The Trouble with Spell Checkers

Aren't spell checkers great? I use mine all the time (when I remember)
even though I'm a reasonably good speller. So, what's the problem?
Well the trouble is that a spell checker can't tell the difference between homophones.

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and
different spellings. There are lots of examples in the English language.
Here are a few:
piece/peace, flower/flour, beech/beach, rode/road, rain/rein/reign.

Have a look at this poem:
Ode to My Spell Checker (author unknown)
Eye have a spelling checker, it came with my pea sea
It plainly marks four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a quay and type a word and weight for it to say
Weather eye yam wrong oar write, it shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid it nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it I'm shore your pleased to no
Its letter perfect awl the way, my checker told me sew.

I counted at least 42 mistakes concerning homophones.
Now try this experiment: copy the poem into your clipboard and
paste it into your word processor.Then check it with your spell checker.
The result: your word processor will be happy with the spelling.

Of course you're unlikely to make as many errors as this. But beware,
your spell checker might let the odd mistake through. The solution is
to make sure that you always proofread important documents
before you print them.

Click here for some advice on Proofreading
and here for more Homophones

UK Spelling Books      US Spelling Books
HomePage     List of exercises     Advice     Contact us

Follow spellingitright on Twitter
Click here for some advice on Proofreading
and here for more Homophones

UK Spelling Books      US Spelling Books
HomePage      List of exercises      Advice      Contact us