English-only requires people to know English, right?
posted at 4:05 pm on June 23, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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Don’t get me wrong; I think that federal and state governments waste money, resources, and opportunities by publishing all official documents in a range of languages, rather than just insist that people living in the US should learn enough English to succeed in the marketplace. Bilingual education that delays or bypasses the teaching of English leaves students ill-prepared for a job market in which English prevails. It’s just that moments like this are a little too ridiculous to pass up:
Shouldn’t people who support English-only initiatives be required to know how to spell “conference”? And shouldn’t the organizers have taken down the sign if they did notice that it was misspelled?
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Oh that is too sad.
Or to sad, in this case.
Larry Farr on June 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
yes – English Speakers Untie that banner!
Larry Farr on June 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
pathetic
jp on June 23, 2009 at 4:08 PM
epic fail!
homesickamerican on June 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Good times.
myrenovations on June 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
And this surprises me how?
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
It’s a kwnon fcat taht all you need to do is get the fsirt and lsat lterets in tiehr ppoerr pcelas and the barin can fgriue out the wrod.
lorien1973 on June 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
New Majority? Is this Frum’s work?
WashJeff on June 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Is that like: Dyslexic’s UNTIE!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Larry Farr on June 23, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Yes, that’s what I was going for, but I figured they weren’t dyslexic – just moronic.
Larry Farr on June 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
heh…That’s too cool…
JetBoy on June 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Well maybe it was made by one of those non-working NYC skool teecherz.
rbj on June 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
FIAL.
LibTired on June 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Our government education system at work…
ornery_independent on June 23, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Deos tihs aplpy wehn you add ltetres to a wrod?
WashJeff on June 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Can you call me, “CONFERENCE?”
It’s just a thing, and I worked so hard to get that title.
Tom_OC on June 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
True, but for professionalism, we should just go ahead and spell it right.
For appearances doncha know…
Dang, if I were those people, I’d plead for a do-over.
Larry Farr on June 23, 2009 at 4:12 PM
Gawd. A spelling error…the one thing I am OCD over…I’ll never get that pic out of my head now!
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Wow. Spell check people. Spell check.
Geronimo on June 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
At least Dyslexic’s try to spell correctly. We just jumble the letter.. we don’t usually add them!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Another cheer for the public school system as well.
Hening on June 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM
THANK GAWD for Spell Check!
wish we had one on this blog.
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM
Except (expect?) if we’re talking about conversation or conservation, or Brian’s brain or barin.
Steve Z on June 23, 2009 at 4:14 PM
I agree with ladyingary.
How is Indiana, anyway?
LibTired on June 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
What does it say about me? I has to read that banner three times before I found the problem.
Tommy_G on June 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
At least we can laff at our own.
fourdeucer on June 23, 2009 at 4:15 PM
Hilarious.
I’m also a spelling nazi, but we all make mistakes.
Like on the title page of my thesis- but that’s another story….
cs89 on June 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Yes, epic fial.
Abby Adams on June 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
I couldn’t tell you…I’m in Tenasi…
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:16 PM
I could get pretty much everything there except ‘proper’, which I had to derive from context.
Count to 10 on June 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Yeah, me too…
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Now I understand why Drywall was spelling it that way the other day.
Clever little gypsum board, that one!
common sensineer on June 23, 2009 at 4:17 PM
Psst…no one would have known if you hadn’t said anything….
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Which answers a previous commenter’s point about Brian Brain, etc.
lorien1973 on June 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
I can relate. I tend to make my biggest (and most glaring) spelling errors either in the email to everybody or to the most important person to get one.
I tell folks that really try not to make mistakes, because when I do – they tend to be memorable.
Larry Farr on June 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Oh no you didn’t!
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
I’ve got to disagree, Ed. English only initiatives are not about being good spellers, they’re about not balkanizing this country with a lot of other languages. That said, I think it is incumbent on the people who make their living from making signs to proofread what they are being paid to create. What’s that old saying? Ten times measure, one time cut.
Kafir on June 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
What can I say? I’m from Indiana!
Tommy_G on June 23, 2009 at 4:19 PM
LOL You a Colts fan?
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:20 PM
Potatoe?
Doughboy on June 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
You can bet the sign painter is at least a high school graduate. Obviously no one proofreads his work, which isn’t surprising considering who makes up most sign painting companies. High school graduates.
