General Question

flo's avatar

How do I prove that there is no squiggly line under the mispelled word in Google search?

Asked by flo (13313points) June 15th, 2013

How do I prove that there is no squiggly red line under the mispelled word in my Google search for the word “pronounciation” There should be no o after the first n.

This applies to differnt search experiences, not just about spelling the list of possible sites inder the search box sdisappears as soon as the curser moves away, which makes sense

So, can you press ctrl or something or other to keep it from disappearing?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

17 Answers

ccrow's avatar

I guess you could do a screen shot…

Tropical_Willie's avatar

Is the word “pronunciation” what you are looking for?
There is no word “pronounciation” in the English language.

Jeruba's avatar

There’s probably no such thing as a misspelled word in Google search since anything could be a search term and spelling variants are a common way to distinguish a website, brand name, etc. Also, Google search is going to pick up text of all kinds, including stuff that is loaded with mistakes.

What you want is a link to Dictionary.com or merriam-webster.com or some other online dictionary. That’s a reasonably good way to verify spelling.

Bellatrix's avatar

As @ccrow said, take a screen shot.

CWOTUS's avatar

Any time you want to avoid a word flagged as misspelled to your dictionary, simply right-click it and then click “Add to dictionary” in the context menu that appears. It won’t be added “to Google”, but it will be added to your own personal dictionary (on that computer).

I strongly suggest that you not add “pronounciation” to your dictionary, though, since that is a misspelling.

ETpro's avatar

To what end would you wish to prove there is no squiggly line under a word in Google SERPs? There isn’t supposed to be. Your browser’s spell checker is disabled deliberately so it is easier to purposely search for things not in the browser’s dictionary. Here’s the search input source code:

<input type=“text” value=”” autocomplete=“off” name=“q” class=“gbqfif” id=“gbqfq” style=“border: medium none; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; height: auto; width: 100%; background: url("data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAID/AMDAwAAAACH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw%3D%3D") repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; position: absolute; z-index: 6; left: 0px; outline: medium none;” dir=“ltr” spellcheck=“false”>

Note that last bit, ...spellcheck=“false”> Proof enough you are right. There’s no squiggly line because Google doesn’t want there to be one.

SavoirFaire's avatar

Note that whether or not Google Search places a red squiggly line under the word depends on various factors, such as where your cursor is and whether or not it is giving you an alternative spelling suggestion. You have to look at more than the input box to determine what Google is trying to tell you.

flo's avatar

Thanks all.
I normally see the red line if it is misspelled, even if google is listing the different websites with the misplelled word though. But I guess I’ll go to the actual dictionaries as @Jeruba pointed out which is what I used to do.

flo's avatar

But where is the problem with killing 2 birds with one stone idea? Indicating that the spellling is wrong, while listing all the websites, the ones with the misspelled or not.

Jeruba's avatar

Because you can create a website with any name you want and pretty much any content you want. Consider “cheezburger.” I just typed in “mooveez” at random and got a hit.

There is no requirement whatsoever that websites in English stick to dictionary spelling, nor, of course, that websites around the world stick to English. When you’re Googling, you’re looking for something. Google suggests alternative spellings in order to help you find what you’re looking for and not to help you proofread.

ETpro's avatar

@Jeruba & @flo Actually, if the website has any commercial intent, there is a strong incentive NOT to spell words in a trademark correctly. They generally can not be trademarked, because they are generic words showing up in thousands of business names.

flo's avatar

“When you’re Googling, you’re looking for something. Google suggests alternative spellings in order to help you find what you’re looking for…” Yes, and the spellcheck just happens to be there as a bonus service.
It is no different from a car dealer giving you a free car wash while you are making up your mind.

Jeruba's avatar

If you were to type in “spo” or “ftarng,” obviously not real words, what would be the correct spelling?

Regardless of the answer, there could be websites or web content containing those character strings and shown in your search results.

To repeat, the fact that something is not a conventionally spelled English word does not mean it can’t be found on a website. Google has no way of deciding what you might have meant.

flo's avatar

Re. “spo” it could be sportsmen, or something to do with spores etc. There are too many possiblities for google to decide what I’m thinking of. So, it is not underling it. It makes sense, there are too few letters.

But for example “cheezberger” it seems to know I probably meant cheezburger so it is underlining it right after one space. And it is not interferring with the websites it is listing.
It is good for people whose 1st language is not English, or who are not good at spelling.

flo's avatar

….I misspelled cheeseburger above “it seems to know I probably meant cheezburger”

Jeruba's avatar

Giving up now.

flo's avatar

All I know is that it has been useful to me.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.

This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther