Prevalent misspelling

candidcam
By candidcam

Anyone know why misspelling is so prevalent in Qatar, including posts in QL? Does it tell something about the quality and precarious careless attitude of the population here? Yes, nobody’s perfect, everybody makes mistakes, but I am sure you know I am not talking about those incidental mistakes.

By force1• 10 Nov 2008 17:51
force1

to author:

im sure you checked your post 3-4 times before making this topic just so that ur post doesn't sound hypocritical

By tallg• 10 Nov 2008 17:29
tallg

But the spelling's still the same even if the pronunciation is different!

By bleu• 10 Nov 2008 17:23
bleu

What do you mean English? Each square meter in England speaks a different incomprehensible babble.

(I love these bashing threads ... )

By GetMe_Ifucan• 10 Nov 2008 16:35
GetMe_Ifucan

nun uf us is ferfect........beeng humunz we kan do mishtakes.............so wat iz wrang?

To be loved Do love……..

Give Your Smile To Every One But Your Heart To Only One!

By candidcam• 10 Nov 2008 16:18
candidcam

I hope this doesn't degenerate into American bashing thread. Some people just love conflicts...

By dweller• 10 Nov 2008 12:54
dweller

Don't accept Bill Gates statement that there is such a thing as "American English".

There is English............end of story. Let them create their own name for it but just don't call it English!

By qatarisun• 10 Nov 2008 10:49
qatarisun

actually these is some difference in spelling even between americans and canadians.

americans spell: labor, color

and canadians spell: labour, colour

cheers! (at least everybody agree on that one :) )

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By tallg• 10 Nov 2008 08:19
tallg

Well it's your choice, and as you said, "nobody’s perfect, everybody makes mistakes".

By candidcam• 10 Nov 2008 08:14
candidcam

Excuse me guys, since I don't have a stiff upper lip like many of you here have, can I keep my preference for American English?

By islandrock• 10 Nov 2008 07:58
islandrock

Am I late also??? I found out that "MISPELLING IS THE MISSPELLING OF MISSPELLING.

By tallg• 10 Nov 2008 07:52
tallg

What bleu says is sad but true. The corrupted American version of English is the standard language of business. Many UK companies produce all their reports etc in American English.

By bleu• 10 Nov 2008 07:42
bleu

I hate it when my sister writes recognise, colour, organisation ...etc.

The American version is shorter, and more universal ... American English is the language of business.

By tallg• 10 Nov 2008 07:38
tallg

Laborer is American English. The "correct" spelling is Labourer.

QS - I didn't even know there was an option for English (Canadian). I assumed you just spoke like Americans (sorry!). Looks like you have some of their bad habits (Zs instead of Ss), but not all of them if you still use labour instead of Labor.

By candidcam• 10 Nov 2008 07:00
candidcam

Dwelller, "Laborer" isn't correct?

I think you would make a great partner with Supernurse, ...just like Dan Quayle with Sarah Palin.

By monique• 10 Nov 2008 05:04
monique

it just shows a "i don't care attitude"......so prevalent here. the bad customer service, the rudeness,...

By edifis• 10 Nov 2008 02:12
edifis

Q: How will you recognize a bious donkey?

A: A bious donkey will bray many times in a day.

By dweller• 10 Nov 2008 00:15
dweller

Check your own profile before opening your mouth about spelling.

Laborer isn't correct English!

By GodFather.• 9 Nov 2008 23:49
GodFather.

May be coz ur still in the commonwealth I guess..Long live the Queeen and the Proper English language

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

By qatarisun• 9 Nov 2008 23:47
Rating: 3/5
qatarisun

actually it set for English (canada), and it's ok, i am fine with that. at least it shows me a correct spelling LABOUR instead of LABOR, and NEIGHBOUR instead of NEIGHBOR which i hate to see...:)

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By heero_yuy2• 9 Nov 2008 23:04
heero_yuy2

Somehow it also says your personality.

