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Skooma2Skooma2 Member UncommonPosts: 697

It's "would have" not "would of."

Your and you're are different.  The former means "belonging to you"; the latter means "you are."

There, their and they're are different.  They mean "in that place", "belonging to them" and "they are."

Its and it's are different.  The former means "belonging to it" and the latter means "it is."

 

This is NOT directed against non-native English speakers.  But, for the love of all that is holy, those of you who are grammar challenged are really pissing off those of us who are not.  If you want to be taken seriously on these forums, as in life, show some of the intelligence you were born with.  Typos are one thing; forgetting most of what you learned in English class is another.

 

Oh, by the way, walls of text are generally ignored; as are non-ending paragraphs containing a lack of punctuation.  If you took half an hour to type your rant, why does it seem inconceivable that you might take five more minutes and spell-check and punctuate it correctly?

 

Let the charges of elitism and flaming commence.

Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.

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Comments

  • MyskMysk Member Posts: 982

     

    but skooma, your using big words like "former" and "latter". its not fare. :-/

  • neoterrarneoterrar Member Posts: 512

    Common usage becomes correct usage. Grammar and language is not static.

    The only time one should complain about language, in my opinion, is when it doesn't convey the idea.

  • Skooma2Skooma2 Member UncommonPosts: 697
    Originally posted by neoterrar


    Common usage becomes correct usage. Grammar and language is not static.
    The only time one should complain about language, in my opinion, is when it doesn't convey the idea.



     

    How is one to know what the idea is when the language used fails to convey it?

    Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.

  • neoterrarneoterrar Member Posts: 512

    You are complaining about things that are easily read through. Your brain clearly can see what is trying to be said, your ego is the one with the issue.

     

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726

    The sad thing is this site does not require this in it's articles.  Lately about the only comment I leave in some of the articles is take a course in writing because you have no clue how to do so. 

    The article "World of Warcraft, a whole new world" is an excellent example of someone who should be fined for writing.  There is no excuse for allowing such an article to post in such a horrible state.

    "You are complaining about things that are easily read through. Your brain clearly can see what is trying to be said, your ego is the one with the issue."

    Ego, you think it is ok to abuse language and writing?  It has nothing to do with Ego, it has to do with not looking like a bumbling fool when you write and actually conveying the message you want to send in a format that is readable to most.

    If you attempt to write like that in a business environment,  you will end up looking for another job.  Best to establish good habits and use them all the time.

  • Jimmy_ScytheJimmy_Scythe Member CommonPosts: 3,586

  • TheHatterTheHatter Member Posts: 2,547

    //U7 (|-|00 74L|<1|| b0U7 //1LL1$?

  • neoterrarneoterrar Member Posts: 512

    Oz you used it's incorrectly.

    damn it hatter, that made my brain hurt. =/

  • AercusAercus Member UncommonPosts: 775

    My grammar is good but my keyboard is evil :/

  • LynxJSALynxJSA Member RarePosts: 3,332
    Originally posted by neoterrar


    Common usage becomes correct usage. Grammar and language is not static.
    The only time one should complain about language, in my opinion, is when it doesn't convey the idea.

     

    That excuse for illiteracy comes up a lot and I just don't buy it.

    -- Whammy - a 64x64 miniRPG 
    RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right? 
    FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?  
  • greed0104greed0104 Member Posts: 2,134

    wuts dis tred bout gais?

  • Anarchist420Anarchist420 Member Posts: 74

    Its not illiteracy its being lazy.  Could i hit backspace?  YES.  Will I?  Why bother... to please grammar hoes?  Is the phrase "Fuck off" correct?  Er wait, its not a full sentence, as I run off to consult an english book....

    Edit:  Done.  "Would you please kindly fuck off?".  Checkmate!

    image

  • neoterrarneoterrar Member Posts: 512

    How does common usage even refer to illiteracy?

    If a person can read or write, they are not illiterate.

    We are not in language class. The purpose of language is to convey ideas. People that misspeak or use incorrect usage still manage to convey their ideas.

