An eclectic IT career: Mayo Takeuchi

I once had a brief conversation with a colleague, after I'd co-founded a "Council for Writing Quality" at a previous workplace. He'd scoffed at my efforts, and I can still remember (and recreate) a steep rise in my blood pressure when he said "But, others can understand [the message] anyway. Who cares if there's the occasional typo?" It probably behooves me to insert a disclaimer concerning both people with dyslexia or other linguistic learning disorders and non-native speakers at this point, prior to commencing my rant in earnest. I certainly wouldn't exact the same standards for either writing or pronunciation when I'm aware that they're functionally blind, cognitively impaired, or if the language happens to be someone's second, third or fourth tongue. But the above paraphrase originated from someone who was not suffering from any known linguistic impairment and only knew English natively. Perhaps it's because English was not m...

I'd alluded to the fact that I'm an ex-pat. Astute readers of prior posts would have noticed that I wrote "flavour" with the u included. This correctly indicates that my English retains UK influences - and indeed, I was born and raised in Canada, a Commonwealth member (although I understand that environmentalists asked the country to be suspended in status in 2009 ) . However, I do work for an American multinational . And my undergraduate studies were also undertaken near Boston , where I vividly recall being penalized (not "penalised") for any slip-ups I made for non-American spelling. For those asking "but is there such a thing as "Canadian" spelling?", my good friend Rosemary has this example: "Canadian Tire Centre". In UK spelling it would be Tyre, and in the US, it would be Center: in Canada, the full example is the only correct way to write it. So, dear readers, please expect - and hopefully respect - my ...