Dr David Hornsby, from the Department of English Language & Linguistics, was interviewed on BBC Radio Kent earlier in the week, on the Julia George slot, presented by Steve N Allen.
The interview was broadcast on Monday 18 January, when David was posed the question ‘Are spellcheckers ruining society?’ The interview was in response to an online posting of a schoolteacher’s spelling – test complete with spelling errors – resulted in a Twitter storm. ‘I do have some sympathy for that teacher,’ claims David, who argues there are many counterintuitive spellings within the English language. ‘I think English really could do with a spelling reform, but we’re not going to get it,’ he states.
The programme can be heard on the BBC’s iPlayer, with David’s interview occurring at 23 minutes, here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03dwzs8#play