A Call To Better Spelling

[doug86]

"So, she goes... like... no WAY! And I'm all, like, ya know, I'm like...I went... Way!"

"Oh Dude! I don't see why she's all, you know, like, blah blah blah about it. I mean, who cares?"

"Totally. I'm like... soo down with that. So, then I go all 'Chill', and she goes, like bite me or something. I don't know."

"Oh my God, that's so like not cool."


Well done, Doug86, for exemplary use of punctuation.

[doug86]

Originally Posted by doug86

Well done, Doug86, for exemplary use of punctuation.

Not sure, but that bit at the end of my post sure looks like Saucy's font...

[hummingway]

Originally Posted by dacust

Changing the thread title is fine. But I think the mod should ask the poster if it is OK, and maybe give the reasons.

There may be times when we will say something, in the hope that the posters titles will be improved, but most often we probably won't.

The reason is mathematical. You see time is money and if you take the hours worked and divide it by average monthly wage of a mod you get a distinct veering toward infinity which is a terrible thing to have happen when it's money you're talking about. In fact quantum physics came about because of the same tendency in Einsteins e-quations!

All kidding aside (and we don't want more goats around here) we do need to manage our time as mods and if we apologize if someone didn't want their title changed but it is one of those things that would take up too much of our time were we to communicate everytime a title needed changing.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

I can't quite (not "quit") seem (not "seam") to (not "two" OR "too") ever get that one straight myself, but the abuse of there/their/they're is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I understand "it's" as a conjunction of "it is"; what is the rule on the possessive?

John

Points for the correct use of a semi-colon, an almost extinct but still useful punctuation mark.

This little entry ("It's" vs. "Its") should clear things up. I usually see a misapplied "it's" rather than "its": "The boat raised it's mainsail" is wrong; we are talking about the mainsail belonging to the boat, and it takes the possessive "its".

It's rarer to see "its grammar that clarifies language".

There's a great confusion about the use of spelling and grammar in standard forms. The assumption appears to be in some cases that the upholding of standard English forms is a restriction on freedom of expression. This is untrue. If the manner in which one expresses themselves is full of grammatical and spelling mistakes, as opposed to easily discerned typos like "teh" or "yuo", then the intended meaning is obscured and the sentence, story or post can be said to have failed.

As a reader, if I can't grasp the meaning, I cease to read. Mastering standard English is an investment on the part of the writer; if you wish to be understood, learn to write to that standard. If you enjoy passing wind in an echo chamber, rant away. Odds are the audience will be small, and perhaps even singular.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by zeehag

it takes me about 45 minuets to write and post .....

Have you considered voice recognition software? You talk to the computer and your words appear as text within the posting box, the form or whatever application you specify.

It has become very good lately. If you have dyslexia, there's going to be a problem when it comes to proof-reading your own posts, but the net benefit of avoiding loads of spelling errors is going to be worth it.

[Lowcountry]

I would just like to add that an apostrophe is not a warning that an "S" is coming! Gosh that drives me nuts!

ie: it's "Bahamas," not "Bahama's"

*climbs down from soapbox*

[boasun]

Seeing all the tests of us being able to read a full paragraph of misspelt words... I just put it to that person's finger hitting the wrong keys.
My spell check doesn't work, but I do keep a dictionary next to my desk if I'm in doubt.

[SaucySailoress]

Michael Rosen's poem Hints on Pronunciation makes the essential point:
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird
And dead: it's said like bed, not bead -
For goodness sake don't call it "deed"!

Taken from Times Educational Supplement, April 1st:
Wood a child tawt to reed using phonix alone notis anything wrong with this hedline?

[hummingway]

A line taught with tension ...

may break the silence with a snap
and yet teach us naught
for its mean trajectory
may be hidden in the calculations
with which it is fraught!

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by zeehag

it takes me about 45 minuets to write and post .....

I know most of them are short, but that's a lot of music!

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

Eats shoots and leaves.
Eats, shoots, and leaves.

John

ROFL ! Good one!

[bvimatelot]

Originally Posted by S/V Alchemy

Points for the correct use of a semi-colon, an almost extinct but still useful punctuation mark.

This little entry ("It's" vs. "Its") should clear things up. I usually see a misapplied "it's" rather than "its": "The boat raised it's mainsail" is wrong; we are talking about the mainsail belonging to the boat, and it takes the possessive "its".