  • Addt4Addt4 Member Posts: 99
    Originally posted by neoterrar


    How does common usage even refer to illiteracy?
    If a person can read or write, they are not illiterate.
    We are not in language class. The purpose of language is to convey ideas. People that misspeak or use incorrect usage still manage to convey their ideas.



     

    I think it is more to do with the death of the English language to Americanism etc... Fight on for the Queens English! :P

  • Jimmy_ScytheJimmy_Scythe Member CommonPosts: 3,586
    Originally posted by Addt4

    Originally posted by neoterrar


    How does common usage even refer to illiteracy?
    If a person can read or write, they are not illiterate.
    We are not in language class. The purpose of language is to convey ideas. People that misspeak or use incorrect usage still manage to convey their ideas.



     

    I think it is more to do with the death of the English language to Americanism etc... Fight on for the Queens English! :P

     

    Actually, the official language of North America is Spanglish. Your ethnicity basically determines if your flavor of Spanglish has more English or Spanish in it.

    No seriously. In some parts of the country they don't even bother to subtitle Spanish dialog on TV or in movies.

  • heremypetheremypet Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 528

    Ahem..

    It's"would have" not "would o'."

    Your an' you iz different. The former means "belonging ta you"; da latter means "you iz."

    There, they an' they're iz different. They mean "in dat place", "belonging ta them" an' "they iz."

    Its an' it's iz different. The former means "belonging ta it" an' da latter means "it iz."

     

    This iz NOT directed against non-native English speakers. But, fo' da love o' all dat iz holy, those o' ya who iz grammar challenged iz really pissing off those o' us who iz not. If ya wants ta be taken seriously on deez forums, as in life, show some o' da intelligence ya wuz born wiff. Typos iz one thing; forgetting most o' what ya learned in English class iz another.

     

    Oh, by da way, walls o' text iz generally ignored; as iz non-ending paragraphs containing uh lack o' punctuation. If ya took half an hour ta type yo' rant, why do it seem inconceivable dat ya might take five mo' minutes an' spell-check an' punctuate it correctly?

     

    Let da charges o' elitism an' flaming commence.

    Hey, do they still teach ebonics in school?  I wonder if blacks fight over ebonics grammer, no seriously.

    "Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the gun."

  • DibdabsDibdabs Member RarePosts: 3,203
    Originally posted by neoterrar


    Common usage becomes correct usage. Grammar and language is not static.
    The only time one should complain about language, in my opinion, is when it doesn't convey the idea.

     

    Try using it in job applications.  I've binned many a job application sent to me because the CV contained poor spelling and grammar.  Life is a permanent test, and if you don't realize that, you've already failed.

  • neoterrarneoterrar Member Posts: 512

    Really guys, it's a forum. If you get this bent about little things you'll just end up having a heart attack by 50.

    Aint dat donut da shizznit?

  • SomeOldBlokeSomeOldBloke Member UncommonPosts: 2,167

    If I wrote my comments using the English Grammar I learnt in school nobody would understand me either. Over 20 years of working in various industries has taught me to write English as it should be written and not how it is spoken. Then I moved to the US and had to change from the Oxford English Dictionary to Webster's and now I have to reread everything I write multiple times to check spelling and grammar.

  • ChealarChealar Member Posts: 268

    Ok, first Jimmy_Scythe get one Point Godwin
    image
     


    Originally posted by neoterrar You are complaining about things that are easily read through. Your brain clearly can see what is trying to be said, your ego is the one with the issue.
    No, my brain does not "clearly" see what is it people are trying to say (and trying seems to be the operative word here).

    Paying attention to spelling and grammar does not prevent a language evolving: new words will still get created, meanings will shifts, and loan word will still swing in and out of usage. What it does prevent is understanding, which should be the foremost concern as this is a message board, meant to communicate with others.

    Plus, some of these others are not English-speaking natives (like myself). We have some troubles with good, ol' English already or even "accepted" slang, without trying to untangle mispellings.

    Finally, excusing mispellings with language evolution or usage just create laziness... I have to agree with a lot of people here: bad spelling will NOT help you in real life. Think college applications or resumes sending here.

    And having good spelling in general gets you to be taken more seriously, which means your opinion is actually read and takeni nto account. Yet again, shouldn't that matter to people haunting message boards?

