Dyslexic Cavers...

[Mark]

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rsceraeh at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas thguhot slpeling was ipmorantt.

Its not the way its written its the content that counts

 

[graham]

The strange thing is that whenever I read that particular statement about the human brain, it seems significantly less annoying than many of the real cases that one comes across.

 

[cap n chris]

The really strange thing is that I feel significantly annoyed most of the time anyway.

 

[graham]

The really strange thing is that I feel significantly annoyed most of the time anyway.

I've noticed that about you  ...

 

[kay]

I'm not fecking disabled, I am handy-capable 

Sorry, a shorthand for "a company producing software for anyone with particular needs not catered for by most commercial software, or software for people who have a requirement not shared by most other people for software assistance in meeting their everyday needs" - not meant to offend or to imply that you (or anyone) was in any way incapable.

Incidentally, what should I have said? "Differently abled" sounds daft. My son's dyslexia report started "xxxxx is a dyslexic thinker" which I thought was  good, but doesn't help in this context since the company involved doesn't confine itself to the needs of dyslexic thinkers.

 

[cap n chris]

Are you sure they meant to write "thinker"? 

 

[kay]

Grrrr! You may get away with suggesting to DP that dyslexics aren't thinkers, but it's a lot more dangerous suggesting that to a mother of a dyslexic :spank:

Good job I saw the smiley ...

 

[whitelackington]

Are you sure they meant to write "thinker"? 

I may be mistaken but perhaps he tounge in cheek meant **nker :tease:

 

[Peter Burgess]

The really strange thing is that I feel significantly annoyed most of the time anyway.

I've noticed that about you  ...

Artificial food additives?

 

[cap n chris]

Sorry, I only eat real food.

 

[darkplaces]

I'm not fecking disabled, I am handy-capable 

Just in case I wasn't getting angry at anyone just playing silly referring to George Carlings talk of softening the world with sim... simimum.. sima.. soft words to replace real world words, Like;

differently-abled, handy-capable = handicapped
older = OLD
Bathroom Tissue = BOG ROLL
RTA = CAR CRASH!
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder = SHELL SHOCK
People in need of assistance = SPASTICS (oops maybe that should be in the Political Correctness topic....?)

Back to topic - As a disboxit I get annoyed at the choice of words people use when a perfectly good, descriptive 'simpler' word would have done. But oh no some people must advertise just how many words they know to say the same thing. I don't care if you know 7 ways to say sh1t its still sh1t!

Absconded = RAN AWAY - simple to spell everyone understands.
Evacuate = GET OUT - even easier to spell and more punchy for the desired effect.

I am sure people can think of plenty more.

 

[kay]

Kay's mention of a spell checker designed with dyslexics in mind is intriguing.
How does it differ in use from a regular one?

The software my son is using is Read and Write Gold, which is a spell checking text to speech program with many options. It has everything on one menu bar that floats above most Windows programs.

The spell checker is 'phonetic' which I take to mean it selects the alternative words on the basis of sounds and not purely on letter substitutions, and definitions of the offered words are given.
The speech facility means you can hear the words spoken out loud, which makes choosing the correct word very much easier for the dyslexic.
Homophones  in the text can be highlighted, and similar sounding words displayed with their dictionary definition

It also includes word prediction, scanning, access to the web for fact finding and storing notes and exporting in MP3 or wave format, a scientific talking calculator, and a pronunciation guide.

This gives a quite good review:
http://www.schoolzone.co.uk/resources/evaluations/contentdesign.asp?evalID=4369

 

[shotlighter]

While I'm sure that Dyslexia exists (my own spelling/grammer is highly suspect), I can't help thinking that some use it as an excuse. For instance, one of my digging buddies is an ex headmaster of a school which a "self confessed  dyslexic"  celebrity attended. The verdict of her teachers (who had taught genuine dyslexics),  - not dyslexic, thick as pig s**t! Mind you she is considerably richer than me (& the ex head master) - bugger!

 

[graham]

Absconded = RAN AWAY - simple to spell everyone understands.
Evacuate = GET OUT - even easier to spell and more punchy for the desired effect.

Sorry wrong in both cases:

Abscond means specifically to leave quickly in order to avoid prosecution or other legal difficulties.

Evacuate means specifically to empty.

The English Language is a rich and wonderful thing with a beautifully varied and nuanced vocabulary. it does not deserve to be "dumbed down".

 

[Peter Burgess]

People use the word 'absconded' when they mean 'ran away'.

Often people use words to make themselves sound clever, when if they stuck to the unambiguous 'ran away' everyone would know what they meant, and the language would not be debased.

Likewise for 'get out'. 'Please evacuate the building' is not really as good as 'please get out of the building'.

 

[graham]

It is hardly my fault that some people may not use the language in such a way that the full richness of its meaning is allowed to come through.

Please get out of the building might just be aimed at an individual or small group. Please evacuate the building means, quite unambiguously, that everybody should leave.

 

[Peter Burgess]

Who blamed you?

To ask each person to evacuate a building is making them each personally responsible for emptying the building. If you are speaking to them individually then the action you want from them is to get out, or leave. If you are responsible for getting the people out, it is you that is evacuating the building not them.

Five minute argument or half an hour? 

 

[graham]

pedantic git.

 

[darkplaces]

I don't think in an emergency or in general people see the difference - EVERYONE OUT! - is a 100000 times better then 'please evacuate the building' has not life in it, means leave when you feel like it, in your own time, leasurly. The word 'please' doesn't belong in any kind of situation were you want people to do something immediately.

Please means = "I'm not sure but I'll ask and if you think its the right thing to do maybe then when your ready we might leave at some point I don't know really, um its getting kinda hot and my legs are burning a little but please if you dont mind at all I would like to move a little faster..."

"Evacuate means specifically to empty" - What empty the building, of its contents too? So Evacuate is the wrong word to use when asking people to leave when we have a fire because then people would have to start lugging chairs and tables out with them...?

Its taken me so long to write this post both Graham and Peter has posted...

 

[Peter Burgess]

pedantic git.

You're welcome.