No kidding: SMS jargon spells trouble for teachers

Schoolteachers across India are witnessing a strange phenomenon while correcting exam papers. With mobile phones having crept inside classrooms, SMS language has made its way into answer sheets: students facing a time crunch during tests routinely replace ‘are’ with ‘r’ and ‘you’ with ‘u’ and ‘through’ is now spelt as ‘thru’.

“Before any written assignment, our teachers have to remind the class that they’re not on SMS or internet chat and words have to be spelt the way they are in the dictionary,’’ says Anahita Devitre, principal of JB Petit High School in Fort.

Texting via SMS is not the only culprit. Computer spellchecks are giving birth to a generation that hasn’t learnt to spell; now the computer checks spellings for them. To add to the confusion, Devitre points out that children often forget that their computer spell-check is set to American standards, while at school, they’re learning the Queen’s English. As a result, children are rather confused when it comes to spelling words like colour, which they often spell as ‘color’ and organise, which they spell with a z.

Advertisements, with their bhelpuri of misspelt words, have only worsened the situation. “Children often spell Chocolate as Choklate, thanks to the ads around them,’’ says Yasmin Chagla, principal of Cumballa Hill School and Nepean Sea Road. The fact that several advertisements are now in Hinglish certainly doesn’t help children learn.

However, the city might just witness a reverse trend. Spelling Bee, one of America’s most popular classroom contests, which began in 1925 and went on air in 1941 is set to hit Mumbai next month. Children may soon go the extra mile to ensure they can spell well, sans spell-check.

The promoters of Spelling Bee in the US have approached The mastii-kustii to start the Indian chapter of the contest, which will begin in November.

Meanwhile, many parents say that it’s not just children hooked onto SMS or internet chat who’re having trouble with their spellings. “My son doesn’t chat online and he doesn’t own a mobile phone, but his spellings are getting worse. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that children don’t read books anymore. Now, there are just so many other things that they can do with their time,’’ says Kamal Katgara, a parent whose child studies at Bombay International School in Babulnath.

“With the pressure of studies increasing over the years, kids are struggling to cope with science and mathematics, so naturally languages take a backseat and spellings are just one of the casualties,’’ adds Carl Laurie, who heads Christ Church, a school in Mazgaon. Teachers across the city admit that they too, are no longer laying as much emphasis on spellings as they used to.

Raj Aloni, principal of JJ Fort Boys High School, is used to getting letters from students and parents in which she’s addressed as ‘The Principle’ instead of ‘The Principal.’

To Aloni’s horror, during a Geography examination, she found that children, while filling in the name of the subject in the answer paper, actually copied the correct spelling from the question paper.

Of the commonly misspelt words in Mumbai classrooms, those with double letters like ‘success’ and, ‘accommodate’ are routinely misspelt. ‘College’ invariably turns into ‘collage.’ Thanks to advertisements, Quality has now become Kwality. “Spellings are getting a little more phonetic,’’ points out Katgara.