About Spelling And Grammer

[turtlepins]

Communication is so important. Most written communication (books, magazines, etc.) is in formal register, the language of business and education. Correct sentence syntax is important, specific word choice is important, and a large vocabulary is necessary. But this is social communication, and so spelling and grammar may not be that important. I think it shows respect to try to say things clearly and do your best. If your best includes a few spelling errors and some poor sentence structure that's okay! (I can't believe I'm writing this!) Being a retired English teacher and an old grouchy guy it used to bother me. Now I could care less. Say what you need to say, and in here what you say should be important to everybody, even if it's not expressed in formal register!

[Horndog]

I have some pointers for people who want to survive the Internet:

• Be sure to check your spelling and grammar. Most browsers now have a built-in spellchecker, and grammar can be edited by re-reading your post.

• Write shorter posts. Fewer mistakes are made when you're concise.

• Communicate with people with the same informal clarity that you would have while conversing with a friend.

[Bettypooh]

I have some pointers for people who want to survive the Internet:

• Be sure to check your spelling and grammar. Most browsers now have a built-in spellchecker, and grammar can be edited by re-reading your post.

• Write shorter posts. Fewer mistakes are made when you're concise.

• Communicate with people with the same informal clarity that you would have while conversing with a friend.

OK

Bettypooh

[KittenAB]

I have some pointers for people who want to survive the Internet:

• Be sure to check your spelling and grammar. Most browsers now have a built-in spellchecker, and grammar can be edited by re-reading your post.

• Write shorter posts. Fewer mistakes are made when you're concise.

• Communicate with people with the same informal clarity that you would have while conversing with a friend.

No one, and I mean no one alive, who has any real friends, speaks with proper grammar. I type how I speak. I'm also an ex-professional-orator .... yep, I use to do that for organizations, and the one reason I was considered good, no useless pauses while maintaining the ability to get my point across and ... a bunch of vocal skills that are mostly talents anyway.

To those who mention the grammar thing, stop an listen to yourself. When you speak, you don't use proper grammar, you use a lot of slang. You also don't enunciate your words well, something that iritates me about almost everyone. But ... I can't get away with telling you this in real life, unless you're a close friend then you'd better enunciate well or I won't let you talk, ever. So if you want to compare this to real life, bad spelling, horrible grammar, and even leet is pretty much par for the course, and has been since ... forever.

Yes, I do paus for dramatic effect in real life. People seem to like it for some reason. So I do use elipses a lot.

[Impulsive]

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

[belinda_sue_fox]

Being a retired English teacher

A retired English teacher also....boy thats a lot of professions you have had......

Or could it be...........What next i wonder.

[wetman]

OK

Bettypooh

...and avoid emoticons.

[wetman]

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

HPL likes this.

[Bettypooh]

...and avoid emoticons.

What? I can't avoid emoticons Everyone knows I'm addicted to them And there's no rehab therapy available for Emoticonitis Not that I'd seek such therapy anyhow

Bettypooh

[diaperwerx]

Wow! This thread is still going. I challenge anyone here to read any one of the following WSJ (Wall Street Journal), NYT (New York Times), LAT (Los Angeles Times), or CST (Chicago Sun-Tribune) either online or offline (print) with perfect grammar, spelling, conjugation, consistent (active or passive) voice, or tense. It used to be one could look up to mainstream publications to help one learn to write better.

Now I think English teachers are the worst, because they are inundated with what has now become student-peer accepted speech/written communication, not because it is a socially accepted norm. And while it may be a peer accepted form (the world according to me) of communication, this doesn't help the individual to gather the necessary skills to be articulate and compete in the modern workforce.

The point of any language or communication medium is to share ideas and to make ideas clear/clearer within a broader community.

@all I'm the worst one to be speaking to this as I'm semi-dyslexic and have to really work at my intention/audience while at the same time as trying to be clear/succinct in what I want to say. Sometimes I fail but so do we all.

That said, if someone is critical it means (as I take it) that they are trying to understand, but the message is not clear. What I don't understand is why someone would let some/any criticism get "under their skin" so much as to refuse to participate in the community.

@Bettypooh I think, if given the opportunity Emoticons would have emerged long ago (with the typewriter). I feel that Emoticons enhance textualized speech. Sometimes for given passage of text it is difficult to understand the mood of the author, so the communication itself lacks emotional perspective. Emoticons at least provide some additional information/insight. Anyway I think emoticons are a good thing :-)

I also like 3l33t sp34k but not when I'm trying to communicate with people outside of IRC or other forums where it is uncommon.

, ,

[Horndog]

OK

Okay, okay. You're an exception. You have good posts.

