business with mistakes like that! Couldn't possibly spend my money there, and yet most people don't seem to notice or care =/ I know for a fact they have spelling tests weekly in our schools locally all the way through high school... have one week to know how to spell 10 words (elementary until grade 3) 20 words (elementary until grade 6) 25 words middle school until grade 9, and 30 words by 12th grade per week, increasing in difficulty as you get older Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
draklin Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Wait, they don't do that anymore? O_o No wonder spelling is so atrocious these days! I wondered. Yes, I won't order from a website with spelling mistakes either, and I used to have a small side business doing editing for people. Spelling and grammatical errors tend to "jump out" at me, I guess because I did well with those lessons in school and I value the written word. It kills me when I see a billboard or sign outside a business with mistakes like that! Couldn't possibly spend my money there, and yet most people don't seem to notice or care =/ My father was like that as well. He was a journalism professor and he couldn't read the major news paper because he always saw too many mistakes and it annoyed him to no end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v1ewer Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 thatz eczactley wy i dount reed forrums lycke thiz 1 :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlcaulley Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 When I tell a kid a certain word is misused, he just says, "Well Word didn't correct it!" Like it's Microsoft Word's job to make you look smart. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiHu Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 can sum1 plz tell me wut dis post is about? I dnt undrstnd. plz explain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirEvan Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 can sum1 plz tell me wut dis post is about? I dnt undrstnd. plz explain u fergot "k thnx bai" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted July 15, 2011 Subscriber² Share Posted July 15, 2011 can sum1 plz tell me wut dis post is about? I dnt undrstnd. plz explain /me slaps da00 Don't. Just don't. Every time you type like this the FSM kills a kitten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiHu Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 /me slaps da00 Don't. Just don't. Every time you type like this the FSM kills a kitten. but im only using de inglish skillz i lrnd in skewl. plz, no hate. dnt c y. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted July 15, 2011 Subscriber² Share Posted July 15, 2011 but im only using de inglish skillz i lrnd in skewl. plz, no hate. dnt c y. Argh. Stop or I'm going to ask the Regular Ordinary Swedish Mealtime guy to feed you mayonnaise until you burst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiHu Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Mmmm.. Mayonnaise.. Is it Man-Mayo, Meph? Id gladly take the 8 hour train ride up to them for that ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detection Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Considering the majority of text applications have the ability to spell check, there really is no excuse for spelling mistakes, especially when they are underlined in red Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solid Knight Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 We communicate in textual form more than we ever have before and it exposes people's poor writing skills (or inattentiveness). I know a lot of people like to blame the younger generation but the reality is that the older generations (middle-aged and older) can't type, spell, or write worth a damn either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Veteran Posted July 15, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 15, 2011 Relying on spell-check is still being lazy, though. That's why we have brains!! Besides, it's not always just spelling errors alone. One example I saw just the other day is on uniqueskins.com, where I was browsing for pretty skins for my phone. They had a page full of mistakes--words that were spelled correctly, but weren't the correct word. My favourite was the bit where they said "Before a new device is released to the public we put it through several testes to insure the skin will not effect the functionality of your device in any way." :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted July 15, 2011 Subscriber² Share Posted July 15, 2011 Relying on spell-check is still being lazy, though. That's why we have brains!! Besides, it's not always just spelling errors alone. One example I saw just the other day is on uniqueskins.com, where I was browsing for pretty skins for my phone. They had a page full of mistakes--words that were spelled correctly, but weren't the correct word. My favourite was the bit where they said "Before a new device is released to the public we put it through several testes to insure the skin will not effect the functionality of your device in any way." :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: What a great example of Engrish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charisma Veteran Posted July 15, 2011 Veteran Share Posted July 15, 2011 What a great example of Engrish. Eh, I don't know if that's what it was. There were a LOT of errors just like that, where the wrong word was used or it was spelled wrong. The grammar doesn't come off as coming from someone with limited English skills. Mostly just looked like typos that weren't caught since they also made legit words (testes=tests, prefect=perfect) and then instances of using the wrong version of a word (insure=ensure, effect=affect). In other words, the kinds of mistakes people who are either lazy, uneducated, or just apathetic make all the time, even in their native language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakem1 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Yes, it's bad enough when you people don't take the time to correct mistakes in forum posts but really unacceptable on commercial or government websites. I just came across this one on the Australian High Commission's passport renewal page: the passport your are replacing Unfortunately I don't have the option to boycott them because they have a bit of a monopoly in the legitimate Australian passport market :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YounGMessiah Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I don't mind typos, but blatant spelling errors and poor grammar push me away from most sites. This ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@Leo Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 So many retards from the UK type like complete twats... How many times have we seen the chavs type "there" for "their" or "should of" instead of "should have"? :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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