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By heero_yuy2• 9 Nov 2008 23:02
heero_yuy2

She must be single and available.

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By Eagley• 9 Nov 2008 22:48
Eagley

Misspelling - am I too late?

Oxie and Wiki say - Miss, you're shutting the stable doors after the horse has bolted a long time ago...

http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/spelling/?view=uk

*****************************************

Life is short. Live it to the fullest!

By tallg• 9 Nov 2008 22:12
tallg

QS - that means your MS Word dictionary is set to English (US). Change it to English (UK) for the correct spelling ;-)

By anonymous• 9 Nov 2008 18:03
anonymous

Is supercilious or arrogant spelt correctly?? mmmm I think so!

By Malvolio• 9 Nov 2008 17:49
Malvolio

Spelling trolls!!!!

Ya ya ya : )

By qatarisun• 9 Nov 2008 17:25
qatarisun

here you go...

my MS word indicates mistake when I type 'organiSation'. It only accepts 'organiZation'. Although the dictionary on line accepts both spellings..:)

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By qatarisun• 9 Nov 2008 16:09
qatarisun

well.. i agree about CVs, but...again it depends on the position the candidate applies..

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By bleu• 9 Nov 2008 16:03
bleu

I saw CVs from people who had it translated and proofread by somebody who supposedly knows English. and it's s**t.

By tallg• 9 Nov 2008 15:23
tallg

I think what the poster is trying to say is that if someone is, for example, submitting a CV/resume in English then it's really in their own interests to make sure the spelling and grammar are as good as possible. It wouldn't take them long to get it checked over or look a few things up themselves (though as Supernurse proved above even that doesn't mean you wont make mistakes!).

Misspelling on QL really isn't a big issue though, as long as we get the gist of it. (Unless it's deliberate misspelling - i.e. text speak - there's no excuse for that!)

By bleu• 9 Nov 2008 15:08
bleu

So the title of this thread is misleading.

Carelessness and recklessness are an issue in this part of the world, and we all agree with you on that.

But the spelling issue is an issue of people who don't speak English well (maybe some don't care about learning)

By candidcam• 9 Nov 2008 15:05
candidcam

Guys, can’t you see that it’s not actually their language skills that I have issues with? What I am trying to say is that their prevalent misspellings boil down to their general attitude which is none other than being reckless, careless, casual, precarious…

English is not even my mother-tongue but unlike some people who pretends, I realize that English is the primary communication medium used for international business, whether you like it or not.

By nadt• 9 Nov 2008 14:46
nadt

give people some credit, we are living in the middle east, why focus on their lack of english skills and spelling, at leads they are trying. How is your "Arabic", bet you cant even speak it let alone write it..

By qatarisun• 9 Nov 2008 14:42
Rating: 3/5
qatarisun

well.. in general i agree with you, candidcam. But again, you cannot expect the same level of the professionalism from everyone. As i said, it's not their first language. May be they aren't too good in English, but possess some other unique set of skills, that you and I can only dream of.

As i said,the language is a science, like any other science. Everyone is on his/her own level in this science.

For example, our tea boy cannot calculate the %, for sure not. But he prepares some special tea for me, that I never ever could do by myself.

But in general I agree, unprofessionalism is everywhere in Qatar, in every matter, not only in English. Just try to tolerate it. At least they are trying to improve...

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By mjamille28• 9 Nov 2008 14:41
mjamille28

in our country, the English name matters (i.e. visa) so if somebody types our name wrong, we get them to correct it right away,.. it happened to me one time...

By bleu• 9 Nov 2008 14:39
bleu

candidcam: you should know that the name that matters on the RP or Visa or Driving License is the Arabic Version, the English is there just for your amusement.

As for resumes, what do you expect from someone who doesn't speak English well (I hate resumes and cover emails where they write like they're on IM )

By candidcam• 9 Nov 2008 14:12
candidcam

Many of you guys just don't get it, do you? I am not simply talking about misspelling in English, but they also misspell your names in your visa, in your RP, and in your driving license... yes, that include your blood type. Yes, they don't even bother to write their resume properly when applying for an important job.