Years ago, in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the city had the same problem on many street signs, which were cement columns on street corners with the street names stamped in the cement. THOSE were hard to correct, so the city just left them in place. Ignorance was the city’s byword, at least until the cement crumbled and the signs were unreadable.
bradley11 on June 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Conference. Now extra conference-e.
lorien1973 on June 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
Dyslexia is supposed to be a malfunction in the fine control of eye movements that causes people to sometimes read word ordering incorrectly. I’m kind of puzzled how that turns into spelling errors while typing — which most people can do by memory without watching the screen at all.
Count to 10 on June 23, 2009 at 4:21 PM
I may not spell well.. but I can find them well enough when other people make the mistakes.
In a meeting, aka conference…. I noticed someone had put peni$ in where penal was suppose to be.
Fruedian Slip perhaps? Either way I was the only one who noticed.
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
The sound of one hand clapping for the pubic skool sistem.
Steve Z on June 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Hukd on foniks wurkd fur mi ?
lorien1973 on June 23, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Perhaps that Tom Morrow chap is at fault.
*grin*
zamoose on June 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
What’s funny? Wonder which company actually MADE the banner….do they hire American citizen workers?
HornetSting on June 23, 2009 at 4:24 PM
LOL!!!!!
you guys are killing me….stop!
I’m getting a stich from laughing at these posts
cmsinaz on June 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
I think there is more to it as I don’t even have to look at a screen to say something.. backwards. Yep totally backwards. I usually laugh at myself but some people look at me like I have two heads. It isn’t just that … Like the other day i was TRYING to say Wet Dog.. and I said Det Wog.
Don’t ask, I have no clue either. But I am great at panagrams.
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
Even though I live about 40 miles form Chicago and all the local news, sports and politics are influenced by it, yes.
Tommy_G on June 23, 2009 at 4:25 PM
…..And another thing, could they get some guys that don’t
look like they might want the ‘master race’ to come back?
Epic Faile…I mean, FAIL.
HornetSting on June 23, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Interesting….
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:27 PM
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Yep. Of course, the readers (professors, Drs.) didn’t catch it either. Noticed it after it was bound.
Humility. Good trait to have, hard one to obtain.
cs89 on June 23, 2009 at 4:27 PM
Firefox has a built-in spell checker that underlines words it doesn’t know. You right-click on the word and it offers suggestions. You can also add words to your local copy of the dictionary.
The funny thing: the Firefox spell checker, by default, doesn’t know the words ‘Firefox’ or ‘blog’!
RegularJoe on June 23, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Firefox is slow on my home computer and work.. no can do!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:28 PM
You must have humility in spades…
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:29 PM
I don’t think that is due to dyslexia — I spoonerize all the time while talking.
Then again, I read words by their shapes, not their component letters, so I spell things wrong all the time because I can’t remember the correct spelling. I would really be embarrassing myself here if it wasn’t for firefox’s auto spell checking.
Count to 10 on June 23, 2009 at 4:30 PM
I follow them because of Manning…I’m a Steelers fan first though.
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:30 PM
In Chicago Heights, IL the local bus terminal has an “infomation” board.
It’s been that way for “only” five or six years-and yes-I have complained.
Knucklehead probably knows of where I speak.
our congressman is Triple J-so that explains a lot.
annoyinglittletwerp on June 23, 2009 at 4:30 PM
The Mac operating system has a spell checker built in, and it knows both Firefox and Blog.
Tommy_G on June 23, 2009 at 4:31 PM
I was IMing with my son this week…he is in the USAF and still mixes up his b’s and d’s….
…dless his barling heart.
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:31 PM
Go Stillers!!
cmsinaz on June 23, 2009 at 4:32 PM
I just don’t care anymore. If at work and trying to make a report… I take my time and put on my IPod w/Classical and tone everything out. That is the only way I can do it usually.
But, oddly enough, if I am buzzed or drunk… I can spell PERFECT!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Poster Shop $35.00 to $45.00 bucks locally.
Government purchased banner and union labor to hang it up,$650.00.
America, is this a great place or what?
Col.John Wm. Reed on June 23, 2009 at 4:32 PM
wait till he start using p’s and q’s.
Yep I can’t do that too.
qless his bittle parling heart!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:33 PM
The ability to spell and the ability to letter are different skills. One can be quite literate but when lettering make numerous spelling errors. That’s because they are focused on the drawing the letters, the spacing between and within the letters, the spacing on the line, the spacing on the total area alloted, etc.
Blake on June 23, 2009 at 4:34 PM
Looks like the same person who reads all the legislative bills proofed this banner.
ihasurnominashun on June 23, 2009 at 4:35 PM
That must be one of those “little” things he was stressing about this weekend…
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:36 PM
It was a week-long conference and to be fair at the end of the first day they put out a sign that promised attendees they would: “correct the misspelling on the banner tommorrow“
ScottMcC on June 23, 2009 at 4:36 PM
yep, it gets worse with stress.
