I've been having a lurk on the message board that is associated with the Big Read and quite frankly I'm surprised at some of the levels of poor grammar and spelling that I've found there. This seems especially true (honestly - go take a look) of those people supporting Harry Potter. (Though for the sake of balance I should point out that there are posts supporting the more literary offerings that completely omit any kind of punctuation whatsoever.)
There are of course the usual message board solecisms of missing capitals and punctuation, incomprehensible abbreviations and so on but there is also - considering the forum - a distinct lack knowledge and care in some of the posts.
One post consistently spells didn't as dident, which is pushing misuse of apostrophes in a new direction.
Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche
When I used to grade student papers, because the students were in college, they thought it was unfair of me to take points off for grammatical errors. The worst of it was, many faculty members agreed with the students! They said that they taught nursing, not grammar. What a crock!
As I've mentioned before, I work for Ofsted, and quite frequently get misspelled emails sent by teachers. Many people seem to type and send emails and messages without reading them back first. They would never send a snail mail letter containing the same mistakes, but seem to think that it is permissible when they use electronic methods.
Yes, I agree with you about e-mails not being corrected. I have seen some very dismal ones. Yet, at least at my place, where there are highly educated staff (whatever that really means!), I have seen some dismal letters sent out! In fact, just today I was proofing the minutes that a highly educated staff member wrote to be sent out to all the states and our board. Thankfully, she asked me to proof them. Here is one sentence, and there were many more: "He indicated that having multiple accrediting agencies in one field lessons the influence each agency has." Yes, I know, it could be a typo, but even typos need to be proofed. The problem with spellchecks are that people rely on them too much. This would have not been picked up on spellcheck.
quote:The problem with spellchecks are that people rely on them too much. This would have not been picked up on spellcheck.
This [ungrammatical non-agreement in number between subject and verb] would have not been picked up on spellcheck either. Maybe Spellcheck thinks proximity is the determining factor.
Hang in there, Kalleh!
Posts: 6708 | Location: Kehena Beach, Hawaii, U.S.A.
quote:The _problem_ with spellchecks _are_ that people rely on them too much. This would have not been picked up on spellcheck.
This_ [ungrammatical non-agreement in number between subject and verb]_ would have not been picked up on spellcheck either. Maybe Spellcheck thinks proximity is the determining factor.
Hang in there, _Kalleh!_
Actually Jerry the grammar checker picked this up perfectly, suggesting that I should use problems rather than problem. Why you expect a spell checker to pick it up though is, I admit, a bit of a puzzle. Now stop picking on Kalleh for what was, I'm sure, a momentary lapse of concentration.
Glaubt es mir - das Geheimnis, um die größte Fruchtbarkeit und den größten Genuß vom Dasein einzuernten, heisst: gefährlich leben. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Mistakes in spelling, grammar and punctuation are certainly not new. I remember seeing ungrammatical signs at my son's elementary school 25 years ago! But the mistakes seem to be more frequent now, and, even worse, few seem to care about it. As Arnie pointed out, those who would not dream of sending a letter filled with such errors via snail mail have no qualms about sending it by email, errors and all. The excuses they use - "It's just a typo", "I didn't have enough time ..." - were the same excuses we used (and still do) back in our grade school days. We can use all the rationalizations we want to justify sloppy writing, but the fact remains, it's sloppy writing.
Every time I pick up a newspaper, I find numerous errors. Some of them may be legitimate typos, but most are just poor writing with little or no proofreading. I could spend my day writing letters to the editor criticizing these articles, but I have better things to do. I'm sure you, likewise, encounter these glaring errors virtually everywhere you see the printed word. I make a number of them myself, but I try to correct them before they go to print (or to this board!). However, to my horror, some creep by. It's not the end of the world when it happens, but I take pride in my writing and I don't like to see these mistakes to crop up for all the world to see. I'm not responsible for others' mistakes, but I am responsible for my own. I suggest we all proof our copy before we hit the send button.
My comment was just a general criticism, Kalleh, and was not aimed at you. Rather, it was aimed at those who don't bother to proof and edit their comments. One of the wonderful things about this board is the edit feature. After posting, reread what you've written and edit your mistakes. Sure, some mistakes will slip through, but we can stop most of them.
It's been said many times that criticism is easy to give, but hard to take. Unfortunately, the worst transgressors often don't think the barb is aimed at them, while those who are not the object of the criticism are convinced it is aimed directly at them.
quote:Originally posted by Kalleh: Yes, Tinman, I agree. Yet, I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in the edit phase, as it is, and still I make mistakes!
Now, just for the record, my "s" in critici_s_ing above is because I am finally becoming tainted by the British posters on this board!
Isn't a yank using an s the only way that the word can be spelt wrong? In the UK, either is acceptable.
Anyway, that's an irrelevance. I would no more check the spelling in an e-mail, than I would check the spelling in a phone call. Who cares about typos?
Most British users prefer the "ise" construction of such words as "criticise" although the OED prefers the "ize" construction. For most words (although there are exceptions such as "prize") either is acceptable.
In the USA the "ize" construction is the only one considered correct.
The situation is different for the "yse" versus "yze" endings in such words as "analyse" or "analyze". In the USA it's always spelt with a "z" in the UK always with an "s".
Richard English
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UK
quote:Originally posted by Graham Nice: Anyway, that's an irrelevance. I would no more check the spelling in an e-mail, than I would check the spelling in a phone call. Who cares about typos?
Note to other Wordcrafters: An unruly mob is being formed to storm Graham's castle this weekend. B. Y. O. P. & T.*
Note to Kalleh: This is NOT flaming. I'm just (mostly) JOKING!!
A side question: The metaphor I was going for here obviously (or at least I hope it was obvious) was the classic scene in any "Frankenstein" movie where the villagers storm the castle but in the U.K. I know that the word "torches" refers to what we call "flashlights" over here. What do you guys call those things with fire on one end that used to give that poor Frankenstein's Monster such a case of the heebie-jeebies?
* B. Y. O. P. & T = Bring Your Own Pitchforks and Torches
quote:In the USA the "ize" construction is the only one considered correct.
Perhaps I have been sufficiently "Britainised"; however, ususally when we see "ise" or "colour" or "dyspneoa" or the like, we don't consider it incorrect. We just think the writer is probably from the U.K. I was merely joking with that post (a paltry attempt, I see! ).
quote:Note to Kalleh: This is NOT flaming. I'm just (mostly) JOKING!!
Good grief, CJ, let's be fair here. I am not the only one here who gets a little carried away at times. [Hmmm, let's see; "beer" posts? ]
I admit, I got a little carried away worrying about corrections. I have listened to you all and have backed off on this.
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