    As an aside: if there is any mispelling here, I can blame it on me not being an English-native speaker as well as on Muphry's Law. So don't start harping on any typo here just to discredit what I've just typed. Counter-argue all you want with logic or examples, but please don't just try to mock me. That's kindergarten level honestly.

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  • demarc01demarc01 Member UncommonPosts: 429
    Originally posted by mbd1968


    If I wrote my comments using the English Grammar I learnt in school nobody would understand me either. Over 20 years of working in various industries has taught me to write English as it should be written and not how it is spoken. Then I moved to the US and had to change from the Oxford English Dictionary to Webster's and now I have to reread everything I write multiple times to check spelling and grammar.



     

    Heh I still cling to my OED and refuse to convert to Websters, hence I still spell Colour with the U ... so sue me!

    Language is always evolving though and its a fact of life. I used the word "refute" on these forums some time ago and was called out on its meaning. After I took the time to do some research I found that the words meaning was infact changing, from "proving" someone wrong to "disagreeing" with someone :(

    Common usage dictates form. If a larger section of a languages speakers use a word "incorrectly" the language "evolves" so that thier usage becomes correct. The word "refute" is still in contention as some sources will list its "correct" meaning while others also list the "new" meaning too, although usually they add thats its a contested deffinition.

    Personally I view it more as a "Devolution" of language but thats the way the world is. Hell when I went to school if you sent someone a note (we did'ent have text phones :P ) with "lol" on it you'd be thought of as "abit slow" but in todays world you'd be hard pressed to find someone who did'ent know and understand "lol"

    Personally as long as I can understand the message that a poster is trying to get across its all good, with some posters on these forums that can he a chore I admit. Its hard enough trying to decifer someones "tone" on a message board without getting all anal about grammer and punctuation.

    People equating message boards to a job need to calm down just a little. If someone wont take the time to spell check a job application thats an issue they have to deal with, not spell checking a forum post is hardly in the same league. I do agree with the OP that writers submitting "articles" for the public should take the time to use correct grammer / spelling when they are receiving a pay cheque for it. However I would'ent hold "bloggers" and other contributers that do not receive a stipend to the same standards.




  • ChealarChealar Member Posts: 268

    To some extent, usage dictates form. But the whole point of having a written language and thesauri is to fix some language conventions (ot fix the language, that's impossible (or else it's a "dead" language, like Latin). That way, everyone is actually speaking the same language and so can undertand and get themselves understood.

    Of course, these are boards, and typos exists, because we are typing fast and not necessarily, anally proffreading everything.

    But when it gets to the point where people can be barely understood, can barely write a sentence that feel like English and not Gibberish (tm), you have to wonder if they can ever actually write correctly enough in a stern environment like school or work.

    Writing is a skill that can be trained every day, much like walking or speaking. Using these boards as some "sounding" board to try and write clearly is not a waste of time. It is not necessarily being prissy about a hobby, it is using the opportunity to get better at something. That way, the day you have to write an "official" paper in a rush, there would likely be a lot less spelling to correct from the start... and even if you're not in a rush, correcting loads of spelling mistake takes time, time that can be saved or at least spread out in a handful of seconds everyday, paying attention to what you're writing.

    And of course, as a student in communications, I cannot overlook the whole point of getting yourself understood. In this age, we are so used to having much things so easily accessible, that the moment we encounter a snag, we just often give up and go on to something else. To get understood, you have to be read, and to be read you have to be understanble from the start.

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  • BaggunsBagguns Member Posts: 152

    Who here has ever been addicted to skooma?

    Mr. Bagguns

  • Skooma2Skooma2 Member UncommonPosts: 697

    That's what happens you befriend a Khajiit.  They know how to get down and boogie.

    Hedonismbot: Your latest performance was as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.

  • ozmonoozmono Member UncommonPosts: 1,211

    I cannot understand what it is that you hope to achieve with such a post. It seems you are aware that it'd be rejected as elitist and pedantic but yet you posted anyway. Whatever your motive, I just want to add pointless to the list of reasons one would dismiss and flame you for this.

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