Check that spellcheck

Make no mistake, spellchecking software has been a godsend, a consummate time saver and helper. At the same time, it should be used attentively. Homophones, those sneaky words that sound alike but have different meanings, can easily slip under the radar screen. “Which” and “witch” (in a text about Halloween), “its” and it’s”, “your” and “you’re”, “too” and “to”, “their” and “there” are just some common examples.

Actual blunders that have been made appear in this good article: “When Spell-Check Can’t Help” by Philip B. Corbett (NYT, March 25, 2014).

If you’ve got your own spellcheck story, we (and we’re sure others) would love to hear about it.

• Posted by:

  Fabienne Stassen on 6 June 2014

• Category: News