My grammar isnt the greatest,so cant really criticize to much( i try my best) but text speak and when i hear kids saying things like ''innit'' and ''bro'' now that really gets my goat.
Written English - Evolving or Corrupting?
- Thread starter Mesquite
- Start date
I must admit one of the things I find amusing is when, in the midst of an argument, someone decides to pick fault in the other's spelling.
"Your argument is null and void - you spelt "Tulip" incorrectly."
"Your argument is null and void - you spelt "Tulip" incorrectly."
I think that the written word, in all it's assorted guises, is evolving. I think there is a greater emphasis in trying to write as though one were in conversation rather than in 'script' mode. It's very casual this electronic writing; it's ephemeral, it's not written (usually, mostly) as something to be retained in perpetuity.
My personal dislikes are the confusions that the wrong spelling causes. To, two, too.....it's not rocket science, just clarity. I can't hear what someone has written, so there is no intonation and no inflection on the words, other than the spelling.
"It's not too difficult to use them, once you take the time to learn what they mean - and do some practicing, too. Two has the same beginning as other numerical words, such as twice and twenty. "
Today's bon mot was dying. .....as in dying green......peculiarly corpse like I thought, then realised it was really dyeing to be green.
Easy spelling mistake to make, but confusing none the less.
Drew's speech was exactly as he wrote
Only once I had actually met the lad though did I finally make sense of what he was writing thereafter He was ausomely unique was Drew ......and there's a case in point; we use his spelling as a fond reminder of him, of his general joyousness in life.
American spellings are just a little different, much like writing of the pre Reformation, and thus the universal advent of literacy in this country. Standardisation (standardization?) is really not universal; it's more of an accepted norm.
I do use the acronyms...afaik, fak, iimmc, etc., but those change and are relevant to particular forums. On a sewing one they are entirely different to the bushcrafting one.
I am guilty (why? it's common speech here) of using Scottish vocabulary, but on the whole I aim to be clear in what I write, hoping that others will give a similar courtesy.
We live and learn though so it's interesting
atb,
Mary
My personal dislikes are the confusions that the wrong spelling causes. To, two, too.....it's not rocket science, just clarity. I can't hear what someone has written, so there is no intonation and no inflection on the words, other than the spelling.
"It's not too difficult to use them, once you take the time to learn what they mean - and do some practicing, too. Two has the same beginning as other numerical words, such as twice and twenty. "
Today's bon mot was dying. .....as in dying green......peculiarly corpse like I thought, then realised it was really dyeing to be green.
Easy spelling mistake to make, but confusing none the less.
Drew's speech was exactly as he wrote
Only once I had actually met the lad though did I finally make sense of what he was writing thereafter He was ausomely unique was Drew ......and there's a case in point; we use his spelling as a fond reminder of him, of his general joyousness in life. American spellings are just a little different, much like writing of the pre Reformation, and thus the universal advent of literacy in this country. Standardisation (standardization?) is really not universal; it's more of an accepted norm.
I do use the acronyms...afaik, fak, iimmc, etc., but those change and are relevant to particular forums. On a sewing one they are entirely different to the bushcrafting one.
I am guilty (why? it's common speech here) of using Scottish vocabulary, but on the whole I aim to be clear in what I write, hoping that others will give a similar courtesy.
We live and learn though
so it's interesting atb,
Mary
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That's something I've wondered as well.
Just how far back in time could an english speaking person from this time go and still be understood and understand the langauge being spoken.
An illustration of the importance of punctuation that I remember from my school days..
The school inspector was visiting and had spent his time berating the young teacher on the importance of punctuation. The teacher incorrectly assuming the inspector had left, wrote upon the blackboard for the merryment of his class.
"The teacher said the inspector was an idiot" at that moment the inspector swept back in, viewed the writing and with the addition of two commas proved his point. The blackboard now proclaimed
"The teacher, said the inspector, was an idiot"
It always stuck with me that one.
Another one was the most consecutive uses of a word in the English language...Ready ? this one takes some figuring out but it does make sense, firstly without punctuation
"In an exam, Tom where as Ted had had had had had had had had had had had the examiners approval"
And with punctuation.
In an exam, Tom whereas Ted had had had, had had had had, had had had had the examiners approval..
Strange sounding but does make perfect sense when you get your head around it.
Sent from my GT-P5110 using Tapatalk 4
The school inspector was visiting and had spent his time berating the young teacher on the importance of punctuation. The teacher incorrectly assuming the inspector had left, wrote upon the blackboard for the merryment of his class.
"The teacher said the inspector was an idiot" at that moment the inspector swept back in, viewed the writing and with the addition of two commas proved his point. The blackboard now proclaimed
"The teacher, said the inspector, was an idiot"
It always stuck with me that one.
Another one was the most consecutive uses of a word in the English language...Ready ? this one takes some figuring out but it does make sense, firstly without punctuation
"In an exam, Tom where as Ted had had had had had had had had had had had the examiners approval"
And with punctuation.
In an exam, Tom whereas Ted had had had, had had had had, had had had had the examiners approval..
Strange sounding but does make perfect sense when you get your head around it.
Sent from my GT-P5110 using Tapatalk 4
"If the English language made sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur"
I spot spelling mistakes at half a mile in other people's work, but they do get through in my own sometimes. Usually due to poor typing skills rather than to inability to spell.
I spot spelling mistakes at half a mile in other people's work, but they do get through in my own sometimes. Usually due to poor typing skills rather than to inability to spell.
You mean like typing cant (to lean to one side) when you really mean can't (can not)
... not at all mate, that was a genuine typo on my part and I found your comment about it very amusing .....
That's really another problem on this medium. We may or may not actually know the correct spelling but many of us have poor typing skills.
Got, gotten and get are totally unneccesary words. They can all be replaced with something else that generally has a clearer meaning......so I was told by a very u Lady in something of a snit.
You note I did not use get; that has an entirely unedifying meaning in reality.
Aye, funny old world isn't it ?
cheers,
M
You note I did not use get; that has an entirely unedifying meaning in reality.
Aye, funny old world isn't it ?
cheers,
M
Got, gotten and get are totally unneccesary words. They can all be replaced with something else that generally has a clearer meaning......so I was told by a very u Lady in something of a snit.
You note I did not use get; that has an entirely unedifying meaning in reality.
Aye, funny old world isn't it ?
cheers,
M
Absolutely. You can struggle to find the proper way to use a word or simply use a different word (or combination of words) with a clearer meaning.
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