An improved handheld electronic device and associated method employing an improved spell checking routine enable proposed spelling corrections having a close logical proximity to an active input to be output at a position of preference for easy selection by the user. By way of example, a base character and the various accented forms thereof can be said to have a logical proximity to one another that is closer than their logical proximity to any character having a different base character, whether additionally having a diacritical element or not.