Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Spell-check disasters

In the "Corrections and Clarifications" column, the Readers' Editor of The Hindu explains (May 6) that the computer spell-check caused German words "Friedland" and "Reichs" to be wrongly printed as "Friendland" and "Reich's" in the This Day That Age column of May 1. That illustrates the havoc computer spell-check programmes can cause. These programmes often do not recognise even well-known English words and produce ridiculous corrections. Suggested spelling for `Orographic' is thus `Pornographic.' Suggested corrections for `Pradesh' are `Prudish' or `Prides,' for `Rs.' `Rest,' `FRS,' and `Mrs.,' and for Vorticity, `Virility,' and `Virginity.' The dictionary is still the safest bet.

S. Raghavan,
Chennai

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