Overcoming prejudices

[deadwood2]

I know I'm probably not the easiest of contributors here; I like debate, and quite often forget that the same banter / friendly abuse that I'd chuck about face to face doesn't always work online. Hopefully I'll learn..

What does interest me is how other people - some of the notable saints on this board in particular - manage to suspend judgment and just answer, regardless of the bad spelling, txt spk, and slovenly abbreviations - e.g "U2,m8" (You, too, mate.).

Is it too much to expect a properly written posting or do we accept that txt spk is now the lingua franca?

 

[sugarless sue]

As a lot of us old folk are post text talk era then proper written English would be good on here!!

 

[Spiral]

I have always been impressed at how few raids these boards get from the spelling and grammar police.

As far as I am concerened, as long as a poster gets their ideas across I'm not that bothered about spelling or grammar. Sometimes I need to read through something more than once to get the gist due to occasional grocer's apostrophes and stray punctuation.

What I can't cope with is txt speak and block capitals. if I find something too difficult to read I just don't bother.

 

[chocoholic]

My sons laugh at me because they say I'm the only person they know who texts them with fully written words, complete with punctuation. Mind you, I'm also probably the slowest person they know to text them!! :lol:

 

[sugarless sue]

:lol: :lol: I'm the same Choccie!! much be an age thing, with me anyway!!
As for grammar police,Spiral....we do sneak in occasionally and correct glaring mistakes but nobody ever seems to notice! :lol: :lol:

 

[hanadr]

I spell correctly and punctuate too. Even in texts. All mistakes are down to my "Duff" left hand.
Sometimes I see a "howler" in a post, but it would be rude to correct it, wouldn't it? Good manners trump spelling.

 

[ShyGirl]

My grammar isn't that good but I refuse to read posts written in text speak as my eyes tire easily , even the colour scheme of this site makes it hard to read.

 

[Spiral]

Good manners trump spelling.

indeed

However, I do have higher expectations of reports written by professionals, which I read regualrly in the course of my work. There are some absulote howlers in them. I recently read a report about someone who had a congenial eye disease :shock: I think the author actually meant congenital.

I can remember reading another one about someone's phycology issues. I have no idea what studying seaweed had to do with their behavioural problems.

I once mentioned the cod of practice and the requirements of the cat

But I'm glad I'm not the only one who txts in proper sentences with fully formed words 8)

 

[cugila]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I too try to spell and punctuate correctly. Probably because of my love of languages and just being someone who was taught English by an excellent Teacher. Even now, I can still get problems ? Spiral, know what I mean ?

My mobile messsages are always written in full with punctuation. My son's messages however are a minefield to me. I never know what is being said as it is just a series of unintelligible numbers and letters ? I usually end up having to phone and ask what he was talking about.

I can usually manage to work out what is being asked on here but I would ask that questions are put in 'proper' English so that there are no misunderstandings ? gr8

Ken.

 

[rottweilsteve]

occasional grocer's apostrophes

Shouldn't that be "grocers' apostrophes", or did you have a particular merchant in mind?

Sorry - couldn't resist! :mrgreen:

Seriously, though, I think it's worth the effort to use English as clearly as we can. I know I have a bad habit of adding in explanatory clauses all over the place, which can obscure what I'm really talking about. There's a lot to be said for the Plain English campaign...

 

[IanD]

I went to a grammar school, & I always review my posts to ensure correct spelling & grammar. I have been know to make corrections with posts I quote from others on the forum.

I know a lot of people out there are ignorant but it doesn't bother me unless they use a repeated offensive adjective where proper descriptive ones exist.

I hate it when for instance I phone the AA with a problem & they take the details, & close the conversation with "No problem!"

 

[BillB]

Like a couple of other posters here, I love the English language. Compared to other languages, it is so flexible and allows us to play with words in a way that will have the hearer in stitches (see Ken Dodd's act for the best examples). I don't blame anyone who makes mistakes as they are probably victims of crackpot educational theories: "it doesn't matter how badly a piece is written, misspelled or grammatically mangled as long as the child expresses himself". Fine if language is only a means of self-expression but, more importantly, it's also a means of communication.
That's not to say that some errors don't get me laughing - they do - but what's irritating is when people who should know better, journalists and professional writers, commit the most appalling howlers. In today's Daily Mail there is a reporter writing about someone who is "fed up of" something when it should be "fed up with". Or, even better in the humour stakes, talking of something as being a damp squid. Of course squid are damp, they live in the sea - it should be "damp squib".
On a Daily Telegraph comment the other day someone had written "Wares the old fashioned bread nowadays?" Can somebody attend school from 5 to 16 without learning to spell "where's"?
Oh, all right. I'll shut up.

 

[Sweet3x]

I put it down to youngsters today having free and easy access to mobile phones and text messages being the norm to contact people. They don't even consider they don't have to use it when typing on boards. Using short words saves time and space on a text message, and it's basically the norm - they would be different if they didn't use it. I rarely use 'text speak' when sending messages, although have been known to use '&' instead of 'and' and 'u' instead of 'you' if I only need to reduce a few letters to get it to one message rather than two.

It's an age thing.

 

[kegstore]

I put it down to shoddy technology that until the iPhone appeared made it extremely difficult (and slow) to fully type a message. So if you still have an old-style phone maybe it's appropriate, but in a forum or an email absolutely not, that's just lazy?