By: Natasha Archary
He doesn’t care how smart you say you are, if you’re sending Sizwe Dhlomo an email that’s riddled with bad spelling and grammar, rest assured he will not take you seriously.
The Kaya Drive host says he judges people who have poor spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure, and he’s not alone.
Both Juliet Joseph and Mbali Dhlamini say terrible spelling is unforgivable, especially when it comes to dating and you’re texting someone who short-hand texts or sends you a message that is full of spelling no-no’s.
“I’m not going to lie, I do judge people who have whack spelling. If you are sending a proper email, and it’s supposed to be something professional, and you’ve got a spelling or grammatical error, ai mina, I knock off some points.”
Sizwe Dhlomo
Listen to the conversation on Kaya Drive:
People will judge you
There’s not much you will be allowed to get away with in the form of bad spelling and grammar because, as pointed out by the Kaya Drive team, there are spell checker apps now.
“There’s no excuse for bad spelling, especially when you’re at work, if you’re not sure just speak into the microphone on your PC or laptop and it will transcribe what you’re saying correctly.”
Mbali Dhlamini
In situations where your spelling is on display for everyone to see, like on the internet, or social media, people will pick apart your comprehension, spelling and grammar.
But, spelling errors are not a clear indication of someone’s intellectual capacity, so cut yourself some slack if you do make a mistake here or there.
The fact that English is not the home language in many South African households is also a factor, and while the office environment does command the use of the language, there’s a difference between speaking and writing or typing in English.
It’s easy to confuse certain words in the English language, one of the most common mistakes people make is the use of the words have and of.
Most people type, “I should of left my jacket in the car,” instead of “I should have left my jacket in the car.”
The confusion comes from the abbreviated version, should’ve which many people mistake for the word of.
If you used to get that wrong, don’t worry, we’re judging you for your bad spelling and grammar in true Kaya Drive fashion.
Also read: How to improve your work-life balance
