icosahedron152:
No, spelling and grammar has objective reality.
They do not, actually, at least not when we're speaking about true objectivity. Yes, names do have objective reality, but only proper nouns are truly objective, and even then only in the original language and with the original alphabet. It's not the same as geography (where Hawaii is relative to Alaska does not change because people decide it's that way now), as history (though the spin on history is subjective), or as mathematics (2+2=5 for certain values of 2, but those certain values will always add up that way). It's nowhere close, honestly. One can spell fish as "
ghoti" if one wants to, and the only reason most people don't on a regular basis is because most people don't know about the spelling or agree with it.
Now, there are objective realities within certain spheres, like Academia, or within a particular region where you could claim such things, but the only "objective" thing about these realities is that someone (usually someone with authority) decided that it was the "right way" and no one has changed that quite yet. Grammar rules, spelling, and even pronunciation for what's "correct" in a language have historically been decided upon by the elite few and the uneducated masses have had to live with whatever the officials say. Some of those official rules also change as the language evolves, and so the only "sacred" ones are the ones people stubbornly cling to at the moment trying to resist that natural change, one which very well may be better for everyone anyways.
In other words: Bill Gates is only one in a long line of folks doing this (injecting viruses, as you put it), and most of the precious rules and spellings in every version of English were decided upon by people just like him; they just had the benefit of doing it earlier in history and so not coming under your scrutiny, apparently.
If you're not upset about "natural changes" then you have to accept that there is no right or wrong in any language, only "right now," "right here," and "that doesn't sound right to me." It doesn't matter where the change originates (rich folks with spellcheckers, exchange students with their "broken" English, or some pop star with an attitude problem) if it becomes accepted then that's language evolution and it's
all natural. Miniscule vs Minuscule was the perfect example of that. The change can start wherever, whenever, and by whomever. Just because the technology is different now doesn't mean it's any different than newspapers or Bibles with typos, both of which have "naturally" created sustained words and spellings we now accept. Tech is tech, words are words, and Bill Gates is not ruining anyone's language any more than your teachers ruined your natural dialect by instructing you on the Academic Form. It's all a process, an evolving thing that no one can stop for long, and anyone claiming to be okay with "natural changes" shouldn't be arguing against.
But people will argue because people really just dislike change, and some dislike it in some places/situations, and others dislike it in others, and that's okay; it's natural to want stability. But at some point you have to measure gain vs loss and decide if whether it being an 's' or a 'z' really matters. Whether pronouncing it "zee" or "zed" should come between people and separate them, spark arguments and hatred towards folks for not doing it your way. Whether it's worth your time and effort to fight a change happening on a larger scale which will only really hurt your pride if it comes to fruition. And, if some other change doesn't, if you manage to keep that alteration at bay, then what is the victory and who is it for? I'm all for fighting the good fight, and making the world better, but as both an English Teacher and a proud American, I wish we used the metric system and kind of like the doubled consonants for things like travelling. We don't though, and I've never just never let the underline bother me.
But, if you want to complain, I'm certain you can find kindred spirits amongst the millions whose native tongues were
actually destroyed by European conquerors and settlers insisting their language was right (not politics, I swear, just history). You could also probably email Gates and company, download another spellchecker, or realize that, even though you seem to think...
icosahedron:
your spellchecker reinforces your teaching.
even the American spellchecker (the Gates one, to be clear) doesn't actually catch everything, including a handful of common terms and almost half the grammatical errors folks make daily (errors according to standard American Academic English, that is). No system is perfect, and if you still don't like the other options, your best bet is to build a rival company with like-minded folks and do it yourself.
"Change is the only constant in life" and language, I would add. ^_^