KittenAB didn't understand what "informal clarity" means. It doesn't necessarily mean one has to speak grammatically correct to their friends. Informal clarity means you speak in shorter, more concise sentences. You say what you have to say, and you don't bury the meaning of your message with a bunch of unnecessary words. People think message boards are meant to post blog-like messages that are lengthy. You don't have to, really.

[Teddy Bear Brian]

I just hate the lack of any punctuation. Punctuation is what allows you to break a paragraph apart into intelligible sentences. A bit of mispelling here and there doesn't bother me so much but when you get a wall of text and not a single period and not even any capitalization it makes it very difficult to read. As so many people here have already mentioned use a spell checker, it should help you learn to spell better anyway. Using correct grammar, spelling and punctuation is a good habit to get into anyway. When you send a cover letter and CV into a potential employer that is the very first thing they notice. It doesn't matter how great you may be at a job. If they cannot easily read what you have given them then they will not read it.

[missyD]

I was thinking of you folks as I read this article in the today's online edition of Financial Times. The paragraph starts: "There were signs a group of tripe A-rated governments, including Germany, Finland and the Netherlands, were hardening their stance towards Athens". Now, I think the author meant this to refer to "triple" A rated governments, not "tripe" A rated governments.

anyone can make a mistake!

brought to you by the letter "L"

[wetman]

I was thinking of you folks as I read this article in the today's online edition of Financial Times. The paragraph starts: "There were signs a group of tripe A-rated governments, including Germany, Finland and the Netherlands, were hardening their stance towards Athens". Now, I think the author meant this to refer to "triple" A rated governments, not "tripe" A rated governments.

anyone can make a mistake!

brought to you by the letter "L"

He probably actually meant that...

[BabyJune]

Why are good grammar and punctuation important? There are several reasons: 1) It shows that you took the time to think about what you are saying; 2) Using good grammar and proper punctuation (and spelling) makes it look as though you have something worthwhile to say; 3) It sets a good example for your readers. You will appear to have more authority over what you are writing about if the words are spelled properly, sentence syntax is followed, and correct punctuation is used. Of course people will most likely understand what you are saying even if it appears sloppy, but they will be more likely to pay attention to what you say if it looks as though you are intelligent. This applies to everything--everyday writing; e-mails, blogs, and online posts. You are judged by how you write and speak.

[waynecook52]

The thing that bothered me with people jumping all over me about my spelling in a few of my posts is that they did not even say anything about what I was wrighting about.They just jumped in and started to to go on about my spelling.There is not a single post that i have started that you could not understand what I was talking about.At the time that people where jumping all over me there where one heck of alot of posts that had words spelled wrong.And not one word was said.That is what hurt.Now befor i post i check what im wrighting.Cause I dont want to go through that again.

[cruxshadow]

I let spelling and grammar slide, as long as the person in question isn't belittling the intellect of others (the hypocrisy can become too much for me).

One formatting rule people should follow however, is the use of paragraphs. While they may make a post longer in appearance, the posts will seem shorter as it's a lot less taxing on the reader. Reading long posts without paragraphs becomes an exhausting endeavor, and many will just stop reading partway through.

[Diapered Jason]

The thing that bothered me with people jumping all over me about my spelling in a few of my posts is that they did not even say anything about what I was wrighting about.They just jumped in and started to to go on about my spelling.There is not a single post that i have started that you could not understand what I was talking about.At the time that people where jumping all over me there where one heck of alot of posts that had words spelled wrong.And not one word was said.That is what hurt.Now befor i post i check what im wrighting.Cause I dont want to go through that again.

You were complaining because people did not have anything to say about your teaching of a skilled craftsman? Lol, this is one entertaining thread.

[waynecook52]

You were complaining because people did not have anything to say about your teaching of a skilled craftsman? Lol, this is one entertaining thread.

Jason,I have no idear what post you are talking about.To my knowledge I have never made a post about anything to do with teaching anyone anything.Let me know what post you are talking about.And opps I kind of done repeted myself here in this LONG post thats been going on for abit.Sorry

[sarah_ab]

completely off topic.. but everytime i read one of your posts wayne, i picture santa in a diaper typing!!! hehehehehehe it makes me giggle!

[Diapered Jason]

Jason,I have no idear what post you are talking about.To my knowledge I have never made a post about anything to do with teaching anyone anything.Let me know what post you are talking about.And opps I kind of done repeted myself here in this LONG post thats been going on for abit.Sorry

I was joking because you spelled 'writing' as 'wrighting', which means something different. Don't worry about it, I understood what you meant.

[waynecook52]

completely off topic.. but everytime i read one of your posts wayne, i picture santa in a diaper typing!!! hehehehehehe it makes me giggle!

Thanks

[waynecook52]

I was joking because you spelled 'writing' as 'wrighting', which means something different. Don't worry about it, I understood what you meant.

opps