Who needs dictionaries when we have Google

Tim Krohn, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·3 min read

Jun. 26—Spellcheck and the ability to Google the correct spelling of words is a double-edged sword.

I write for a living, but there are always words that trip me up: accommodate, occasionally, entrepreneur. Having my misspellings highlighted is a handy tool to make me look more competent than I am. (Along with a keen-eyed news editor that knows all that grammar stuff and fixes my pronoun disagreements and misplaced modifiers.)

The problem with spell checkers is they don't flag you if you use the wrong form of a word, like typing "there" when you meant "their."

I have a chronic problem of occasionally typing "form" rather than "from." Every time I finish a story I automatically do a word search for "form" just to double check.

But all the automatic computer help means people don't really have to learn spelling or grammar, or enjoy the odd pleasure of thumbing through a big Merriam-Webster dictionary to look up words.

Google Trends just came out with its annual infographic that highlights the top spelling searches in each state, specifically looking at searches that began with "How do you spell..."

The infographic comes out around the time of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, where brainy kids this year spelled words such as "escharotic," "hebdomadal" and "gegenschein."

It turns out, the words normal people have trouble spelling are far more mundane.

The most searched for spelling in Minnesota this year has been "paparazzi." I'm not sure why. Minnesotans are not often stalked by aggressive freelance photographers who are trying to capture photos of us coming out of the Pizza Ranch or digging ice fishing holes.

But there is a popular multi-level marketing company that has people host jewelry parties that's called "Paparazzi Accessories," which may explain the word's popularity this year.

Last year, Minnesotans most often needed to look up "celebrate."

Minnesota sports fans will be tickled to learn that Wisconsin residents most often searched for "lose" this year.

North Dakotans may be showing their lack of confidence in what their state has to offer. They most often looked up the word "sorry."

Indiana residents on the other hand are apparently pretty proud of themselves and their state. Their search word was "awesome."

South Dakotans were searching for the spelling of "beautifully," while Nebraska residents looked up "beautiful."

Iowans, meanwhile, were keeping it in the family with their spelling search of "cousin."

West Virginians invite questions about their education system. West Virginia's top search word was "West Virginia."

Hawaii had problems with the spelling of one of its islands, but it's understandable as "Kauai," is a "k" followed by four vowels.

Ohio's search word was "choir," while Kentucky's was looking up "again."

Looking at the 50 state list of words looked up you have to wonder if spellcheck and Google have irreparably dumbed us down.

Tim Krohn can be contacted at tkrohn@mankatofreepress.com or 507-720-1300.