There are lots of English spell check tools available, some within software applications and some accessible over the Internet. Whatever the purpose of your written English, making sure you are using correct spelling can be an essential way to project the right image and achieve effective, successful communication.
If you are communicating for business or work, the importance of spelling is even greater. It can be difficult, particularly with electronic communication, to create a clear impression of professionalism, but using well structured and accurately spelled English is a real asset.
Why Use An English Spell Checker
Even if you have excellent English, the nature of modern communication means that you will inevitably sometimes write in a hurry. Rather than having to read over your writing in extreme detail, which quite frankly none of us have time for, a spell check tool highlights errors so that you can see them at a glance (and fix them).
If you are speaking English as a second language, spelling can be a difficult area. As well as making sure you are not including any spelling errors in your communications, using a spell checker is a great way to remind yourself of the correct spellings, and therefore learn them.
English is notorious for containing non-standard and unpredictable elements. The peculiar history of the language combined with the fact that periods of standardisation and reform have led to anomalies in the conventions for spelling certain words all add up to it being a difficult language in terms of spelling.
If spelling is quite simply not your strong point, why worry about it? It's absolutely not a reflection on your intelligence, as many highly intelligent people are hopeless at spelling! Embrace the convenience of technology and focus on whatever you are good at.
Software Spelling Checks
Most spelling check tools work within other applications such as those for word processing, text editing and generally anything that involves entering text.
Alternatively, there are also spell checker tools that are run as standalone programs. Many of these can be downloaded and installed free of charge, but their popularity has decreased due to the increase of spelling check functions within other applications.
The range of software applications to include spell check functions as standard has increased dramatically over the years. As well as word processing packages such as Microsoft Word and Open Office, Firefox led the way for browsers to include spell checking wherever text entry is occurring on a Web page. Similarly, email and instant messaging programs such as Kmail and Pidgin can check spelling automatically.
You may find that many of the programs you use for English writing actually have a spelling check facility. Check through the menus in your applications to see if they do in fact provide this. If you're using Mac OS X, you should find spell check functionality within virtually every program you run.
Internet Spell Checks
You can paste your English text into an online spell checker if you do not have access to one on your computer. Most of these are free to use, you simply visit the website and insert your written content. Web spell check sites are widely available, popular examples including SpellChecker.net and Orangoo.
As mentioned above, you may also find that your Web browser has the ability to check your spelling for you, which is useful if you are perhaps filling in website forms or using webmail to send emails. Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome are also able to install extensions and "add-ons" which can perform many different types of language function. For Internet Explorer, ieSpell is a commonly used plugin.
Many popular websites in which users enter text, such as social networking sites and blogs, have begun to provide spelling checks within their Web interfaces. In most cases, these tools are accessed using a button within the text entry areas.
How Spell Check Tools Work
Spell check tools generally use a dictionary database containing all of the words listed as valid. Any word you use that is not listed in the dictionary will be highlighted as a spelling error. This does mean that sometimes words will wrongly be identified as incorrectly spelled, simply because they are not in the dictionary. This often happens for words with specialist meanings, or words that are new to the language and have not yet been added.
Some spell check tools work their way through your text, presenting you with a dialogue box each time a spelling error is encountered. However, the more frequently used spelling checks simply highlight spelling errors as you write, often with a red line under any problematic words.
In terms of technologies, most spelling checkers use a spell checking engine such as GNU Aspell to carry out their implementation.
Considerations
When you use a spell check tool, bear in mind the fact that there are different varieties of English, and that these varieties differ in terms of how they spell certain words. For example, American and British English vary in several ways, including the spelling of a lot of words.
If you are using a spelling check tool, find out if it can be set to use a certain variety of English, as many of them can. Choose the right variety of English for your purposes, whether this is because you want to target a particular geographical area or are communicating with people who speak a particular variety themselves.
Finally, I would personally recommend using spelling check tools only as a backup to learning sound English skills, rather than as a replacement for these. This way your English writing will attain a good basic standard.
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