Chasing better spelling...

[octave]

I put down bad gramar and spelling, to either ignorance or not caring.

I will refrain from pointing out your spelling error.

 

So, if it is only ignorance or not caring, I am wondering which category my 86 year old father would fall into. He left school during the war and so did not have the benefit of the education most of us have today. Although his grammar and spelling are less than perfect, this does not mean that he has nothing interesting to say. Similarly, I do some contract work for woman whose emails and texts are less than perfect; ignorant or lazy? No, in fact she is extremely intelligent and hard working, but educated in Russia, English being her second language.

 

Also, I don't understand why the Grammar Nazis are so keen to point out people's spelling or grammar transgressions publicly rather than privately. Could it be that not only do they want to correct people, but they want to be seen to correct people? If I read a post on this forum that has less than perfect spelling or grammar I can usually understand what the writer means. If not I could ask for clarification, but if I did feel the need to correct someone I would do it privately. Firstly because it is just good manners, but secondly because I am not particularly impressed by people who are more interested in form than content.

 

 

 

[rankamateur]

Shitstirrer. She says she is a she but I suspect she is a he .... LOL

So are suggesting the Maj has taken on a pen-name (and a change of personality) since his board appointment curtailed his involvement in the forum?

 

 

[Peter008]

English is a bitch of a language and at times it is frustrating trying to decipher what the poster is attempting to say.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

I will refrain from pointing out your spelling error. So, if it is only ignorance or not caring, I am wondering which category my 86 year old father would fall into. He left school during the war and so did not have the benefit of the education most of us have today. Although his grammar and spelling are less than perfect, this does not mean that he has nothing interesting to say. Similarly, I do some contract work for woman whose emails and texts are less than perfect; ignorant or lazy? No, in fact she is extremely intelligent and hard working, but educated in Russia, English being her second language.

 

Also, I don't understand why the Grammar Nazis are so keen to point out people's spelling or grammar transgressions publicly rather than privately. Could it be that not only do they want to correct people, but they want to be seen to correct people? If I read a post on this forum that has less than perfect spelling or grammar I can usually understand what the writer means. If not I could ask for clarification, but if I did feel the need to correct someone I would do it privately. Firstly because it is just good manners, but secondly because I am not particularly impressed by people who are more interested in form than content.

With your obvious sensitively surrounding the subject, I have made the decision to refrain from correcting all the glaring grammar mistakes within your post.

 

 

[octave]

With your obvious sensitively surrounding the subject, I have made the decision to refrain from correcting all the glaring grammar mistakes within your post.

feel free to correct me, also if you have any useful dietary advice I would be most interested

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

A brilliant bit of language from Stephen Fry- and I didn't see a single error in spelling or grammar.

 

 

[David Isaac]

I put down bad gramar and spelling, to either ignorance or not caring. .....

That is potentially a bit unkind ol' son. There are many who have not had the opportunity of quality education or for some reason were unable to benefit from it. I don't ever want to see where a poster who struggles with English expression is criticised to the point that he will no longer post.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Does it really matter ? If the first and last letter is correct anyone can still reed it

That may be true 503, but it sure makes reading difficult. I was going to be a clever dick and compose this reply using your first and last letter protocol, but the damned iPad corrects every attempt at bad spelling. I can't win!

 

 

[bexrbetter]

also if you have any useful dietary advice I would be most interested

If you get offered a sausage dog in China, be wary as they really do not taste anything like sausage.

 

 

[503]

Interestingly you are correct, except that NOT everyone can. It is the grammar and punctuation that can completely alter the meaning of a sentence or paragraph.

This explains why some can't understand my texts ,though I don't find the same hard. It's not necessary ignorance or not caring ,and I'll bet it stops many from posting.there are many possible reasons why ,and it could be harder for some ,leave it alone ,,some spell well ,I'm happy I can fly ,good luck to those than can do both

 

 

[planedriver]

As my old Dad wood ave said, I only went to a farmers boys school, but still did quite well in English.

 

However, as we all get older, there are times we either get a bit forgetful or lazy.

 

I must admit I sometimes add to a post, read it once its posted.,and go" Whooooah"! thank God there's that sometimes overworked edit buttn.

 

 

[DrZoos]

Speling and : punktuartion is more bigger over aited

 

 

[Segal101]

Following this thread is quite amusing , I couldn't help but remember on one of the Simpsons episodes , when Ralph ( one of the school student characters on the show ), was told he was failing English , to which his reply was, " me fail English , that's umpossible " :-) lol

 

 

[kgwilson]

Where is the spell checker on this site?I am not new to the site but I don't got no spell checker and no emoticons neither!

 

I am wondering if they went the way of the alert buttons and the top of page button when the "You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.

