Pet Peeves: Mangled English

[avionic]

RIGHT ON!!!!!! I admit that I'm not the greatest at using the english language, but I have been around many a person who thinks that because they are better at this or that it gives them the right to look down their nose at you. I think it is just a defense mechanism. We all all have our strengths and I have mine. Bottom line... judge a person by his heart. I'll take an unenlightened person with a grerat heart over an inteligent as3h0le anyday!

I guess if one wants proper grammar,punctuation and spelling. One should move on to a forum that promotes such communication. To enjoy Audio , all one needs to do is listen. My 2 cents...

 

[roadie1]

I have to admit when I first read this thread it stung a little. My first thought was "Screw you, I'm 50 yrs. old with nothing but high school education".

I know the difference between there, their, and they're but that's about it. If I don't think my spelling looks correct I'll usually Google the word before posting. My bad is using too many apostrophes with S's when they're not needed.

Anyway, I was miffed at first but now have come to appreciate this thread. It's made me think about what I'm saying, how it's being said and how I type it. I don't know if it'll help you all read my ramblings or not but I'm trying harder!

Here's to pronunciation, enunciation and all those other nations.......R1:yes:

 

[MarkAnderson]

spoda

I love it!

 

[MarkAnderson]

qwertyuioperation

Google sure wasn't any help with that one.

 

[BajaGringo]

I work with a lot of companies down here in Mexico and their online marketing. I wish I had kept a list of some of the things I have had to "fix" that they send me to put online...

 

[Drybasement]

MarkAnderson...

qwertyuiop- eration

Those letters are the first line of alpha keys on a typewriter. He was probably refering to his typing ability and the mistakes one can make doing so.

But you already knew that, right.

 

[BajaGringo]

I have to admit when I first read this thread it stung a little. My first thought was "Screw you, I'm 50 yrs. old with nothing but high school education".

I know the difference between there, their, and they're but that's about it. If I don't think my spelling looks correct I'll usually Google the word before posting. My bad is using too many apostrophes with S's when they're not needed.

Anyway, I was miffed at first but now have come to appreciate this thread. It's made me think about what I'm saying, how it's being said and how I type it. I don't know if it'll help you all read my ramblings or not but I'm trying harder!

Here's to pronunciation, enunciation and all those other nations.......R1:yes:

I appreciate what you're saying and we are about the same age so we probably share a similar perspective. It has been over 30 years since I took a class in English grammar and diagramming sentences. Today I couldn't pick out an adverb or predicate to save my white Gringo ass if my life were riding on it. Do what I do, use online spelling and grammar checks that work, even in forums like this.

 

[jimfet]

It's 2¢

Right now it's 75° outside.

 

[pahtcenter77]

I had poor grammar once. Then, grampar sold some of the cows and they weren't poor no more!

 

[Brent71]

All through school I was in the highest level spelling but the internet has had a negative influence on me. Usually if I misspell something it's because I'm typing too fast (I have a messed up left hand from a motorcycle accident) or I have a brain-fart and type it like I've seen it misspelled numerous times in the past. The one thing that trips me up on occasion is punctuation and it bugs the hell out of me when I'm not sure what is correct.

 

[ShaneC]

I have a few bad habits myself... (<- I use ... ALL THE TIME!)

I also break up paragraphs into one or two sentences per line in order to make things easier to read...or so I hope. Not proper, but I feel it makes things more coherent on forums and the like. After all, we generally speak in sentences and not paragraphs.

What really bothers me most of all and I'll forgive all spelling mistakes and typos is people who write things like this cluster f@#$ of sentences that has no real start or end point with incomplete and incoherent thoughts that just ramble on and on lacking all punctuation or even the a remote similarity to a working sentence so your mind stops processing the content because its simply trying to find the aforementioned start and stop points in order to actually grasp the data presented whilst trying to figure out what Bob was doing at the park with his dog Barney and how that's remotely relevant to last nights game and why that matters anyway since we're on an audio forum but talking about grammar when math would be much more appropriate and even though this is been spell checked I'm just going to hit submit without checking to see if this last paragraph is even a paragraph or just one long run on sentence with no real end

 

[ablethevoice]

:thmbsp::yes::lmao:

 

[ByteWrangler]

What really bothers me most of all and I'll forgive all spelling mistakes and typos is people who write things like this cluster f@#$ of sentences that has no real start or end point with incomplete and incoherent thoughts that just ramble on and on lacking all punctuation or even the a remote similarity to a working sentence so your mind stops processing the content because its simply trying to find the aforementioned start and stop points in order to actually grasp the data presented whilst trying to figure out what Bob was doing at the park with his dog Barney and how that's remotely relevant to last nights game and why that matters anyway since we're on an audio forum but talking about grammar when math would be much more appropriate and even though this is been spell checked I'm just going to hit submit without checking to see if this last paragraph is even a paragraph or just one long run on sentence with no real end

Thay should be "run-on sentence" and you forgot the period at the end. :nono:

 

[MrZero63]

$.02
two cents
You know what I'm trying to say.

Some folks type really fast. Others (like me) look at the keys while typing.

