My SO and I were instant messaging, and he used “there” where he should’ve used “they’re.” I called him on it, and he teased me for picking on his spelling when I’d just asked him how to turn off the “Check spelling as you type” feature, as it was annoying as heck. I replied that he’d made a grammar error, not a spelling error. He disagrees. So, O Grammar and Spelling Nazis, which of us is correct?
I’d say grammar. Unless he knew the right word was ‘they’re’ and wanted to put it in and actually misspelled it. That seems unlikely, but it would be hard to prove.
I would call it a spelling error. It wasn’t his grammar that was incorrect. His orthography chose the wrong homophone. Would you call “I have a horse throat” a grammar error? I wouldn’t. Spelling all the way.
It’s both. He misspelled the word “they’re” and he used the wrong part of speech. But from a technological standpoint, it’s a grammar error because the available technology (the check spelling as you type feature) would not have registered an error because “there” is correctly spelled.
See, I absolutely disagree. It’s not his grammar that’s at fault. He knew which part of speech he was supposed to use. It’s just that, in his hurry, he spelled out the wrong one. A spelling can be valid and still be a spelling error. If he said the sentence out loud, nobody would complain of the grammar, would they? The error occurred in the transcription, therefore, the error is orthographical in nature, not grammarwise.
At least that’s how I’ve always seen it. Then again, I consider “should of” for “should’ve” a spelling error as well.
I say grammar error, because he substituted an entirely different word. If he had typed “they’er,” it would have been a spelling error.
Eye thing htis s gona becum ah rilly logn thred.
Neither. This kind of error is best categorized as a “brainfart.”
Eye thing your write.
I should’ve put this in Great Debates, maybe. I didn’t expect such a controversy! yawn To bed now. Can’t wait to see where this goes.
(on preview - Hi, Colibri! I’m in your neck of the woods right now, visiting my mom in Panama city. How 'bout that.)
I agree with Colibri, and I don’t really see any room for argument.
Is it a spelling error? Well, he actually knew how to spell the word!
Is it a grammar error? Well, he actually knew the proper grammar!
It just came out wrong.
Well, it’s an error of some sort, and if you’re going to categorize it lexicographically or philologically you need to choose either spelling or grammar. This is GQ, the arbiter of all tricky questions. You can’t duck the question here by redefining any more than you could on an exam. Brainfart won’t do.
It’s a grammar error.
Why doesn’t “brainfart” count as an error?
But those are not the only two possible choices (only the ones offered in the OP), nor are they mutually exclusive.
Hi, I saw your thread but didn’t around to posting in it before you left.
I vote for spelling error. If he was speaking, then it wouldn’t be noticed and of course its gramatically correct. He likely had the right word/meaning in mind, he was just confused on the correct spelling.
If the sentence had been spoken, there would have been no error. The grammar was correct. The error was in the spelling. The contraction they’re was misspelled. (Spell Check is not a perfect system.)
(I am a retired English teacher who will doctor your high school records if you argue with me.)
From a linguistic perspective, it was definitely not a grammar error, as no native speaker of English would ever seriously confuse the word “there” with the contraction “they’re”, at least at the level of cognition at which language is processed. One could no easier confuse “here” and “he’s”.
In my estimation, it was a kind of spelling error, but of a higher order than the kind that produces things that look like typos:
[ul]
[li]As has been pointed out, the problem was not in knowing which letters formed a valid word, since “they’re” is indeed a well-formed string in English orthography. [/li][li]Rather, the problem was in selecting from among a mental list of well-formed strings that all have the same pronunciation, namely, “there”, “their”, and “they’re”. [/li][li]Knowing which of those three strings to use for any given context requires conscious awareness of English syntax. [/li][li]However, because this kind of awareness is unnecessary when speaking out loud and only required when spelling, I would still classify this kind of mistake as a spelling error.[/li][/ul]
Oh, come on. I can’t be online for more than 10 minutes before I see those two words confused. Ostensibly by native speakers of English.
Or maybe they’re just processing their language at a different level of cognition.
Exactly. Fallacy of the false dilemma.
You’re either with us or you’re with the language terrorists.
Typographical error. He typed the wrong keys.
Otherwise, it’s both a spelling error that made a grammatical error.