 

You should upgrade or use an alternative browser." started appearing at the top of my page, thanks to Vista 64 no satisfactory update is available! Throw-away society is apparently becoming compulsory.

 

Funny thing is the buttons still work if you know where to point your mouse ( and click)

The spell checker is browser based so it depends on the browser you use and of course whether it is up to date. If you use Google Chrome when a wrod (Sic) is spelt (Sic) wrong it is underlined in red. If you then right click, Google suggests a number of options & usually one of those is the correct spelling of the word.

 

 

[Marty_d]

I just helped my uncle jack off a horse

You country boys.

 

 

[Marty_d]

An Apostrophe is used for ownership (Jabiru's most popular model)

 

-but is not needed to make the plural of the word (Several Jabirus flew over...)

 

It's- a shortened version of "it is"

 

This plane lives in its own hangar. (Ownership)

Good post OK. I consider myself reasonably proficient at English, however the old apostrophe placement sometimes leads me astray.

 

Yes, contractions are easy (not if you ask my wife though) - "it is" becomes "it's", "can not" becomes "can't" etc. No worries.

 

Then there's the possessive as you quote above, this plane lives in its own hangar. And plural - "Jabirus".

 

The one that always gets me is where the apostrophe goes after the "s". I think it's just for the possessive of plural nouns that already end in "s" (eg "The pilots' hats") as opposed to singular nouns (eg "The pilot's hat"), but I always forget.

 

I also don't know what a "dangling participle" is, but it sounds painful.

 

 

[rankamateur]

I also don't know what a "dangling participle" is, but it sounds painful.

Me neither!!

 

They sound like there would be less pain involved if you had a pair of them, still.

 

 

[M61A1]

I just helped my uncle jack off a horse

Similarly.....I'm going to f%$k mum, changes a lot with punctuation and spelling. I'm going too, f%$k mum.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

...I also don't know what a "dangling participle" is, but it sounds painful.

Makes me wince, Marty! For many of us, recalling the way grammar was taught brings back painful memories. Every damned rule has an exception. I think the best way to absorb correct spelling and grammar is to read a lot. Sort of like the best way to learn to fly is to do a lot of it.

 

 

[nickduncs84]

Cupla things. Maybe I'm the only one, but sometimes the spelling and grammar on this site is what makes me chuckle. So much emphasis on correctness these days. It's good to be able to not give a toss about the rules sometimes isn't it? And in relation to spell check, I'm pretty sure even the spell checker has no idea what some people on this site are on about sometimes. Those ones are the ones that make me laugh the most.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Sometimes it's funny, sometimes just painful to try to decipher the post.

 

I know language changes and evolves, but for some reason it irks me to see it mangled. "Txtspeak" especially. Call me overly correct if you wish (in this if not much else)!

 

 

[Bandit12]

I assessed a kid once for learning difficulties. His full scale IQ (an outdated, almost meaningless measure but fine for illustrative purposes) was off the chart, and yet his written language was appalling and his spelling was at a level about 10 years below his age. Ask him to write and it was almost gibberish, ask him to answer verbally and it was unbelievable just how bright he was. One of my brothers builds truck trailers and is almost as bad in written language, yet can eyeball a trailer and tell you where it will fail and by how much and where it needs to be reinforced to prevent failure.

 

I think it is wrong to presume that errors are from laziness. How a person is approached regarding their mistakes will make a big difference to whether they even come back, and to be honest most people who struggle to spell probably already know that they struggle, and don't need a faceless person on the internet to tell them. If it was that simple, I suspect their problems would have been solved by now. My sympathy is lower to those who are representing a business and have mistakes in advertising - no excuses for a business not to appear professional. For individuals in social settings, as long as they can get their point across, I think that is enough.

 

 

[octave]

Sometimes it's funny, sometimes just painful to try to decipher the post.I know language changes and evolves, but for some reason it irks me to see it mangled. "Txtspeak" especially. Call me overly correct if you wish (in this if not much else)!

It seems to me that "Txtspeak" is becoming less common, most likely due to predictive text. I don't have any problem with "Txtspeak" as long as it is an abbreviation that the intended reader will understand. There is nothing really new here, consider the English used in the past in telexes and telegrams or even in aviation, it all comes down to using a language that is common in the area you are dealing in whether it be aviation, medicine or within youth culture.

 

 

[turboplanner]

The one that always gets me is where the apostrophe goes after the "s". I think it's just for the possessive of plural nouns that already end in "s" (eg "The pilots' hats") as opposed to singular nouns (eg "The pilot's hat"), but I always forget.

Where you just can't break through the barrier like that to remember which version, a prompter usually helps, such as "the apostrophe comes after all the pilots' hats"

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Y oug uysshoul dtry typing dur ing oneof our man yrecent earth quakes ...