dlish

I think im a good speller. Well, i used to be a really good speller, until i stopped reading as much in the last 10 years. But i still think im good at it, even if i dont know what the word is or what it means.

i have a few techniques that i had used previously in my spelling tests which i thought were 'normal' by anyone standards. However, when i recently told my wife my little trick, she thought i was nuts. quite literally.

You see, whenever a word is mentioned, i see the word pop up in front of my eyes. so in a conversation whenever someone says a word, i see that word pop up in my head. if i pay enough attention to it, that word then presents itself in my mind in written form. This little trick i have used ever since i was 5 years old when i used to try and remember words and what they looked like even before i know how to spell.

Now, i had thought that my technique was just normal for me. ive never discussed my spelling techniques with anyone before, so this was quite bizarre to hear that someone else thinks that my way of remembering words is out left field.

does anyone else use the same technique? am i normal?

what other methods did you use to become the spelling bee of the school?

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Baraka_Guru

I think it's called visualization. It's pretty normal.

My spelling strength comes from lots of reading and writing.

However, I think some minds are more attuned to language than others. Just like some are more attuned to math or kinesthetics.

In any case, visualization is a good tool for many purposes. I don't see why spelling shouldn't be one of them.

Other than that: read lots; write lots.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

dlish

is it normal if you and i have a conversation and i see words flying everywhere?

kind of reminds me of a TV show a few years ago.. i think it was called Numbers or something like that. About some guy who helped police crack crimes though number visualisation...except im with words.

i think my wife fluttered her eyes when i mentioned the words 'words flying'

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I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
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Baraka_Guru

Wait... you actually see the words?

That ain't normal....

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

dlish

well errr...yes. i know that they arent real or tangible, but if we are having a conversation and we're talking about the toronto raptors. ill see the words toronto raptors flash in a sort of opaque white colour. often they will start small and become bigger if i concentrate on the word.

most often ill see the last words of the conversation, but if there are buzz words in there like 'scored a 3 at the buzzer', ill see the words scored and buzzer flash in front of me. it doesnt obstruct my vision, but they're there at my command, and they go as soon as i see them.


some may say that it may be a great asset and i must have a great memory, but ive got a bad memory sometimes, so i cant utilize my spelling skillz magical powers and channel them in towards my everyday memory.

__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy

Baraka_Guru

Dude, get your head checked....

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

dlish

yeah....i think thats what the rest of TFP is thinking..

32 views and only one person that'd bother responding. Of course it hadto be the editor. otherwise it'd be 32 views with no responses.

i knew i should never post when im sober.

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An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
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KirStang

Yea, that's actually kind of weird. I always visualize the word in my head, and spelling...and occasionally think of the definition....

But seeing the visualization? Opaque words? That's out of the norm, for me, at least.

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snowy

Yeah, my visualization doesn't go that far, but visualization is definitely a tool I used when I competed in spelling bees, and still use today when people ask me how to spell something (my co-workers all know I am the Spelling Mistress).

I used to read the dictionary for fun as a kid. Two habits from childhood I still have are reading a lot, and writing a lot.

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TigerBlood

Reading a lot and writing even more. I tend to do the vizualization thing for longer words or words that I know are tricky for me. Usually these involve ei and ie words. I lived in Germany for a couple of years and got ok speaking it, better reading it. Totally messed with my mind as far as spelling sometimes, though.

EventHorizon

wear a rubber band around your wrist when you edit some of your writing and for each spelling error you make, snap it against the tender side. i did this with procrastinating and whoever said that negative reinforcement doesnt work should be beat every time they say it until they sing a different tune

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Quote:

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bagatelle

My native language is Finnish, we always spell the words how the letters sound, we don't have any combinations of letters, that might be pronounced differently in different words.

Sort of wysiwyg, but not really visual. I sometimes memorize the words in a foreign language as I would read them in Finnish, so I may recall difficult words better.

Writing them down in a foreign language has been a huge help in learning them. Reading a lot.

In Finnish I spot spelling mistakes miles away. I see a bulk of text and without reading every word yet, I may detect a spelling mistake.

I tend to have no difficulties in spelling other languages, I've always thought of it as some sort of talent. I'm not good at providing content in writing, but at least I know how to spell. I do make typos though...

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dlish

to be honest i dont care for typos or capitilisations most of the time. even spelling mistakes on a computer are not spelling mistakes (in my book anyways) because i hit a wrong button. a lot of the time i leave it as it lays if its too bothersome to go back and fix up if im in a hurry.

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An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy

Ourcrazymodern?

I resent spell-checkers because they've wasted my time finding out from other sources that they don't agree on what's what. I dislike even more that questioning my recall seems to be becoming more common as time goes on. I never had to think about how it was done, once upon a time.

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dlish

me too OCM.

what i also resent is the fact that because ove spent so much time away from home, that i have started to spell many words the american way...except for the Mum. That should never be spelt as Mom.

standardize - standardise
authorize - authorise

__________________
An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy

bagatelle

My spelling is mixed. We are taught British English in schools, but there's a lot of American influence as well.

Regarding 'mom' my reasoning is this: since 'mum' reminds me of 'mummy' (as the Egyptian corpses) and the word 'mumma' means grandma in Finnish, whereas 'äiti' is mother, I use American version 'mom' to separate it from these two.

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Nimetic

I don't see why people work at spelling. It seems about as useful as having perfect arithmetic. ie seems to me that spelling is to writing what arithmetic is to mathematics. It's "not the main game".

Having said that - I suppose it's more challenging for some, based on their particular strengths/weaknesses or language background. Luckily there's heaps of fun wordgames on the net. Maybe they can help?

MSD

If I'm explicitly trying to spell a word, I visualize it much as you do. Earlier this week, my team once again became the adult spelling bee champions for a charity group (teams were sponsored by individuals or corporations) and that's how I got through it.
There is no absolutely correct answer, only a "most correct" answer to the question at hand.

EventHorizon

adult spelling bee champs?

is that spelling things like sphincter and gonorrhea?

__________________
Does Marcellus Wallace have the appearance of a female canine? Then for what reason did you attempt to copulate with him as if he were a female canine?

Quote:

Originally Posted by canuckguy Pretty simple really, do your own thing as long as it does not fuck with anyone's enjoyment of life.

Daniel_

Hi dlish. Sounds like you have some type of synaesthesia.

I like the analogy, "spelling is to writing as arithmetic is to mathematics". I may use that.

Ultimately, in professional writing (such as work emails) I am more irritated by someone who proof reads poorly and sends something that is not what they meant than I am by use of "American" vs. "English" spelling - in my trade I see a lot of both, and start to ignore it (although clearly English spelling is correct, and American spelling is wrong).

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Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
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The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
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citadel

It's like mastering the fundamentals in baseball. It's not a guarantee that you'll be better than anyone else at the real thing, but it's a decent start.