Grammar is IMPORTANT in college papers, but not so important in posts. At least to me. As long as I can understand - it's okay with me. I come in contact with a lot of folks who use English as a second language in my travels and have become accustomed to a few faux pas now and again. I know a great bit of three foreign languages and don't claim to know it all by any means, but I respect the barriers and the education levels (not to assume there was any disrespect intended in any of these prior posts) and welcome constructive critcism from my listeners.

Acronyms. I'm active duty military. Don't tell me about acronyms!

I'm listening to the music right now. As long as you know what I mean, I'll attempt not to butcher the King's (or Queen's ) English. Oh - I'm an English minor, but that and $1.00 will get me a cup of coffee at the corner diner.upsets me l

It upsets me listening to the latest generation (the butchering of English), but I usually tune it out.

Thank you for allowing the rant.

-Dave

 

[Arkay]

I have to admit when I first read this thread it stung a little. My first thought was "Screw you, I'm 50 yrs. old with nothing but high school education".

I know the difference between there, their, and they're but that's about it. If I don't think my spelling looks correct I'll usually Google the word before posting. My bad is using too many apostrophes with S's when they're not needed.

Anyway, I was miffed at first but now have come to appreciate this thread. It's made me think about what I'm saying, how it's being said and how I type it. I don't know if it'll help you all read my ramblings or not but I'm trying harder!

Here's to pronunciation, enunciation and all those other nations.......R1:yes:

I really admire the attitude shown in this post. You're never too old to learn or improve, and as long as you don't adopt the "Screw you, I'm too old to change" attitude, there is hope. I'll be a LOT more forgiving of mistakes if I know someone is a non-native speaker, or never had much education (because of circumstances, not because of laziness through school!), etc... and completely forgiving of mistakes if I know someone is trying hard to improve. Incidentally, I think your post was well-written. The only teensy-weensy minor quibble I would have is using "my bad" without putting quotation marks around the "bad" to show that it is being deliberately mis-used. ["Bad" used that way is incorrect, since "bad" is an adjective and not a noun. This is relatively recent slang, originated by a cute baby dinosaur in a television show!]

All through school I was in the highest level spelling but the internet has had a negative influence on me. Usually if I misspell something it's because I'm typing too fast (I have a messed up left hand from a motorcycle accident) or I have a brain-fart and type it like I've seen it misspelled numerous times in the past. The one thing that trips me up on occasion is punctuation and it bugs the hell out of me when I'm not sure what is correct.

The internet has undoubtedly had a negative effect on all our writing skills, and is contributing to an accelerated decline in standards of English writing. Sad, since one could probably find many grammar-teaching sites on the web that would help improve one's English. Guess we'd all rather spend our time on AK...

I have a few bad habits myself... (<- I use ... ALL THE TIME!)

I over-use ellipses (the three dots), too! At least I am very aware of it, when I'm doing it, and avoid it if I'm doing "serious" writing or writing for publication. In casual posts, I find it seems to fit the conversational style to insert them sometimes, even where technically they shouldn't be used.


[/QUOTE]What really bothers me most of all and I'll forgive all spelling mistakes and typos is people who write things like this cluster f@#$ of sentences that has no real start or end point with incomplete and incoherent thoughts that just ramble on and on lacking all punctuation or even the a remote similarity to a working sentence so your mind stops processing the content because its simply trying to find the aforementioned start and stop points in order to actually grasp the data presented whilst trying to figure out what Bob was doing at the park with his dog Barney and how that's remotely relevant to last nights game and why that matters anyway since we're on an audio forum but talking about grammar when math would be much more appropriate and even though this is been spell checked I'm just going to hit submit without checking to see if this last paragraph is even a paragraph or just one long run on sentence with no real end[/QUOTE]

I COMPLETELY AGREE! I didn't even make it to the end of your post without taking a break and coming back to it. Sentences all run together without any punctuation or capitalization are a nightmare to read. Very, very poor communication skills, at their worst. Even if you don't know all the rules, TRY to punctuate! I think some people started writing that way simply to hide the fact that they can't write correctly. Then they tried to claim it is their "style" or they think it is "cool" or some other excuse. JuST lIKe tyPInG liKE thIS, it simply shows one's complete ignorance and disrespect of others, IMO. Fortunately, it seems to be a fad/trend that is fading out, and one hopes it will disappear entirely one day.

 

[Squonk07]

Panteraguy had me laughing my dumb hiney off a few minutes ago when he said he'd seen ads in Craigslist for "rot iron" furniture. It's funny, but at the same time it's scary and sad to see folk who have such a dim understanding of the language they speak. I have several instances I see too many times a day somewhere on the web that I'd like to mention (IMDB is stuffed with such instances, BTW). Before I start, I also want to say that I look wherever possible at the location of the poster, blogger or writer of the article. If these folks are in ...ohhh... Pakistan or Portugal or Iceland I find myself saying "Gee, that guy handles English pretty well!", but if it's an American I have very little patience for:

Using "and" for "an" (" I ate and apple")
Using "where" for "were" ("We where walking to the store")
Using "of" instead of "have" ("He should of stopped when he was ahead")
The inability to distinguish "their", "there", or "they're"
Using "here" for "hear" or vice versa.
Runon sentences, with commas inserted, in the, weirdest of, places. Comes off sounding, like William Shatner chewing the, scenery.

