Spelling Mistake! Never a mistake

Have you ever come across sign boards in front of shops reading “juse, briyani, chilly Gowi, coupen, Tiffen, chckn, coffe”? Does it sound strange, curious or just normal? Now for that matter have you had second thoughts of stepping out to another shop or walking in with the judgment that the shops serve “juice, biriyani, chilly Gobi, coupon, Tiffin, chicken, and coffee”? Our brain has the ability to interpret the right words even if it is wrongly written. Henceforth precise spelling is not a necessity when it comes to boards of these kinds as long as the meaning is conveyed.

These kind of boards are usually seen in front of small hotels or dhabhas, where the hotel owners are either less educated or immigrants from other cities having knowledge in one basic language. They cannot afford to spend too much money on hoardings and neon hence they employ other painters or artists to do the job who are equally illiterate. Mostly they write in a way the word is pronounced or they tend to copy other boards which can be either right or wrong. The hotel owners who are devoid of basic education cannot judge what is written on the board or revise it .Hence they position it as it is in front of the shops.

Making a spelling mistake is not the end of the world; provided you have a dictation or you are pursuing a profession as a journalist who tend to live on vocabulary. For them a spelling mistake can cost them their job and wouldn’t want to be played with. According to Shanmukhan, hotel owner, “These signboards can be read and understood by any ten year old child regardless of the mistake in it. Therefore right spelling is not mandatory when people rightly comprehend it. My shop has been here for almost a year and no one has misunderstood ‘juse’, many people come to drink juice here.”

Sometimes you can also witness many letters omitted out on boards. One such board spelt ‘Blutooth’ without an ‘e’, just for the sake of squeezing the word and fitting it in the board. Many a time’s letters go astray because of the lack of space. Even though its done out of necessity, later turns out to be innovative and eye-catching. However, the shop owners are well aware of the mistake in their boards but since it has not affected their sales, the spelling mistake is no antagonist. When enquired why no change is made in the boards knowing it is wrong, one such shop owner, Velmurukan responded with a humble smile “we will change it soon”.