It's rarer to see "its grammar that clarifies language".

There's a great confusion about the use of spelling and grammar in standard forms. The assumption appears to be in some cases that the upholding of standard English forms is a restriction on freedom of expression. This is untrue. If the manner in which one expresses themselves is full of grammatical and spelling mistakes, as opposed to easily discerned typos like "teh" or "yuo", then the intended meaning is obscured and the sentence, story or post can be said to have failed.

As a reader, if I can't grasp the meaning, I cease to read. Mastering standard English is an investment on the part of the writer; if you wish to be understood, learn to write to that standard. If you enjoy passing wind in an echo chamber, rant away. Odds are the audience will be small, and perhaps even singular.

Jolly good post except the bit I "boldened" (is that a word?) and underlined. One should not change from singular to plural... Tony

[Bill Burgette]

Let's not do the phonetics thingy. It seems to me that many of our members are from some place where English is not the first language. Most do an admirable job of coming close enough. Remember, this silly language is full of idiosyncrasies.

A great scribe once spelled "fish" as GHOTI. It's our language.

• the gh = f as in rouGH
• the o = i as in wOmen
• the ti = sh as in naTIon

Do not place too much importance on the spelling of a word. The more important thing in understanding English is the sound.
Here are five words that end in "ough". In each word, the "ough" has a different pronunciation:

• bough rhymes with cow
• cough rhymes with off
• rough rhymes with puff
• though rhymes with Jo
• through rhymes with too

There goes phonetics right down the tubes.


Many words have exactly the same spelling but are pronounced differently when the meaning is different. These words are called "homographs". Here are some examples:

• bow (noun: front of ship) rhymes with cow
• bow (noun: fancy knot) rhymes with go
• lead (verb: to guide) rhymes with feed
• lead (noun: metal) rhymes with fed
• wind (noun: airflow) rhymes with pinned
• wind (verb: to turn) rhymes with find

Many words have different spellings but are pronounced exactly the same. These words are called "homophones". Here are some examples:

• sea, see
• for, four
• hear, here
• one, won
• knight, night
• him, hymn
• to, too, two

How in the world could anyone that hasn't spoken English their whole life ever hope to get a grasp on this silliness. Good job mods on allowing the worldwide membership of CF to poke a little fun at our wild, wacky language.

[svHyLyte]

My son, who has degrees in 3 languages, ... is presently working on his law degree, specializing in, of all things, Interlectual Property law.

Humm... Intellectual Property law?

...If the manner in which one expresses themselves is full of grammatical and spelling mistakes, as opposed to easily discerned typos like "teh" or "yuo", then the intended meaning is obscured and the sentence, story or post can be said to have failed.

Humm... If the manner in which one expresses oneself? Or, ... If the manner in which they express themselves?

Sometimes I find living in a glass house too hazardous to permit one to pitch rcks (sic!), eh?

A recent study found that, for the most part, most people could decern an intended word used in a written sentence in their own language despite atrocious spelling. Gramatical errors, however, commonly resulted in misapprehesion.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

If we don't make any attempt to correct, and if we accept lazy composition, we will get more of it as time goes on. Ultimately,we all get lazy together until no one cares and no one knows how to do it right anymore.

As things get worse people will either comment to those that are imprecise, ignore them or ask for clarification. In the long run this issue is self correcting, people adopt something close to the standards of the community they are interacting with, are ignored or are ejected from the group.

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

Should we all abandon the rules of sailing? The rules of driving? How 'bout the rules of civil discourse and public behavior? If you want to communicate, do it right, or at least well enough that you can be understood without extra effort.

Many of the rules of driving and sailing and civil discourse are only sporadically followed and yet all those activities still seem to function adequately. Also, as with spelling and grammer, there is some disagreement about what the rules are exactly.

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

Interestingly, precise terminology and clarity of commands is required for safe and efficient seamanship.

The precision desired for sailing is in excess of what is required for social discourse.

Originally Posted by Feral Cement

Jonh

Is that the way you normally spell your name?
--Never mind, answered 2 posts later.--




A) The moderators already have plenty to do.
B) Even if they had the time and energy there would be the whole issue of censorship. If they start modifying people's grammer then they potentially start modifying the meaning of what was written.
C) Why should they be the heavies for something that apparently most of they aren't bothered by?

If you feel so strongly about this issue you should start PM'ing people that have problems and offer them help.