Does your spelling get more atrocious the older you get?

[Maddy McCall]

Mine does. And I'm talking about simple words. When I write, I have to think. Used to, it just flowed automatically. I can't spell anymore.

Is losing the ability to spell one of the first hints that one is aging?

:scared:

Edit: See? I even had to edit this post. Disgraceful.

[xmas74]

1. I wonder now.

I know quite a few people who have said the same thing-they were better spellers when they were younger.

[Maddy McCall]

3. I've even corrected papers when I'm grading...

and corrected them to the wrong spelling. And then had to go back and correct them to the right spelling.

The papers would have an abundance of red marks on them from me correcting MY mistakes instead of theirs. Poor students.

:D

[xmas74]

6. My best friend does the same thing!

She is a high school history teacher. She will correct the spelling on essays only to realize that she has misspelled the word herself!

[RevolutionaryActs]

2. No, but it does the later it gets......

:o

[Not_Giving_Up]

4. Ha!

Mine depends on the level of herbal enhancement...none of which I currently possess!

[RevolutionaryActs]

7. I know, damn you! You're all making sense and shit.

:o

[Not_Giving_Up]

9. I try

I wish I wasn't making so much sense!

[Maddy McCall]

5. I'm really smart when I drink beer.

Just ask my friends. :P :D

[RevolutionaryActs]

8. BWHAHAHA!

:rofl:

I'm so sure.

[punpirate]

10. I would guess that...

... it's partly a function of memory, and there are aspects of memory that fade with age.

It can just as well be a function of being in a hurry and not self-proofreading (no easy task under any circumstances--most people don't see their own errors as easily as do others), and email and net forums don't help that proofreading process, since the tendency is to fire off a message quickly. If anything, email has made spelling worse, not better, though one might expect that process to do otherwise, since the medium is writing, rather than oral communication.

But, yeah, as I get older, I occasionally have to consult the dictionary, when, in years past, it was a rarity.

Cheers.

[Zomby Woof]

11. That explains it!

All along, you thought your coffeemaker said "Daily Brew", and you thought "Well, duh! I brew coffee daily, so what's the big deal?" :D

[Itchinjim]

12. Actually I've become a better speller with age....

Thanks of course to the spell checker.
Didn't have anything like that when I was in the third grade. (1967)

[Gemini Cat]

13. My spelling has always been atrocious.

The spell check was invented for me!

[Hardrada]

14. I can't tell because

My handwriting has gotten so bad. (It always was terrible anyway).

[Swamp Rat]

15. The more languages I study the worse my English gets.

I want to spell everything like Esperanto, or something. I wish I could use IPA here and spell everything phonetically, especially my Brooklynese. :D

[mahina]

16. No joke! Even simple words! Not so bad on the computer but when

writing manually I am way way worse than I ever was. I wuz always a gud speler but NOW, holy smokes, I'm back in the third grade with Sister Mary Leo cruising the rows with her yardstick. Sheesh. Thanks for the thread, I feel better knowing it's not just me.

[Jamastiene]

17. Just in the last 2 years,

I have gone from a student who makes easy A's to a student who is struggling like crazy. And the other night I caught myself standing in front of the fridge with a glass in my hand, thirsty, and wondering why I came to the fridge.

As far as spelling goes, most people misspell words so routinely that I feel it really doesn't matter any more. Hardly anyone knows the difference. I wouldn't worry about the spelling. It's the other severe signs of early memory loss and absentmindedness that is worrying me. I'm only 34, but apparently, from what older people tell me, it gets worse, not better. What a future to look forward to. Maybe it'll lead to happiness or some sort of state of bliss. As in, ignorance is bliss.

[REP]

18. I Notice More "Thinkos"

I know the difference between there, their and they're, but every now and then I catch myself typing the wrong one. It's mortifying, since it's one of pet peeves about everyone else on the planet (so I've lightened up; if I see a there/their/they're mistake once in someone's writing, I give them the benefit of the doubt now!).

[retread]

19. No, I never have trouble with spalling! n/t

[Sperk]

20. yeah, I thought it was just me. I don't recall having too difficult of a

time in high school. (no spell check). Now?....forgetaboutit!
And I'm only 43! God Help me!