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:37 PM
So this has something to do with Pat Buchanan working to regain Republican majorities? I think I see the problem already.
I can’t imagine anyone who would work harder to sabotage Republicans than Buchanan. Why would Republicans even let him into the room?
Buddahpundit on June 23, 2009 at 4:38 PM
When I was kid my parents would accuse me of “murdering” little g’s if I used an in where an ing belonged.
They wondered why I couldn’t hear the little g’s screaming…
and people wonder why I am the way I am.
LoL
annoyinglittletwerp on June 23, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Yes it does.
ladyingray on June 23, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Heh
SouthernGent on June 23, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Oh, and when I was a student, I worked in a university lab with all post-doc physic students and scientists. The secretaries always complained about their spelling. That’s just plain laziness.
Blake on June 23, 2009 at 4:38 PM
Yeah and the banner was prepared in China…..
lexhamfox on June 23, 2009 at 4:39 PM
Hmmm… that is why they are secretaries! What a concept!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 4:40 PM
I don’t know shit from shinola, but I know reading is fundamental.
fourdeucer on June 23, 2009 at 4:45 PM
They were secretaries because they complained about the scientist’s spelling?
Blake on June 23, 2009 at 4:45 PM
Provided you know how to properly spell the words in the first place.
chemman on June 23, 2009 at 4:51 PM
What this guy said.
YYZ on June 23, 2009 at 4:56 PM
LOL: I can relate to that. I’m a math NAZI and the only point I lost on my first year calculus final was for a subtraction error. Was most humbling mistake.
chemman on June 23, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Just a very, very, very big typo!!!
jeanie on June 23, 2009 at 5:01 PM
Umm lets look up the word Secretary shall we!
Let me see… Yep there it is… if you can’t figure this out then there is obviously something wrong with you, or you’re the Secretary!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Procrastinators of the world…………meh, we’ll see about it tomorrow.
Techie on June 23, 2009 at 5:05 PM
You are not supposed to tell tails out of school. Science and math geeks are that way because we couldn’t spell and equations were easier to write. Spell Check and secretaries are God Sends for us Science/Math types.
chemman on June 23, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Engrish brought to you by Pat Buchanan.
- The Cat
P.S. I wonder if who they had made the sign had something to do with it. Tinfoil? No man, that’s 100% aluminum.
MirCat on June 23, 2009 at 5:08 PM
That is a Patrick Joseph “Pat” Buchanan banner. He is seen pictured in lower left of frame. Attaboy Pat.
Americannodash on June 23, 2009 at 5:08 PM
The only problem is he is the Secretary.. he isn’t the geeky Science and Math like types. Engineers come to mind… they use spell check like it was the holy grail!
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 5:09 PM
I’d like to remove the “E” for a $1000, Alex.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on June 23, 2009 at 5:16 PM
if it would have “ACHTUNG! 2009 KONFERENCEN HIER!” then Buchanon would have spotted the problem instantly.
WWS on June 23, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Thank the teachers union.
Johan Klaus on June 23, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Wonder how many would have picked up on it if the sign had said “Conference’s”?
Dr. ZhivBlago on June 23, 2009 at 5:21 PM
Calling FAIL BLOG…
…FAIL BLOG helloooooooooooooooooooooooooooo….
Lockstein13 on June 23, 2009 at 5:22 PM
Apparently, you’re the one who can’t figure it out. This wasn’t correspondence or routine and detail work. Nor, was it records of directors or stockholders’ meetings or any other type of legal work. It was preparing papers written by scientists in areas of advanced physics and research and their related multidisciplinary areas for publication and presentation. The university lab with all post-doc physic students and scientists was a tip off if you were reasonably intelligent and had some advanced university exposure. You appear seriously deficient in both. Oh, and try not being so sexist. It only makes you look even more foolish.
Blake on June 23, 2009 at 5:23 PM
The sort of anti-dyslexic talk in the comments here is exactly the kind of thing that will continue to keep the Republican Party out of power. Republicans must fully embrace the dyslexic community if they want to ever be relevant again.
Django on June 23, 2009 at 5:26 PM
And Sarah Palin is NOT plain.
Steve Z on June 23, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Then maybe you should call them Administrative Assistants.
LOL since they do the same thing as a “Secretary” which takes the items that are given them.. via their boss.. and retype it, so it “looks” professional!
LMFAO how dense are you?
upinak on June 23, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Your teachers union dues at work.
The ACLU’s proudest moment.
America doesn’t need an official language nah not at all.
Speakup on June 23, 2009 at 5:27 PM
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