The lightening was a tad scarey as it was striking pretty close to home and work. Work is now powered by a massive generator as SSE try to find where the damage to the supply line is (could be underground).
Frosty with hail and snow today, struggling around to do my (rather late) WeBS count.
lightening noun: lightening; plural noun: lightenings a drop in the level of the womb during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis.
No, I'm not very good at spelling, never have been. There are certain pairs of similar words which I seem to have difficulty retaining which is which. I don't think there is likely to be a confusion about the subject of this post, weather as opposed to pregnancy and birth. My inability to spell reliably is a bit of a nuisance, especially professionally, although my clients and I have strategies around keeping me right (which have certain advantages in practice). When I write formally I fortunately have people who I am able to ask to check for the inevitable errors. Professionally I have worked with many individuals, both clients and colleagues, who have much more significant difficulties than I with spelling (and with grammar too). Many of these very bright young people find this apparently simple thing quite beyond them. That does not mean they are stupid or uneducated it just means they can't spell every word correctly. Their ideas and conversation frequently sparkle. Their downright doggedness and determination to overcome this minor disability is admirable. There are certain occasions when In certain circumstances I don't like bad spelling myself, in job applications for example, although it is usually evident if the poor spelling is a product of difficulty or bad attitude. Spelling is important but only in particular circumstances. These days the stupid spelling checker is quite helpful, I generally eliminate quite a number of errors from posts etc through its intervention (probably five or so in this wee doodle). By the way according to OED, "The spelling foetus has no etymological basis but is recorded from the 16th century and until recently was the standard British spelling in both technical and non-technical use. In technical usage fetus is now the standard spelling throughout the English-speaking world, but foetus is still found in British English outside technical contexts." So I've learned (Or is it learnt? Both are correct in British English, spelling, pah it's a PITA.) two spellings this evening, as I would have used foetus. Trouble is I'll likely be none the wiser the morn.
This all sounds very familiar Alastair; certain words (process, address, satellite)that if I live to be 100 I'll never be quite sure that I've spelt (spelled?) them correctly. It was only when my eldest son was having his dyslexia measured (at age 7) that I realised that I was a bit the same too. I sat in through all his meetings and tests with the EP, and thinking "oh shit, I do that too". This was me at nearly 40 having done OK at Stromness Academy and not bad at first degree level. The EP confirmed that yes, I had some degree of difficulty which conformed to what we understand as dyslexia and that all I had done was develop coping strategies. To this day my spellings are arbitrary, handwriting a mish-mash of cases and grammar just chaotic guesswork or optional extra. So as a product of an educational era which pre-dates the 'invention' of "the gift", I'm blaming it for my woeful command of the language!
Martin, here's one of my favourite things http://blog.inkyfool.com/ (Mark, no relation, possibly has slightly dubious politics... but just ignore the plug for his story in the Spectator) his book The Etymologicon is a treasure trove, I haven't got around to the later ones yet but grab a copy of this and enjoy. This is also quite fun, and with restraint you may use for free, http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
6 comments:
Mega! I love dramatic weather :)
The lightening was a tad scarey as it was striking pretty close to home and work. Work is now powered by a massive generator as SSE try to find where the damage to the supply line is (could be underground).
Frosty with hail and snow today, struggling around to do my (rather late) WeBS count.
lightening
noun: lightening; plural noun: lightenings
a drop in the level of the womb during the last weeks of pregnancy as the head of the fetus engages in the pelvis.
Did you mean lightning?
No, I'm not very good at spelling, never have been. There are certain pairs of similar words which I seem to have difficulty retaining which is which. I don't think there is likely to be a confusion about the subject of this post, weather as opposed to pregnancy and birth. My inability to spell reliably is a bit of a nuisance, especially professionally, although my clients and I have strategies around keeping me right (which have certain advantages in practice). When I write formally I fortunately have people who I am able to ask to check for the inevitable errors. Professionally I have worked with many individuals, both clients and colleagues, who have much more significant difficulties than I with spelling (and with grammar too). Many of these very bright young people find this apparently simple thing quite beyond them. That does not mean they are stupid or uneducated it just means they can't spell every word correctly. Their ideas and conversation frequently sparkle. Their downright doggedness and determination to overcome this minor disability is admirable. There are certain occasions when In certain circumstances I don't like bad spelling myself, in job applications for example, although it is usually evident if the poor spelling is a product of difficulty or bad attitude. Spelling is important but only in particular circumstances. These days the stupid spelling checker is quite helpful, I generally eliminate quite a number of errors from posts etc through its intervention (probably five or so in this wee doodle). By the way according to OED, "The spelling foetus has no etymological basis but is recorded from the 16th century and until recently was the standard British spelling in both technical and non-technical use. In technical usage fetus is now the standard spelling throughout the English-speaking world, but foetus is still found in British English outside technical contexts." So I've learned (Or is it learnt? Both are correct in British English, spelling, pah it's a PITA.) two spellings this evening, as I would have used foetus. Trouble is I'll likely be none the wiser the morn.
This all sounds very familiar Alastair; certain words (process, address, satellite)that if I live to be 100 I'll never be quite sure that I've spelt (spelled?) them correctly. It was only when my eldest son was having his dyslexia measured (at age 7) that I realised that I was a bit the same too. I sat in through all his meetings and tests with the EP, and thinking "oh shit, I do that too". This was me at nearly 40 having done OK at Stromness Academy and not bad at first degree level. The EP confirmed that yes, I had some degree of difficulty which conformed to what we understand as dyslexia and that all I had done was develop coping strategies. To this day my spellings are arbitrary, handwriting a mish-mash of cases and grammar just chaotic guesswork or optional extra. So as a product of an educational era which pre-dates the 'invention' of "the gift", I'm blaming it for my woeful command of the language!
Martin, here's one of my favourite things http://blog.inkyfool.com/ (Mark, no relation, possibly has slightly dubious politics... but just ignore the plug for his story in the Spectator) his book The Etymologicon is a treasure trove, I haven't got around to the later ones yet but grab a copy of this and enjoy. This is also quite fun, and with restraint you may use for free, http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
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