My job often involves meeting an urgent need for all-but-useless information (Examples: “Quick, what’s the Japanese word for ‘iridencleisis’?” or “Write up a simple description of the problem the design team is having with the chromatic aberration of the polycarbonate substrate layer of this 4x DVD+RW media”) and responding to mind-bendingly convoluted messages from people who cannot write in English (no, not the Japanese I work with, but the people outside Japan—more than a few of whom live in countries where English is the primary language). Has everyone forgotten that mail software often comes with a spell-checking feature? It would certainly seem that way.

So it was with some sense of irony that I note that Microsoft might start working on spell-checkers for minority languages like Gaelic, Icelandic, and Catalan. Supporters say it will give these languages a boost.

Maybe so, but if my experience at work is anything to go by, Microsoft should spare itself the trouble; no one uses spell-checkers anymore. Heck, most people can barely be bothered to capitalize their own names (but, strangely, are sometimes offended if you leave their names in all lowercase letters when you respond).

I doubt the Foundation for Endangered Languages would take me seriously, but sometimes I wonder if the English language will survive the popularity of the Internet—the widespread availability of spell-checkers notwithstanding.