Wordnesia: That strange phenomenon of blanking on the spelling or meaning of a common word.
Have you ever blanked out on a word that you were writing? You know the word but suddenly you have no idea how to spell it. Or perhaps you have written a word, but it doesn’t look right. Maybe the word couch for example. All at once it doesn’t look right. You know the word. You’ve got one in your living room. You might even have slept on one. You’ve written couch or read it a zillion times, but all of the sudden you think maybe it needs a “w” or a “k.” Who decided it should be spelled c-0-u-c-h anyway? That can be wordnesia.
I had a case of wordnesia the other day. I was typing a note to someone. Sympathizing with them. I wanted to write the word sad. Hard word, right? Three whole letters, but I suddenly had no idea how to write that word. I was way off in left field with an “l.” An “l!” There is no “l” sound in sad. But I could not come up with the letters to write that word.
Let me tell you I began to get worried. After all, I’m a writer. A writer needs to be able to come up with words and definitely not stumble over words like sad. It would have been different if I was trying to write exaggerate or perseverance or occasion. Or if I was deciding between affect and effect. Those can be tricky. But sad. Come on. I sat here and stared at my computer screen and wondered if I’d had a stroke. A teeny stroke that only affected (see, I got that right) my ability to spell that one little word. I could type other words.
But I didn’t panic. Quite. Instead I did the unthinkable. I Googled a synonym (now that’s a word you could go big time wordnesia on) for unhappy. Sad popped up, but it still took a couple of seconds for my brain to right itself and see the word. I sort of tiptoed around the rest of the day hoping more words wouldn’t disappear from my mental dictionary. I need those words.
A day or two later, I saw my sisters and you know, you tell sisters everything. So I told them I worried I had some kind of very mini stroke because I couldn’t spell sad. They gave me some “you sure are weird” looks. But then my older sister, Jane, went to the internet and Googled not being able to spell a common word. She came up with wordnesia and assured me I wasn’t alone in suddenly losing a word. I headed out to the internet too to find some comforting company with others who have had the same kind of spelling glitch I’d had. Here’s the link to a Post by Matthew J.X. Malady with some great info about the phenomenon. Here’s a bit of his post.
Russell Epstein, a cognitive neuroscientist and psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies memory and perception, posits that these experiences may be linked to concepts described by psychologist William James in his 1890 masterwork The Principles of Psychology. James contended that our conscious experiences are made up of components he referred to as the nucleus and the fringe. The nucleus consists of sensory information that we discern easily and have no trouble perceiving (the individual letters that make up words, for instance) while the fringe entails more nebulous experiences or responses that help inform fully developed thoughts. Fringe-type sensations involving familiarity, significance, and correctness would appear to be critical in connecting all the dots when reading and writing, but in some instances the signals can get crossed. Sometimes, as Epstein says, “the fringe provides a sense of ‘wrongness’ when it should be providing a sense of ‘rightness.’”
So I’m glad to find out that my fringe is simply getting a little ragged and that if I rest my poor, tired brain (fatigue may play a factor in wordnesia) I might remember how to spell sad the next time I want to write about an unhappy person or about my fringe messing up and making me sad when I forget how to spell something.
How about you? Have you experienced any kind of wordnesia? Looked at a word and thought it just didn’t look right even when it was? Tried to spell a word with some wrong letters? Or am I the only one with a ragged fringe?
As always, thanks for reading. Oh, and most of you voted candy for a prize along with books, but on my Facebook page, the votes were more even with books winning out over both candy and flowers.
P.S. Did you like my crazy looking girl in the picture? My granddaughter drew that on the paint app on Word when she was five or six years old. So I just added the words. I thought the girl looked as frazzled as I was the other day when I lost the word sad.
Comments 33
Wow. A revelation, I thought I was having a spur of a learning disability. This really calmed my nerves.
