Down with typos!
CNN has an article up on their site right now that I can wholeheartedly agree with. And, might I say, it’s something I’ve been saying for a long time. You can read the article HERE.
As a person who values the English language, it tears me up when I see people treating it as though it didn’t matter. It does, people. It’s how we communicate, share ideas, express ourselves. And, when it comes to the written word, I think we should be especially vigilant in not only how we use it, but how well we use it. I know people think these days that because our lives are rushing by us at a hundred miles per hour we should let the occasional typo slip by unremarked upon, but what happens when one becomes two, and two become twenty? What then? How far down the slope are we willing to slide before the written word no longer has meaning? How long will it be until texting becomes the norm, and lengthy prose is shortened to an unintelligible (unless you’re still a teenager) string of abbreviations? There is a wall, folks, a wall between us and barbarism, and proper language usage is one of the bricks in that wall. Let it break, and soon after all the rest will crumble too. Don’t let our language go gently in that goodnight, my friends. Be vigilant, be vocal, be corrective. Help me stomp out the tyranny of the typo once and for all.
Thank you…
As someone who’s totally in love with the English language, this is something I’ve worried about before. Especially when I get text from my nephew that says ‘Kai <3 yu tew' (which equals Ok, I love you too). But then I read the rap lyrics he writes with the amazing language and rhyme scheme and political messages, and I stop worrying. Because not only do a see that he has an incredible grasp of the English language, I also see how his struggles with his spelling before showing it to anyone. I think kids have a capacity for compartmentalizing that often gets over-looked. When it matters, they tend to pay attention. Or at least, that's what I've witnessed.
I don't think people should not care about typos… but sometimes they happen, even to those of us who love the language. Having a typo in something isn't optimal of course, but it's not the end of the world either.