Should it be Mothers Day, Mother's Day or Mothers' Day?

Today is Mother's Day and when I see people using the various forms (Mother's Day, Mothers' Day, Mothers Day, mother's day, etc.), I think to myself what is the correct way to way to write Mother's Day.

Is it a day for one mother (Mother's Day),  a day for all mothers (Mothers' Day), or is it just a given day (Mothers Day)? Should the words be capitalised or does it matter if the words are in lower case?

This article, which is about Father's Day appeared this week helped make things make sense for me. I realised it is an officially declared day and thus it isn't about usage, but how the day has been declared. You'll see from the article Sonora Smart Dodd who proposed the holiday, wanted the spelling to be Fathers' Day.

My advice when wondering about terms like Mother's Day is not to wonder. Look it up in an authoritative reference such as the Macquarie or Oxford. We could argue about the correct placement of the apostrophe until we're blue in the face, so there is little point. Simply look up the word and use the accepted convention.

Now I wonder, when was Mother's Day first proposed?

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au 

Article in the Wall Street Journal with respect to grammar in real estate listings and effect on sales.

I found a rather interesting article in the Wall Street Journal that I thought was interesting and worth sharing with others.

In essence the research found higher quality writing resulted in above average sale prices. I don't think this is purely down to the spelling and grammar, as it could just as easily reflect on the quality and professionalism of the real estate agent.

Would you list your property with an agent who advertised properties with poorly spelt wording? It would certainly make me think twice.

Here is a link to the article.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Why does nearly everyone spell the word spellcheck incorrectly?

I just wrote this comment on another group I participate in and thought I'd also share it here.

I thought I'd share this little known flaw about Microsoft's spellchecker and nearly every spellchecker you're probably using.

 The spelling in Australia is spellcheck and in America it is spell-check.

 Why then do so many people end up writing spellcheck using two words?

The answer is really simple. The dictionary you're using with your spellchecker doesn't include the word spellcheck and it attempts to give you the best suggestion by substituting characters. The space is one such character. Since your spellchecker does not know the word spellcheck, it ends up inserting the space between the two valid words, spell and check, and then offers 'spell check' as a suggestion. Since people don't know better they end up using the two words 'spell check', and because no error appears, they think they've used the correct spelling.

The simple and free way to fix this issue is to add the word spellcheck and variations to your custom dictionary. Alternately, you can get the best spelling for Australians at www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au to fix this and a over two thousand other issues your spellchecker could handle better.

Now you know you have now reason to write 'spell check' as two words. I'll be watching. LOL

At least now you know it isn't your fault, so if someone picks you up on your spelling, you have someone else to blame;-)

I should also say, the people probably using 'spell check' correctly as two words will be witches and warlocks. May all your spells be good spells.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au
The only preferred Australian English spelling dictionary. 

Dictionary meaning - How to use Word Check to check the meaning of a word and to see examples.

Word Check which is available at www.australian-dictionary.com.au/wordcheck/ enables you to check if you are using the preferred Australian English spelling for a word, but it also enables you to check the meaning of a word and often see examples of usage of the word. This is done by providing links which takes you to an external reference.

If the word you've entered is a correct spelling you'll see the Meaning section displays an O and a W which are links. Clicking on the O will take you to the Oxford online dictionary, which is a UK based resource. If you click on W you'll go to Wiktionary. There is currently no online Australian references that can be used to check the meaning of words so using the Oxford and Wiktionary is a compromise, but will often return useful information. By using Word Check first you'll first know whether or not you're using a valid and preferred spelling for a word, and then using the overseas based resources you can check for further information.

Sometimes when you click on the O link you'll find you aren't presented with the word entry in the Oxford. You may need to re-enter the word when you reach the Oxford site. This is often because you've entered a capitalised word or a plural which can't be linked to directly. With Wikpedia keep in mind it is useful, but I don't consider isn't considered authoritative. I've found errors in Wikpedia in the past which is a concern. Also keep in mind when using Wikipedia you'll often find suggestions that may be correct for overseas countries but are not necessarily correct for Australia.

The password is available for Word Check for all purchasers of the Australian dictionary products I provide.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Is it "two weeks' notice" or "two weeks notice"?

This came up recently. Is it "two weeks' notice" or "two weeks notice"?

According to the University of South Australia site the apostrophe is included, but according to the Australian Government's style guide it isn't included.

I consider this to be the situation where our language is evolving and the apostrophe is no longer needed. Interestingly Microsoft's grammar checker suggests the apostrophe should be included. If the language has evolved then the suggestion by Microsoft's grammar checker is now wrong and misleading people. I've seen quite a few examples of where the spellcheckers suggest incorrect words so this isn't a total surprise.

What do you think?

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

President Obama misspells respect. Notice the laughter from the audience.

We all make mistakes when spelling, even the president of the United States of America. In referring to Aretha Franklin's famous song, President Obama spelt respect as RSPECT. If you think people don't notice incorrect spelling, perhaps think again. The audience laughs at the fumble by the president. In this case the people are laughing at the president and not with the president.

You can view the video here.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au

Is it driver's licence or drivers licence. McDonald's Amore terms and conditions uses American spelling.

The question of driver's licence or drivers licence comes up often. If you check the internet you'll find government sites using both. VicRoads even has both versions used on its site, but to be fair, the one I found is for a link to the Magistrates' Court.

In the following image, which is from the McDonald's Amore competition terms and conditions, you'll see McDonald's is using the American spelling of license instead of licence. That is clearly an error. However, they also use Australian driver's license, whereas they should be using Australian drivers licence.

In this usage the phrase drivers licence is a generic term which is a descriptive plural noun and not a possessive. Another common example is visitors book. It is driver's licence when referring to a particular person's licence. Personally I find this quite confusing and understand how this makes the language more difficult.

The American spelling is never valid in Australia. The use of driver's licence where drivers licence should have been used however is a very easy mistake to make.

Kelvin Eldridge
www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au