Bad Grammar
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Fantastic post Barney! The funny thing is, that despite your not inconsiderable effort to muddle things, that is STILL more legible than some of the natural posts that appear. As a forum this is one of the most literate out there, but as another dyslexic who has had to work to learn how to write reasonably well, even the tiny number of txtspk unpnktchew8d myl long sentenses that we get on here make me wish that there was a mod tool for applying electric shock treatment
I know that some people think that "hey, like, its only the internet, ppl should be able to xpres themselves how they want!" however I reckon that its a social responsibility to apply a little peer pressure to get folk to improve their communication skills. As Xylaria says, it takes only moments to run a spell checker and do a quick proof read.
Sapper, this is because we also use the shape of words when we read.....which is why some people have problems reading block capitals. You may have noticed that when reading "jumbled" words or "bottoms/tops" that you're reading speed is reduced, maybe only slightly but some....try reading the top or bottom of the jumbled word sentence!
As a literacy tutor (a literacy tutor with literacy problems) I feel that it is not unrealistic for people to try and make an effort to write correctly. As is stated most errors are a result of not making the effort, those of us who have problems often take extra care, those that don't would soon start complianing if we didn't....
txt spk....come on folks, it is now an accepted part of the English language, but it is not needed on a forum.....it came about to save space in emails when we had limited bandwidth on slow dial up connection and to save texting room and therefore costs.....it's debatable if there is any real need for it any longer with recent advancements in this area! now and again ok but not heavy regular use.
Dialaects, contractions et al.....these have their place too but use should be sparing, especially if it's from north of Hadrians Wall as I have no idea how all that works...
Also as mentioned above let's not forget that we have users who's first language is not English, and although their English is extremely good in general....we really shouldn't be making things harder for them, consider trying to read a forum in foriegn language you have learned formally, only to find that the nationals are using dialects, abreviations and poor spellings!
Finally, you have no idea how many times I have edited this to make it readable....and likely as not there will be at least one spelling error I've missed!
Smoggy
As a literacy tutor (a literacy tutor with literacy problems) I feel that it is not unrealistic for people to try and make an effort to write correctly. As is stated most errors are a result of not making the effort, those of us who have problems often take extra care, those that don't would soon start complianing if we didn't....
txt spk....come on folks, it is now an accepted part of the English language, but it is not needed on a forum.....it came about to save space in emails when we had limited bandwidth on slow dial up connection and to save texting room and therefore costs.....it's debatable if there is any real need for it any longer with recent advancements in this area! now and again ok but not heavy regular use.
Dialaects, contractions et al.....these have their place too but use should be sparing, especially if it's from north of Hadrians Wall as I have no idea how all that works...
Also as mentioned above let's not forget that we have users who's first language is not English, and although their English is extremely good in general....we really shouldn't be making things harder for them, consider trying to read a forum in foriegn language you have learned formally, only to find that the nationals are using dialects, abreviations and poor spellings!
Finally, you have no idea how many times I have edited this to make it readable....and likely as not there will be at least one spelling error I've missed!
Smoggy
See it took me so long to type the above I've been pre-empted....LOL
"Now this part will be significantly harder to read"
It wasn't, just took longer.
Smoggy
"Now this part will be significantly harder to read"
It wasn't, just took longer.
Smoggy
Dialaects, contractions et al.....these have their place too but use should be sparing, especially if it's from north of Hadrians Wall as I have no idea how all that works...
Smoggy
Oi !
Actually, you're right, but it's not so much the dialect as the sentence structure that us Northern folks have to be aware of when posting.Scots will use word order for emphasis. E.g., the English might say, "Come here! ", we would say, "Come you here! " making quite certain that 'you' knows exactly what is expected
Thon is a specific thing, and a daud or dod, is a very precise measurement of exactly the quantity required regardless of the material in question
I like dialects, and having met many of the people on the forum I can now actually 'hear' them speaking when I read their posts
cheers,
Toddy
I don't see why not, but please don't make the words flash or change colour...........too headache inducing 
Would it actually help anyone anyway ? I know some dyslexic folk prefer an clear orange sheet to read through.
cheers,
M
Would it actually help anyone anyway ? I know some dyslexic folk prefer an clear orange sheet to read through.
cheers,
M
Some great ones there, I still can't read the bottom one at normal speed even though I know what it says.