I blanked on the world “people” the other day
Author
It seems to happen to the best of us, Faith. But you’ve recovered the word now. To that’s good. 🙂
Does this include the times where you repeatedly see the same word and all of a sudden you get this feeling that that very same word looks weird? Like you have trouble identifying that word?
Author
I think it does, Gabriel. You can find more references online that might tell you more.
I thought this might be helpful to others who suffer from wordnesia as I do. There is an app you can get free on your computer called Grammarly. It shows you misspelled words, punctuation errors, and even mistakes in grammar. I love it and use it often.
Author
Thanks, Kathy. I’ve never used it, but I’m sure it’s helpful at times.
I was at the physiotherapist yesterday and he asked me to write down my exercises in my own words. I started to write touching my toes but could get no further than to…. for toes. I asked the physiotherapist not to help me but I could not think of how to spell toe. He ended up telling me – to my embarrassment! I happen to be a voracious reader and an excellent speller. I was worried that maybe I was on the onset of Alzheimer’s. I am 77.
Author
It’s a disconcerting feeling for sure, Jeanne, when those words you know so well seem to go off in a fog. If it makes you feel any better, that hasn’t happened to me again. So it may have just been a moment of stress or fatigue for you.
Jeanne,
I’m 24 and it happens to me all the time. I think for me two factors play in as to why this happens to me so frequently. One English is not my mother tongue it is a learned language, therefore words may seem more incorrect to me. The second is that I suffer from Insomnia, my brain is probably exhausted all the time. I stumble across this page after googling why the spelling of simple words just seemed so wrong to me. Today it happen with my mom’s name (Anaray), a name I’ve been reading and writing all my life, and yet I stared at it for a while not recognized the spelling of it to be correct. It’s quite disconcerting to have that happen. So don’t feel sad or embarrassed toe is definitely better than your mother’s name.
Im a 45 year old english Kindergarten teacher in Germany, yesterday I wrote out a childrens song as our german English teacher on the course was in panik as the internet was down. Incey Wincey spider, “easy for you?” he said. So on the board before 19 fellow adult students I unexpectedly wrote the song from memory, I’d sung millions of times. I spelt climbed – claimed, Wincey – Whincy. I wanted to die right on the spot! I’m seriously worried I’m starting with dementia!
Author
But now that you’ve read this and seen how it can happen to anyone, even those who aren’t quite in the dementia range yet, you can rest easy that next time you spell climbed, you will spell it exactly right, Karl. 🙂
In my earlier comments about wordnesia I wrote the word aging and it didn’t look right. In reading it over again today it still didn’t look right even though it didn’t have a red line under it. I looked it up and found that “aging” is the American spelling and “ageing” is the British spelling. So, I guess either way would have been right.
Author
That’s one of those words that the longer you look at it, the more it looks wrong, Kathy. Fun to look things up and see what the right way is. If there is a right way. 🙂
In America it’s “itsy bitsy” spider
Well, I don’t feel like the Lone Ranger now. One would expect this with aging (that doesn’t look right), but I can’t say that is my problem, since I’ve always had wordnesia. The more I think about it the more I am apt to have it happen. Spelling has never been my strong point, but I’ve heard that very intelligent people often have this problem. Thanks for sharing this with us today, Ann.
Author
I’m usually an excellent speller, Kathy, except for those tricky words that I might add an extra letter or leave out a letter. Like occasion. Took me forever to remember which letter was double and which was single. Now on computers, they are always popping red lines on things if you mess up a letter or two. Helpful but can be aggravating if you are intentionally spelling a word incorrectly for some reason or other. I needed help from two or three computers the other day. LOL.
I can remember this happening to me as I entered 2nd grade after summer vacation. I’m pretty sure my word was “at”. Such a simple word but I can remember thinking “Is that really a word? It doesn’t seem right”. Fortunately, my wordnesia didn’t last long. But it’s something I’ve never forgotten.