There's simply no excuse for this casual & careless precarious attitude. Tolerate it at your own perils!

By qatarisun• 9 Nov 2008 13:36
Rating: 3/5
qatarisun

Well.. it’s actually silly question. The language – ANY language - is a pretty complicated science. And as in any science, if you want to be perfect you need to be highly professional. There are people who r studing the languages at Universities for few years, as a Major subject. They are professionals. Others are dilettantes, some more experienced therefore better, some less experienced (or less talented in this particular field), therefore worse… It’s like in any other field. Some are talented in Math, some in art.. you cannot expect the same level from everyone...Even native speaking people sometimes don’t know their languages on the professional level. What to expect of ppl whose English is second, sometime third or even fourth language?

It’s really not nice to keep pointing on this thing… If you are professional in some field, don't expect everyone to be the same...

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By lullabelle• 9 Nov 2008 13:13
lullabelle

I can neither speak or write indian, arabic, or pretty much any other language for that matter. At least the people on here are attempting to use another language. Native english speakers are so lazy as almost anywhere in the world someone will speak english. Give these guys a break, at least they are trying.

By bleu• 9 Nov 2008 12:49
bleu

QaQc:

a spell checker would miss the meaning:

You are noise. eye lack you .

eye want two here you. butt eye can not.

By QaQc• 9 Nov 2008 12:14
QaQc

Victor,

that's why they invented spell checker and dictionary to double check spellings.

----------

Quality dude! Quality!

By tallg• 9 Nov 2008 11:53
tallg

Which one did you use SN?

By Victory_278692• 9 Nov 2008 11:52
Victory_278692

My dear friend,

You are in Qatar and Arabic being the first official main language. People from all different nationalities generally expatriates lives here and its quite obvious and natural that we do mis-spell in English (being second language of communication).

By anonymous• 9 Nov 2008 11:48
anonymous

Aha! Depends which dictionary you use!!

By bAbA-blAcksheep• 9 Nov 2008 11:27
bAbA-blAcksheep

hahah... maybe it was a misstake, lol :D

By tallg• 9 Nov 2008 11:18
tallg

SN - where did you find out that it's MISPELLING? I think you may need to get a new dictionary, cos everything I've looked at says it's MISSPELLING.

By azilana7037• 9 Nov 2008 11:13
azilana7037

But I want my BEBSI and BOPCORN just the same :-P

By bleu• 9 Nov 2008 11:07
bleu

remmbr that most beebl hear sbeek inglish as a seknd langage.

By GodFather.• 9 Nov 2008 11:07
GodFather.

lol saggi..

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

By anonymous• 9 Nov 2008 11:03
anonymous

So, what in the hell is a candidcam?

My spell check does not register that word.

“Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful,”

By svelte_saggi• 9 Nov 2008 11:02
svelte_saggi

i almost fell over laughing when an arab colleague asked me once where we can get "Sbare Barts for Bumbs" in qatar!!! :-D LOL!

By ringohiqups• 9 Nov 2008 10:59
ringohiqups

misspelling is the correct way to spell the word guys... check your dictionaries.

By GodFather.• 9 Nov 2008 10:57
GodFather.

Saw a sign in Salata Jadeed..reading..

"CAR BARKING BEHIND'.

can someone explain why this kind of mistake.. is it coz there is no P in arabic language??

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

By svelte_saggi• 9 Nov 2008 10:44
svelte_saggi

one of the silliest mispellings i've seen in several places :

PLEASE : PLEAES

CONSTRUCTION : CONSTRICTION

PARKING : BARKING (LOL!)

so many more......can't remember.

By smoke• 9 Nov 2008 10:28
smoke

what about Mrspelling does she have a say in this too??

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

 

By candidcam• 9 Nov 2008 10:26
candidcam

Supernurse, is that so? Misspelling versus Mispelling?