I just read a review for a piece of audio gear on a Kenwood website where the writer had to return the rig to the dealer for repair of a bad "sotter" joint. Guess that guy didn't have a sottering iron.

And the one that gripes my ass from here to Alpha Centauri: The con'stant abu'se of the apo'strophe!!!! Some people 'seem to think every time they u'se the letter S it ha's to have an apo'strophe! Man that irk's the pi's's out of me! 'Seem's like every 'store I go to I WILL 'see a 'sign that 'say's "BANANA'S 49c/lb".
Rant over
peace and out

It's a shame that whenever this topic comes up, it usually dissolves into a series of (usually badly written) attacks on the OP, or else the term "language police" gets thrown around a lot. I haven't read through all the replies yet, so I don't know what they contain (I have faith in my fellow AK'ers, though, that there won't be any of the above). I say it's a shame because, despite where you (the reader) stand on the issue, this is definitely a concern of mine.

Full disclosure here: I'm an avid writer, so I happen to feel that a firm command of the English language is a very important virtue for pretty much anybody. Maybe that comes from having to completely rewrite one too many "group" projects that, without my input, would otherwise have been wholly unusable. I imagine that there are those for whom this is not so salient an issue (obviously, or there wouldn't be such poor grammar and spelling all over the Internet). Perhaps it's simply an issue of perspective, but I personally find it utterly irritating when I come across a horribly written passage, knowing full well that if I offer suggestions for improvement I will be viciously attacked (usually personally).

It's this sort of thing--what I call active ignorance--that I fear more and more with people. It's not simply that they don't know the proper way of things, but rather that they understand that a proper way exists, and yet they (often hostilely) refuse to learn it. This they do for reasons best known to themselves--perhaps they consider it a statement against rules and society, perhaps they resent those who follow the conventions, or perhaps--most likely--they not only do not care, but do not want to surrender the carefree world of apathy in which they've cocooned themselves. It's so easy not to care, and if there are no immediate consequences, then many people will fall into this pattern.

I guess I'm not immune to this myself. It always irks me to see those retirement planning commercials that try to guilt you into thinking about the future. Though of course retirement is a L-O-N-G way off for me, there is certainly wisdom in thinking about and planning for the future. But that requires initiative, which is something I am not quite willing to adopt in that regard just yet. And so the constant nagging grates at me after a while, and I am probably less likely to (in this example) plan for retirement or think about the future.

I've taken this a bit far afield, so I'll try to round back on the main point. The state of people's usage of English--particularly in the written form--might be making its way toward a cause for concern lately, but I don't think it's lack of learning capacity (intelligence) or even poor education that is fueling it. I think it's the rather soft line that has been taken toward the active ignorance I mentioned earlier that causes this effect. Without consequence, there is no initiative. Without initiative, people feel no motivation to change their ways or conform to standards.

Just my two cents.

 

[Fred Sanford]

Haven't seen this thread 'til now, and I generally agree with the OP and others here. I will say that some of the worst spellers I've ever met have also turned out to be some of the most intelligent/skilled/talented people I've ever met. I try to get past that, but if someone is unreadable I prefer to speak with them instead of corresponding in writing.

I think what turns me away is laziness, both in writing and in thinking. I simply have to pass on a giant paragraph with no capitals, no punctuation, and no spaces after the occasional period (pretty sure this site automatically changes two spaces after a period into only one space after a period). It's just not readable to me. Beyond that, if that paragraph is asking for advice or insight (or expressing incorrect information that cries out for correction) I find it difficult to glean the pertinent details from the jumbled mess, and don't really feel like putting in the effort myself to type out an organized reply.

Another side of this is the hand-written word, and the ability to organize & communicate detailed thoughts on the fly. I worked for a while as a manager at a huge multi-national corporation, and they insisted that I interview any person that posted internally. One tactic that I often used during the interviews in order to streamline the process was to have them re-write their resumes freehand while I read through their hard copy. It would help me check their ability to write digits and words clearly, plus check their "facts" a bit. The look of utter fear on their faces was surprising at first, but eventually I came to expect it. Generally, either they didn't know the details on the resume because it was mostly fiction (even written by a ghost writer), or they knew that they couldn't spell or hand-write any of it clearly. I'd say that maybe 40% of them simply stared at me in anger for a while, and then stood up and walked out.

This wasn't just to be cruel, or to decrease the time I spent interviewing- I needed workers that could take clear, detailed, readable notes and have them be readable by other employees or by clients. I have absolutely horrible handwriting myself, and always have, so I need to work hard at taking notes or at least re-typing all of them after the fact.

je

P.S. "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" was a favorite here.

 

[hjames]

16 year old Zombie thread from 2008 locked down.
Most of the original posters are long gone, and won't see your post anyway.
You want to rant or pick on people's use of English,
on how folks are killing grammar and grampah, just start a new thread.