Grammar and spelling

[Guest richard]

Is it just me or is the standard of spelling and grammar on here starting to slip? I know at times that I have been guilty of poor spelling and grammar, but recently there seems to have been an influx of "text speak" and a general lack of grammar and increase in poor spelling. Its no to bad if it is just a general post but if it is to do with a specific problem then it makes trying to offer assistance more difficult.

[CyberNerd]

There must be a php module for the site that will do simple txt2English conversion, as soon as the post is posted it should be automatically transformed into English !

[mattx]

It's getting worser and not betterer - and with the added bonus of myself suffering dyslexia then hey.....

[CyberNerd]

I think a disproportionate number of computer geeks are dyslexic, has anybody else noticed this?

[Guest richard]

I can understand things like dyslexia and don't have a problem with that. What bugs me is the rise in the use of "Text Speech" and other slang being used on here.

[Midget]

Hilariously I was thinking this after seeing the title "Site u mite want to look at" and saw this thread directly below it in my unread list.

 

I hate l33t and txtspk and it just makes me ignore what the person has to say. How much harder is it to type "you" instead of "u" and "might" instead of "mite"

 

I can understand it to an extent on other forums, but this is a forum for people in Education. How can the kids be expected to do things correctly if their superiors can't write in proper english.

[kestrel1]

I can understand it to an extent on other forums, but this is a forum for people in Education. How can the kids be expected to do things correctly if their superiors can't write in proper english.

 

Who said that we are superior to the kids

[Joedetic]

As one of the "younger generation" I've been bought up to write properly and have never really been a big fan of txt-speak as it were, but I do tend to shorten yeah to yh and indeed to idd if it's just an MSN convo. I have however been guilty of letting yh slip onto the boards and lol etc.

 

I suppose it helps that my last two phones didn't have the nasty ABC/numeric keypads but an onscreen keyboard and a qwerty thumb board respectively. My gran uses more txt speak than I do, it's quite funny actually because I can't understand most of what she's trying to tell me.

[russdev]

Well as most guilty party when it comes to bad spelling and grammar (again due to dyslexic). I do think reason there is more people suffering from dyslexic in IT is due to dyslexic suffers using IT as coping mechanism.

 

Same as there large percentage of have some kind of autism as characteristics and coping mechanisms of these 'disorders' means IT is very good.

 

If you notice with my posts word 'the' gets missed out a lot I have blind spot for it due to the dyslexic.

 

Agree I can't stand text speak and try not to use it and like Joe my current phone has qwerty keyboard.

 

Russell

[triggmiester]

I also cannot stand text speak and bad spelling really gets my goat. Forgetting about dyslexia (of course) there is just no need for it and I think it boils down to people being lazy.

 

Last year my local butchers had a sign in their window for sausages;

 

"Bye one get one free" It was after they had shut, I went back to my car found a scrap bit of paper and pen and wrote a note telling them it should be "Buy one get one free" - the next day the sign was down ad didn't go back up.

What also made me mad about that is that self employed people get all the help with tax breaks etc, the least they can do is learn a bit of basic english.

 

Grrrr

[Warren-Plus]

Hilariously I was thinking this after seeing the title "Site u mite want to look at" and saw this thread directly below it in my unread list.

 

I hate l33t and txtspk and it just makes me ignore what the person has to say. How much harder is it to type "you" instead of "u" and "might" instead of "mite"

 

I can understand it to an extent on other forums, but this is a forum for people in Education. How can the kids be expected to do things correctly if their superiors can't write in proper english.

 

Sorry that thread was mine. I know about writing in slang and im trying to cut down on here for you all. Also im a pupil so im not a Superior. Please say if I start writing in slang and ill edit it asap

 

Brendan

[MkII]

Let me be a pratt and say I think txt speak/ however the fark ya wanna express yourself is alright with me.

 

I'm a fan of correct grammer/ spelling etc in context - but come on world - lighten up, we're not a forum for the preservation of correctness of the written form - why the hell do we want to be so anal?

 

This is IT - we learn new stuff in our jobs/ lives daily, more so than most. Is it really asking too much for us to learn a few different communication skills.

 

Yeah if you're being deliberately obscure/ whatever, by using terms the wider world won't understand..

 

Then again I see no one being pulled up for the old acronym sin - these are almost admired. Most of the time I have no idea what old grumblepants is on about with his mangle-speak - but hey - I live to learn.

 

Did I miss out insulting anyone?

[localzuk]

Let me be a pratt

 

Do you mean prat?

