Hi! Holger,

On Wed, 11 Dec 13, you wrote to me:

 HG> Like you Paul I like to see all languages I read correctly spelled.
 HG> Your sample above is just one of many common mispellings in english.

It's annoying, to be sure.  Sometimes I think that it's because I'm a
cranky old man, then after a second's thought, I can't resist _suggesting_
a correction.  I resisted for more than a year with that bloke.  I think I
must be getting slower as I age.  ;)

 HG> Others are:
 HG> seperate for separate
 HG> independants for independents
 HG> powerfull for powerful
 HG> reciever, riceiver, riciver or anything for receiver

Here's another without any deep thinking: 'than' in place of 'then'.  It is
often used by Joe Delahaye in Canada, and certainly by a lot of USAsians. 
The first word is a comparitor whereas the second is a pause in a sentence
in lieu of a comma, where a comma would be inappropriate.

Whoops.  I just thought of another world-wide phenomenon: the use of
"must/might/could/would" (and maybe others), in conjunction with
the word "of" instead of the word "have" (or its
contracted form "'ve").  (I think the practice has been
introduced in a teaching environment where the lecturer [many, many, no
doubt] is trying to explain the abbreviation "'ve", using the
_sound_ of the word "of".  Unfortunately, that sound has now
caused a lot of writers [learned varsity types included] to erroneously now
use the incorrect form.)  Watch out for that one as it catches native
speakers as well.

 HG> That's just a short list. I'll add to it when more appears
 HG> Your sample above could ne a slip to the key alongside (it happens to
 HG> me) but not when it appears time and again from the same person.

To be honest, I think I mangled the word using that spelling in an
echomail... once.  :)

 HG> Seasons Greetings,

You too, my friend.

(Our little girl, from the 'wild west' of the Gulf of Carpentaria, will be
home for xmas for a few days.  She's been away for nearly 11 months. 
Whoo!hoo!)

Cheers,
Paul.

... Gone crazy, be back later.  Please leave message after the beep...
--- Paul's Win98SE VirtualBox