Author
Funny the memories that stick with us, Sherri. But seems as though you were already worrying about having your words right in second grade. I remember my teacher in second grade but not much else. Well, seems like I remember the letters on big cards hanging above the blackboard. Those wonderful letters that made words that opened up the magic of books for me. 🙂
I’m with everyone else on this word spelling thing. I keep my dictionary handy to check on those simple words that I can’t seem to remember how to spell anymore. I’m also bad with names. I find that if I have to remember the name quickly, I can’t think of it, but if I have a little while to think, I’ll do better.
Author
Right, Connie. Sometimes our brains kick into gear with names. Perhaps a day or two later when you’re trying to think of one. Out of the blue the name you were trying to think of will pop right out. Of course, that’s after you’ve gone through the motions of being sure the name started with a certain letter. Maybe there is such a thing as Namenesia. 🙂
I have wordnesia a lot. I just keep my trusty dictionary handy. With ageing, I am finding lot of strange things going on.
Author
Hi, Evelyn. You were one of my winners of the book, Angels at the Crossroads. I sent you an e-mail, but I’ll send another. If you see this, you can check it out.
As to the other, my husband is always telling people it’s the A-G-E syndrome. You know, the one where your hair goes gray and the aches and pains make you do a little groaning now and again. 🙂
I’ve definitely had wordnesia moments! Glad it’s so common there’s a name for it, that makes me feel better. 🙂
Author
It made me feel better too, Robin. I think sometimes I’m worded out, but I’m not ready to be yet. Still have some stories to write.
I must have some ragged fringe too. I do the same thing sometimes. It seems to be the simple words too. I always was a pretty good speller, but sometimes I worry about myself. Hang in there Ann…..we are the same age. 😊
Author
You’re only as old as you feel, Joy. Sometimes that’s not a good thing. LOL. But we are hanging in there no matter how ragged that fringe gets.
I hate when that happens. It’s usually the small words. I’ve been known to use spellcheck until I finally figure it out.
One time something similar happened with a coworkers name. How could I forget the name of someone with whom I worked daily? I wasn’t even an old person having a senior moment. I was still in my teens. I almost told her I forgot her name, but someone called to her using her name. Saved from immense embarrassment. Man! It just happened. I had to use spellcheck to see that I’d forgotten the second r in embarrassment.
Author
Yes, but embarrassment is a hard word, Nancy. One of those you might look at and think surely there would have been a better way to spell that.
I have name problems all the time. Sometimes I can fake it. Other times I’m at a book event and people come up to have a book signed and it’s someone I’ve known forever and their name flies out the window or my ears or wherever. (How’s that for a run on sentence?) I’m glad somebody helped you out of your embarrassing name blank when you were a teen.
Ohhh wow! I’m happy to know there’s actually a word for not remembering a word!
I think our brain gets so full sometimes that it has to kick a few things out to make room for new stuff…like “wordnesia”. So it sorts through, decides to bump what should be easy to pick up again, and holds on to the mind-boggling things. Now I’m wondering what might have just been lost in that process! Hahaha!
And I guess if you have to forget a word, “sad” is a good one…makes more room for “happy”!
As always, thanks for sharing, Ann ! 🙂
Author
All the circuits are busy, right, Lavon? I like your positive attitude about forgetting sad to make more room for happy. And the other about room for the mind-boggling things. I just read something sort of like that about how we can remember the unusual or unexplained things that might happen to us. That once we explain them, then we can fold them away like clean laundry and stick them in a drawer in our mind. But knowing me, I’ll never remember which drawer. 🙂
Yes I have had that experience. You are not alone! You know how you think you are getting senile when you go into a room and forget why you are there? I’ve been doing it all my life. I just think my brain is working faster than my body.
Author
So good to know I’m not alone, Paula. Actually, a great relief. When we admit our foibles or failings, we do generally find out that others are right there with us. We’re all human and fall far short of perfection. But having brains that work faster than our bodies doesn’t sound too bad. I think I was opposite that the other day. I had fingers wanting to work faster than my brain.