I was absolutely astounded by an article I read in Monday’s Telegraph (People can be too clever to spell). The basis of Jessica Salter’s article is that intelligent people who apply known rules are more likely to mispell anomalies that do not follow the “i before e” pattern, or similar. Surely the more intelligent you are, the better you comprehend inconsistencies and understand the need to adapt.

Even more shocking was the argument from a Buckingham University lecturer who contended that common mispellings should be entered as alternatives in an expanded dictionary. Are we sure we want to send out the message that if you do something wrong consistently, it becomes accepted and right? Worrying, very worrying…

Rebecca Wheeler