Consistent spelling was a great way to ensure clarity in the print era. But with new technologies, the way that we write and read (and search and data-mine) is changing, and so must spelling.

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The notion that words can and should be spelled only one way is a fairly recent invention. “The phrase ‘bad speller’ rarely appears in English-language books before the 1770s,” Jack Lynch notes in his book The Lexicographer’s Dilemma. Until William Caxton used a printing press in 1475, English words were reproduced by scribes in scriptoria. There were no dictionaries (or Google) to check for “proper” spelling. Most words were spelled several different ways—there were at least 114 variants of through.

The above passages come from Anne Trubek’s recent article in Wired Magazine. Her main point is that the rigid, static rules of proper spelling are inhibiting and problem causing in a dynamically digital world, and that they (the rules) must become more relaxed to accommodate these new communication mediums.

I’m curious to see what kind of push back Anne gets from English Departments. The obvious irony is that I’m sure her article was edited and proofread a hundred times using AP style formatting 🙂

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Illustration above by Justin Mezzell

Tags:Anne TrubekautocorrectgrammerJustin MezzellspellingtypographyWired Magazine