How should I practice spelling?

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Glizdka

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Hello,

I have a problem. My spelling is deteriorating. I even mess up when I use inflectional suffixes. I'm thinking of taking a list of 1000 most commonly used verbs in English in order of appearance, and practicing with them in that order.

I spend much more time using English in speech than than I spend writing. This forum was meant to be one of my ways of practicing writing, but I don't think it's enough. I've tried writing books.

What do you advise, other than pacticing a lot?
 
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teechar

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I assume you have an English spell-checker installed on your computer. If not, install one. Also, try to take note of the mistakes you make and see if a pattern emerges. Additionally, try to find out if spelling rules from your native language are interfering.
 

jutfrank

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It's very simple: Identify the words you misspell and learn how to spell them correctly.

I find it hard to believe that your spelling is deteriorating, by the way. I'm sure it isn't, even if it seems it is.
 

Glizdka

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I assume you have an English spell-checker installed on your computer. If not, install one. Also, try to take note of the mistakes you make and see if a pattern emerges. Additionally, try to find out if spelling rules from your native language are interfering.
I use Grammarly. Polish and English spelling rules are so different even in principle that I don't think there's any interference.

It's very simple: Identify the words you misspell and learn how to spell them correctly.
So, a second list, filled with mistakes, possibly with appearance counters so I can gather data and see which I make most often?

I find it hard to believe that your spelling is deteriorating, by the way. I'm sure it isn't, even if it seems it is.
The other possibility is that I'm becoming better at noticing my mistakes, and under the impression there's been more of them lately only because I started registering more of them.
 
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jutfrank

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So, a second list, filled with mistakes, possibly with appearance counters so I can gather data and see which I make most often?

Yes, if you can do that, it should work.

The other possibility is that I'm becoming better at noticing my mistakes, and under the impression there's been more of them lately only because I started registering more of them.

Yes, I think that's far more likely.
 
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As your English improves, I bet you are using more complicated words that are naturally more difficult to spell.
 

Tdol

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How old are you? I must confess that there are words I am less certain about as I get older.
 

Glizdka

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As your English improves, I bet you are using more complicated words that are naturally more difficult to spell.
Not necessarily. I read a lot of scientific papers, and I have no problem with "more complicated words". It's simple, casual words that I have most trouble with, usually those with old, relic spelling rules that don't seem to have any correlation with their pronunciation.

How old are you? I must confess that there are words I am less certain about as I get older.
I'm thirty. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with my age.
 

teechar

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I must confess that there are words I am less certain about as I get older.
I acknowlege that and allmost conceed that poore speling is unacceptible, but you definitly won't get the sac. :lol:
 

Glizdka

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What do you call using intentional spelling/grammar mistakes for the sake of fun? For example, lolcat.
 

jutfrank

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What do you call using intentional spelling/grammar mistakes for the sake of fun?.

For fun? That'll be misorthography.

Yes, I just made that up. It's meant to contrast with dysorthography, where you can't help it. Here's an example of use:

A: What are you up to tonight?
B: Oh, I don't know. I'll probably just stay in and do an hour or two of misorthography.
 

Glizdka

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Misorthography? That's the bestest made-up term I've never seen.
 

jutfrank

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Misorthography? That's the bestest made-up term I've never seen.

Thanks. And quite ironically, you've spelled it correctly!
 

Rover_KE

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I once worked with a teacher called Miss Pelling.

She got married and became Mrs Buss.

(True)
 
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GoesStation

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I had a particularly nasty history teacher in high school who delighted in calling one boy in the class "Mister Bates". She had a way of emphasizing the first syllable so there could be no mistaking her intention. His name was, in fact, "Bates", but no other teacher was juvenile enough to draw out the unfortunate association like Miss O'Brien did.

She damaged a lot of kids.
 

Tdol

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A: What are you up to tonight?
B: Oh, I don't know. I'll probably just stay in and do an hour or two of misorthography.

I am surprised that B has any friends asking what he, and it's probably a he, is doing tonight. ;-)
 

Tdol

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PS In BrE, the verb is practise. I can remember that. I have to pause before parallelogram.
 

Glizdka

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PS In BrE, the verb is practise. I can remember that. I have to pause before parallelogram.
I know! :-D

I purposely used both advise (v.) and practice (v.) in post #1, to practice using them. These two are my spelling nemeses. I frequently misspell advis/ce and practis/ce.

Any tricks up your sleeve?
 

GoesStation

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Advise is pronounced with a voiced /z/ sound which the combination "ce" can't represent, so that seems pretty straightforward. If you refer back to advise/advice when spelling practise/practice British style, just follow the same verb/noun pattern. The pronunciation obviously won't help you there.
 
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