I think people have a responsibility to write in the best English they can, because people learn from what's around them; more so these days because most of what people read is written online by amateurs like us and not published professionally.
I'd pity the ten year old on this forum (or any other) that learns from elders and then writes in the same way in an exam. Is good English as important as banning swearing in making this place family friendly?
That said, we don't want to exclude people or look down on them if they write badly. Maybe people just need to be reminded some time to try their best.
I'd pity the ten year old on this forum (or any other) that learns from elders and then writes in the same way in an exam. Is good English as important as banning swearing in making this place family friendly?
That said, we don't want to exclude people or look down on them if they write badly. Maybe people just need to be reminded some time to try their best.
I 'always' writes in 'pirate' speak...(Have done fer years)...So I think I be guilty o' makin' it hard fer swabs t' read.....But then I've been told that ifin ye speaks me posts out loud wi' a pirate voice...it all makes sense..
Please try harder philaw. That should (I suspect) read "sometimes". It would probably be better phrased as "at times" however
Oh come on....someone had to......
My typing skills are very good (I can copy type) however my spelling is very poor. As my lad is a confirmed Dyslexic there is a good statistical chance I am also (to a lesser degree) Dyslexic. I can type out an essay, proof read it and find no problems, then I push the spell check button and up pop the errors.
Just write in plain easy to understand English and I'm happy, 'Text speak' is a no for me.
Just write in plain easy to understand English and I'm happy, 'Text speak' is a no for me.
Oi !
Scots will use word order for emphasis. E.g., the English might say, "Come here! ", we would say, "Come you here! " making quite certain that 'you' knows exactly what is expected
Thon is a specific thing, and a daud or dod, is a very precise measurement of exactly the quantity required regardless of the material in question
I like dialects, and having met many of the people on the forum I can now actually 'hear' them speaking when I read their posts
cheers,
Toddy
Ah dinnae hae ony proablems wi yer dialect Mery.
Now down here in Naarflk, the phrase, "Do you listen here bouy", is not a question but an instruction.
Also "Do you do, an you'll get wrong" means "If you do, you will get into trouble."
I love dialects me.
i'm sorry. I am probably a prime example of this.
i will try my best to remember to spell check,
Also i wil do my best to skip a line if that helps
again sorry
i will try my best to remember to spell check,
Also i wil do my best to skip a line if that helps
again sorry
It all boils down to our wonderful education system that we have these days. Not a short while ago, no matter what class or subject you attended, any work submitted was marked, not only on the subject matter, but also your spelling and grammar etc. etc. Not any more, teachers have been instructed that only English Language teachers are to do this. So the result is if you were to hand in a History essay and while full of spelling, grammar or punctuation errors you can still get full marks as long as your subject knowledge is correct.
Now, I see the logic behind this, in a way - it focuses the attention on the matter at hand. It makes it easier on the poor teacher too (which I suspect was the main reason for doing this) and of course, as much as we would like to think all our teachers can read and write with no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors, it is not the case any more. Word processors and on-line spelling checks are great things, but can make a person rely on them perhaps too much.
Our education system has moved away from teaching us a sound basis in subjects and on to teaching what we need to pass an exam. Is it any wonder that many universities are finding that A level students are quite incapable of seemingly basic standards of writing and other areas?
If pupils and students are allowed in classes to get away with these basic errors, is it any wonder that they continue to use them in the big wide world? However something to think upon, is that language continually evolves. It changes in usage and the way it's written. I don't think, however that it usually changes so much in such a short period of time, or maybe it does?
Now, I see the logic behind this, in a way - it focuses the attention on the matter at hand. It makes it easier on the poor teacher too (which I suspect was the main reason for doing this) and of course, as much as we would like to think all our teachers can read and write with no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors, it is not the case any more. Word processors and on-line spelling checks are great things, but can make a person rely on them perhaps too much.
Our education system has moved away from teaching us a sound basis in subjects and on to teaching what we need to pass an exam. Is it any wonder that many universities are finding that A level students are quite incapable of seemingly basic standards of writing and other areas?
If pupils and students are allowed in classes to get away with these basic errors, is it any wonder that they continue to use them in the big wide world? However something to think upon, is that language continually evolves. It changes in usage and the way it's written. I don't think, however that it usually changes so much in such a short period of time, or maybe it does?
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