 

I agree that on this site we should really try to stick to proper English, as it is a site for professionals.

 

Personally, I try to avoid text speak in all aspects of my life, as I think it is eroding the English language and damaging the education of the 'youth of today'. The number of kids who can't spell properly and slip into text speak in essays is appauling.

 

But then, I am one of those people who enjoys arguments about things like the definition of 'irony' and whether or not to use the Oxford comma.

[russdev]

.....

But then, I am one of those people who enjoys arguments about things like the definition of 'irony' .....

 

To lighten the thread did someone mention ironing....

 

 

For all you new members go ask Grumbledook about best way of ironing a shirt or do a search on here for the word ironing...

 

Now do you do sleeves first??

 

 

Russ

[webman]

Click on my homepage button to find out how to use my jabber instant messenger server and chat with other edugeek users. Or PM me.

 

Click on my homepage button to find out how to use my Jabber instant messenger server to chat with other EduGeek users, or PM me.

 

Pendantry practi(s/c)*e

 

* Delete as appropriate

[localzuk]

Click on my homepage button to find out how to use my jabber instant messenger server and chat with other edugeek users. Or PM me.

 

Click on my homepage button to find out how to use my Jabber instant messenger server to chat with other EduGeek users, or PM me.

 

Pendantry practi(s/c)*e

 

* Delete as appropriate

 

I will admit, capitalisation of pronouns is one area which I regularly slip up. Also, the 'Or PM me' bit was correct as it was, as it was an afterthought, as if I had ended my sentence and then said 'Oh, or you can do this'.

 

And on the subject of ironing, everyone knows you do the sleeves first!

[webman]

MSword's speelchucker said it was a fragment and you should consider revising, so ner

 

I'm just nit-picking

[localzuk]

MSword's speelchucker said it was a fragment and you should consider revising, so ner

 

I'm just nit-picking

 

Haha, Microsoft's checker is well known for being useless.

[webman]

Haha, Microsoft's checker is well known for being useless.

 

Did you mean: Microsoft is well known for being uesless?

 

 

I remember back in Office 97, a spelling suggestion for 'zzzz' was 'sex' - somehow...

[localzuk]

Haha, Microsoft's checker is well known for being useless.

 

Did you mean: Microsoft is well known for being uesless?

 

 

I remember back in Office 97, a spelling suggestion for 'zzzz' was 'sex' - somehow...

 

Ah, the memories! Wasting hours messing with Office's many bugs

 

Anyway, what am I doing posting on here at 12:37 when Star Trek is on?!

[MkII]

Sometimes the Queen's strictest just won't cut it. Written slang (and any other popular forms of written communication) has it's place I believe, and is actually the real language, and has not been forced upon us by the few.

 

I don't think it's a fair pressure to put on anyone, to try and make them aticulate themselves in a way that they're not entirely comfortable with.

 

Surely if you're into the finer points of the english language, you're also a bit of an expert anyway, and really it'd be a lot less effort for you to work out a few colloqialisms and modern forms of language, than expect the rest of the world to change for you.

 

Not that I don't have the greatest respect, just I think it should be the other way around too.

[mattx]

W - Washing

I - Ironing

F - Can't say that rude word

E - Etc

[Guest richard]

I didn't mean to start a big argument about this subject. All I wanted to do was raise what I thought was a valid point. At the end of the day though we are a site for professionals we should at least try to keep slang down to a minimum.

[beeswax]

And on the subject of ironing, everyone knows you do the sleeves first!

 

With shirts, you either do the back of the collar, or as some prefer, the inside of the cuff first, just in case you mark the material.

[beeswax]

Surely if you're into the finer points of the english language, you're also a bit of an expert anyway, and really it'd be a lot less effort for you to work out a few colloqialisms and modern forms of language, than expect the rest of the world to change for you.

 

Just like IEEE 802.11, the Queen's, or BBC English is a standard by which we can all communicate. Of course there are variants from the norm as it's only human nature to explore and push boundaries.

 

I feel what is important here (Edugeek) is that the correct information is passed on, or a joke answer given, before somebody else beats you to the punch, and that strict use of grammar is not so important. Perhaps it's also worth bearing in mind that Edugeek now has over 4600 members, with a sizeable proportion coming from overseas, and whose knowledge of the English language is limited to the standard variety.

 

Oh, and what really p*sses me off is the use of 'Oh' when writing something down. 'Oh' is an afterthought, it's something you use when speaking, where you can't alter the flow of a narrative. Writing is not like that, you can edit a piece of text to include your afterthought so that it is relevant to the sequence of events.