Dorothy Parker: “The two most welcome words in the English language are ‘Cheque enclosed.'”
I quote this not for its profundity, but for its spelling. I appreciate seeing “cheque” spelled correctly.
I got a letter from the school, the one my kids go to. It asked for a series of “post-dated checks.” I was scandalized. I suppose the secretary is American. Doesn’t matter, she needs a talking to.
Well that’s just from the office. But from the classroom… the kids bring home papers talking about color and honor, and I happen to know that the teachers are home spun Canadians. I suppose when a luminary such as Margaret Atwood uses spellings from south of the border, I can’t come down too hard on the teachers can I.
Yes I can. Maybe Atwood’s teachers didn’t teach right either.
Truly, though, a missing u or two isn’t so serious. But dropped consonants can drive me around the bend. I mean, the appointment was canceled. That just looks dumb to me. And when did worshipping become worshiping. That just looks plain wrong. I suppose if I were to explore a typical warehouse in Anytown, U.S.A, I would find a door marked “shiping and receiving?”
Then there are those brilliant entrepreneurs who insist on calling their businesses some variation of e-z not realizing that in Canada E-Z Storage, for example, would be pronounced “ee zed storage.” Maybe that’s what they meant. Maybe, on the other hand, it isn’t.
Alright I know, nitpicking, nitpicking. But you know? “Check” as a means of transferring money is obscene. And I don’t expect obscenities on letters I get from my kids’ school. Meanwhile my chequebook sits safely in my desk, guarded against those who can’t tell the difference between a beaver and an eagle…
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