I shall say this more than once

Please nooooo. My mother is an English teacher, I've had enough of discussing the correct usage of English. I've spent my whole life having it driven into my head and I appreciate it but if I need to communicate something, I will try to do it as eloquently as possible,without restricting myself through being pedantic about my grammar.
As long as I can understand the meaning of what people are trying to communicate, I'm not going to hold their spelling against them. It does not make their point less valid surely? So people who have a go at other people using the forums because of their poor spelling should actually sit back and think about the point of doing so. What is it achieving apart from chastising someone for maybe not being fortunate enough to have had the same education or upbringing as you? Give them a break, eh?

 

education????

We're talking about the very basic foundation levels of learning here. Your first language for fuck's sake! The thing you learn before you even begin school!

It's not rocket science!

And if you can't get it right, well those of us who notice will tell you. And then you'll remember it.

Here, if you reckon it's such a high-level of education to which only the very privileged are entitled, then you're going to love me for this. I'm offering you the chance to have this "education" completely free of charge. I will point out all the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes I notice, and I will keep doing it so that you'll be able to remember to get it right on your own eventually.
I'll give you that fantastic wonderful education that you wanted but didn't receive, just out of the kindness of my heart. How's that sound?

 

"Semester" really bugs me. I'm starting University in a month and everything is in semesters. Since when did they start using semesters in British education?

 

Ah, well it's a bit naughty, but the name "semester" means six months, which is a half year. The logic behind it, is that if an academic year is divided into two periods of approximately equal lengths then you've got two halves of an academic year, and half a year is a semester. It sort of makes sense, but as I said, it's a bit naughty really.

 

Mid to late nineties. When I did my first degree it was still terms. Back when it were all fields around here...

 

Same here I think. We did have quarters: fall, winter, spring and summer. Then they changed in the early nineties.

 

It's this kind of comment that makes me wonder whether people actually read threads before commenting on them. This point has already been explained. The problem is not the occasional occurrence of bad spelling, but rather the decline in standards which ultimately leads to people suffering from poor communication skills. I mean seriously.... half the text generation can barely string a coherent sentence together. Have you watched Trisha lately?

That's heading straight towards oxymoron territory! "Forums are not about trying to conserve language, they're about people trying to communicate". Hmmm. Kinda contradictory. Of course, nobody's arguing that some pristine form of English should be preserved. The odd typo or miss-spelling isn't a problem - the problem is people not caring. If we give up on spelling and grammar, then ultimately we will no longer be able to communicate our meaning to each other.

Here's a simple example. It's usually fairly straightforward to decipher text speak/bad spelling/poor grammar to the point where you can understand a post. But quite often, it takes longer to read such a post, so the ability of the poster to communicate effectively is already impaired. Also, meanings can be ambiguous, leaving the reader unclear whether they've understood what was being said.

I also wonder why people's spelling is so bad. When I was a child, I read constantly. I always had a book on the go. Do today's generation read in the same way? I don't think so. The written word has always been the second best way to communicate ideas and thoughts, and this is another loss that will be suffered if falling standards continue.

I find it tragic to see people arguing that spelling and grammar aren't important. All you're doing is cheering in a decline in standards that is the vanguard for a new age of illiteracy and ignorance. Once upon a time, hippies used to value being well-informed.

 

I think Mercy was trying to say that some people don't go to very good schools, or aren't taught good grammar at home etc. Yes, you learn grammar and spelling at an early age, but not everyone is taught it very well. Also, some people just don't grasp it easily, I know people who have struggled their entire lives with what others might consider simple spellings or grammatical concepts. Some people read very slowly, so don't enjoy it and don't progress in language very quickly. People aren't perfect you know, and most people don't appreciate their weaknesses being pointed out at every possible moment, especially when that person is rather smug about it. Even if you are continually told you have spelt something wrong, you won't necessarily then learn how to spell it correctly. Did the idea of dyslexia or dyspraxia ever cross your mind? Some people's brains can't process language like other people's. I dislike grammatical errors, bad spelling, text language etc. but I don't point it out at every possible opportunity because I know that I make some too, and I would like to think I have a good grasp of languages as I speak four. I know I'm not perfect, so I don't expect others to be. Maybe you should learn how to be a little more tolerant of others' weaknesses?

Saying that, when it's spelt "wierd" it does piss me off!

Summer. xx.

 

I'm not talking about dyslexia, I'm talking about the same mistakes that are cropping up everywhere because people actually believe them to be correct. You can spot dyslexic spelling mistakes because in a passage written by someone who is dyslexic you will see a lot of spelling errors that you are not used to seeing. Schoolboy errors like mis-spelling definitely, weird, saying 'would of' instead of 'would have', using grammatical crimes such as "like I said", thigns like that which are horribly horribly wrong, and yet in common use have nothing to do with dyslexia, and are degrading our language.

And as far as blaming a person's lack of education is concerned, I don't see what the problem is. It's not as if they can't learn now. They've got a computer, and access to the internet, there's a wealth of information available to them. If it's a case of wanting to learn but never being given the chance, well they've got the chance now.

 

On a slightly more lighthearted note, one thing that I increasingly notice is people saying "have got". This is tautologous. If you have something, we know you have got it. For instance, it should be "I have five shillings and an hour to spare so how's about it?" rather than "I have got five shillings and an hour to spare, so how's about it?"

And ending a sentence with the word also. That really gets to me also.

 

You learn it by listening, but you learn to perfect it by reading. That's the only way to pick up spelling and the subtleties of syntactical construction ... so yeah as Dok said it might well indicate a decline in book reading.

 

I've warned you before. Agreeing with me can get you into all kinds of trouble!

 

My point about dyslexia and dyspraxia was that it is not always someone's fault if they cannot spell. It is also not always glaringly obvious that someone is dyslexic by how they spell things, some look like common spelling mistakes. Even people who are not dyslexic or dyspraxic may simply be weak spellers. Some people simply cannot grasp grammar or spelling.

Sometimes if you've never been given the chance to learn you lose the motivation to learn. The fact that people now have computers actually means that there is less emphasis on learning to spell because spell-checkers do it for you.

Summer. xx.

 

Which is typical of the mentally lazy generation. I don't see a spell-checker as something which 'does spelling for me', but rather as something that helps me improve my spelling! If spell check illustrates an error, then I try and learn from the mistake.

 

and anyway what are you suggesting? That we change the language to suit the people who can't use it? What next? change it further for people even less capable?


If people get something wrong, it doesn't matter WHY they get it wrong, it's still wrong.

 

What a brilliant idea! I think this may just be the solution! If we reduce the whole English language to a series of short grunts, then nobody will need to worry about poor spelling or grammar, and we'll all be able to communicate what we mean clearly - either with a quick grope of the genitals or a sharp thwack with a stick. No more confusing and complicated subtlety of emotion!

 

Actually let's get rid of communication altogether. It's pointless, since we're all going to end up blowing eachother to bits eventually.

Well we COULD abandon the English language anyway. No need to go back to grunts though, we could just adopt French as our language. They've done well to keep it pretty consistent even in francophone countries outside france - it's only the accent that is different. America have ruined the English language, so let's all speak French instead.

 

Damn. I knew I shouldn't have learnt German at school instead of French.

 

This is true. lol

 

I don't think anyone's trying to make a case for perfection, or we'd just be setting ourselves up for a fall at the first typo! As I said before, the problem's not the odd mistake here or there - it's the culture that promotes the idea that spelling and grammar aren't important. Making mistakes isn't a problem. Not caring that you make mistakes is a problem.