By qatexpat• 9 Nov 2008 10:12
Rating: 2/5
qatexpat

The normal process while ordering a signage is to put down in writing exactly what you want and they will reproduce it ... They will even send a paper sample for your proofreading and approval. So, where is the chance of misspelling ?

By DaRuDe• 9 Nov 2008 10:12
DaRuDe

you Clever mighty blondie

By anonymous• 9 Nov 2008 10:10
anonymous

Actually Candid so and so.......you will find that the CORRECT spelling of 'MISSPELLING' as you quote is actually spelt 'MISPELLING'............smart arse..

By QaQc• 9 Nov 2008 10:02
QaQc

what will you feel if you ask somebody to put up a signage for your business with a wrong spelling?

that is not ok!

----------

Quality dude! Quality!

By Eagley• 9 Nov 2008 09:59
Rating: 4/5
Eagley

From members whose English language skills you know to be good, mistakes are just typos when speed reading and replying. I only scan through Questions, New Forums and Hot Topics. Got no time to surf around. I just take a few minutes to glance through quickly and don't double check much cos too busy. It's not simply "precarious carelessness". Some are too busy rushing through the work day or household chores and taking care of the kids. So we only have short snatches of time taken for quick breaks.

As for misspelling generally - I'll say the level of English in Qatar is not even halfway there yet. I've seen translations of Arabic documents to English and they're really x3 horrible. I can hardly make sense out of them. Still looking for a reasonably good translator. Hope, I've finally managed it. Will see.. hoping for the best.

*****************************************

Life is short. Live it to the fullest!

By Andrews• 9 Nov 2008 09:57
Andrews

I no english..no speling

By QaQc• 9 Nov 2008 09:56
Rating: 4/5
QaQc

they just don't care and the only concern they have is to finish the job.

ohh.. one more thing... it is very common in the middle east the words "No Problem" and at the end, everything is #^(

By smoke• 9 Nov 2008 09:54
Rating: 4/5
smoke

yes i sayings to you more because peoples cummings from deferant Kuntrees who no spooking Inglish Languages

Good Fortune always comes knocking at your door...when you are sh*tting in the toilet!! :)

_[]~SMoKE~[]_

 

Log in or register to post comments

More from Qatar Living

Qatar’s top beaches for water sports thrills

Qatar’s top beaches for water sports thrills

Let's dive into the best beaches in Qatar, where you can have a blast with water activities, sports and all around fun times.
Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part Two

Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part Two

This guide brings you the top apps that will simplify the use of government services in Qatar.
Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part One

Most Useful Apps In Qatar - Part One

this guide presents the top must-have Qatar-based apps to help you navigate, dine, explore, access government services, and more in the country.
Winter is coming – Qatar’s seasonal adventures await!

Winter is coming – Qatar’s seasonal adventures await!

Qatar's winter months are brimming with unmissable experiences, from the AFC Asian Cup 2023 to the World Aquatics Championships Doha 2024 and a variety of outdoor adventures and cultural delights.
7 Days of Fun: One-Week Activity Plan for Kids

7 Days of Fun: One-Week Activity Plan for Kids

Stuck with a week-long holiday and bored kids? We've got a one week activity plan for fun, learning, and lasting memories.
Wallet-friendly Mango Sticky Rice restaurants that are delightful on a budget

Wallet-friendly Mango Sticky Rice restaurants that are delightful on a budget

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a sweet escape into the world of budget-friendly Mango Sticky Rice that's sure to satisfy both your cravings and your budget!
Places to enjoy Mango Sticky Rice in  high-end elegance

Places to enjoy Mango Sticky Rice in high-end elegance

Delve into a world of culinary luxury as we explore the upmarket hotels and fine dining restaurants serving exquisite Mango Sticky Rice.
Where to celebrate World Vegan Day in Qatar

Where to celebrate World Vegan Day in Qatar

Celebrate World Vegan Day with our list of vegan food outlets offering an array of delectable options, spanning from colorful salads to savory shawarma and indulgent desserts.