Friday, September 17, 2010

Their right: its time we had better spelling and gramar

The "Readings" section of my local newspaper just featured two guys who must share the same copy editing side of my brain: Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson, authors of The Great Typo Hunt: Two Friends Changing the World, One Correction at a Time.  I know not everyone in the world bristles at the improper use of an apostrophe or the wrong spelling of a word, but for a person who majored in English, briefly taught high schoolers, worked as a copy editor and proofreader, writes for a living, and was born under the sign of Virgo (we're perfectionists!), typos grate on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard.  We all make slips now and then--no one is perfect.  But when you hang up a sign for your business or send a note home to your students, a quick check of the old apostrophes would keep people like me from wanting to whip out our red correcting pens.

If you're also a person who believes in the "Typo Eradication Advancement League," definitely check out Deck and Herson's book and their website, http://greattypohunt.com, especially their Join the Hunt page.



And, yes, the title of this post was misspelled on purpose. If you find other typos, feel free to let me know immediately.

4 comments:

Ara Burklund said...

Ha! I think we're ruined forever, always doomed to lament incorrect usage and misspellings. Speaking of which, have you ever seen Mike Judge's movie IDIOCRACY? Every time I see a typo on a sign, I wonder if America is headed toward St. God's Hospital.

Cat Winters said...

I love IDIOCRACY!

You're right--I think we're ruined forever. When I worked at AP, my sister wouldn't send me letters because she worried I'd correct them.

Carrie said...

I still worry about that.

Cat Winters said...

There's no need to worry, Carrie. I won't attack you.

P.S. Thanks for having the guts to leave a comment. I didn't see any typos in it.