I came across the following article which I must admit had me initially confused. The article's heading was about grammatical errors and yet the article seemed to jump all over the place. It took a little effort to read but in the end it turns out an online dating service survey of members showed that 20% of people would discard other members based on spelling errors in their profiles.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/ganggang-ungrammatical-postings-spell-dating-disaster-20141223-12c80g.html
I like to find examples of where spelling matters, but I'd never thought much about dating services providing such an example. It does make sense. If people don't care enough to attempt to get their spelling correct in the online dating profile, it can and now apparently does leave doubt in the mind of others.
Interestingly the journalist Ian Watson of ACT News made the statement, Readers, do you find poor spelling unforgivable? If this column opened with a spelling mistake (like "Perrygrin" or perhaps "Carillion") would you stop reading? Would you instantly dismiss this columnist as a bogan ignoramus?
Now as to suggest Ian is a bogan ignoramus I would never go that far, however I did notice some inappropriate use of hyphens which to me does reduce his professionalism and thus credibility slightly. It would however not stop me from reading the article as I'm receiving information I'm interested in at effectively no cost. However if I was buying something, poor spelling is a flag that to me can and does make a difference.
The examples of poor spelling or use of secondary spellings in the article are: mis-spelled, mis-used, spelled. However these are relatively minor and I found the article interesting once I'd grown accustom to Ian's style.
This should be a heads up for those using online dating services. If you can't spell then get a friend who can to help you. A little extra effort may increase your chances of a date by 25%, so why not make the effort. No point making your life harder than it need be.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
Creator of the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary.
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/ganggang-ungrammatical-postings-spell-dating-disaster-20141223-12c80g.html
I like to find examples of where spelling matters, but I'd never thought much about dating services providing such an example. It does make sense. If people don't care enough to attempt to get their spelling correct in the online dating profile, it can and now apparently does leave doubt in the mind of others.
Interestingly the journalist Ian Watson of ACT News made the statement, Readers, do you find poor spelling unforgivable? If this column opened with a spelling mistake (like "Perrygrin" or perhaps "Carillion") would you stop reading? Would you instantly dismiss this columnist as a bogan ignoramus?
Now as to suggest Ian is a bogan ignoramus I would never go that far, however I did notice some inappropriate use of hyphens which to me does reduce his professionalism and thus credibility slightly. It would however not stop me from reading the article as I'm receiving information I'm interested in at effectively no cost. However if I was buying something, poor spelling is a flag that to me can and does make a difference.
The examples of poor spelling or use of secondary spellings in the article are: mis-spelled, mis-used, spelled. However these are relatively minor and I found the article interesting once I'd grown accustom to Ian's style.
This should be a heads up for those using online dating services. If you can't spell then get a friend who can to help you. A little extra effort may increase your chances of a date by 25%, so why not make the effort. No point making your life harder than it need be.
Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
Creator of the preferred Australian English spelling dictionary.
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