Does it bother you?

[escapee]

"Some friends of mine and me went out the other night. I haven't drank that much before.

Good thing we took they're car. Was I wasted? Your not kidding!"

I just cracks me up to read postings from very opinionated authors who write as though they have no education. Or maybe they just don't care how they look in print. (the sentences above are just examples. I didn't want to embarass the writers by direct quotes)

Maybe this forum is too casual to worry about being correct. It seems to me, though, that precision in communication is pretty important. When I see the language being slaughtered, I tend to discount the writer's whole point of view.

Anybody else have thoughts on this?

[nmainguy]

When I see the language being slaughtered, I tend to discount the writer's whole point of view.

Anybody else have thoughts on this?

When I see the lanquage being over used, I tend to discount the writer' point of view as well.

Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,

And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,

I will be brief.

Shakespeare, Hamlet

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.

Thomas Jefferson

Edited June 28, 2006 by nmainguy

[TJones]

You, my friend, have no idea how many times I'll go back and edit my own posts, even un-capitalized "I"s urk me. I type waaaaaaaaay too fast sometimes, and my fat fingers get in the way. I try to write like I talk, as I think many do here, and have let spelling go to the side, because some automatically think there is a "spellcheck" and "grammarcheck" on here. So, It bothers me a little, because you really can't call'em out on it, when, in the same paragraph you are trying to dog them, you mispell some easy word like "weird" by leaving out the "i" !

Edited June 28, 2006 by TJones

[native_Houstonian]

Little grammatical and spelling errors don't bother me. It's the typing all in lower case, with slang words and "ez" typing that drives me insane. It is then that I become very concerned about our school systems.

[wendyps]

I'm probably at fault on occasion. It is very easy to type so quickly you don't realize your grammatical errors.

I wonder.... when I was learning my grammer, computers and typing weren't the norm, they were still 10 years off from being common. Will today's children type grammatically correct in 20 years more often than we do now?

[escapee]

You, my friend, have no idea how many times I'll go back and edit my own posts, even un-capitalized "I"s urk me. I type waaaaaaaaay too fast sometimes, and my fat fingers get in the way. I try to write like I talk, as I think many do here, and have let spelling go to the side, because some automatically think there is a "spellcheck" and "grammarcheck" on here. So, It bothers me a little, because you really can't call'em out on it, when, in the same paragraph you are trying to dog them, you mispell some easy word like "weird" by leaving out the "i" !

With 2300+ posts, that's LOTS of going back and editing! I love words, and it pains me to watch the written word being abused. Of course, the spoken word is taking an even worse beating. The part that REALLY hacks me off, tho, is when TV "journalists" get it wrong. They set themselves up as a standard and then drop the ball on its butt! (how's that for a cumbersome sentence?)

[Subdude]

For the most part it doesn't bother me too much, except for the occasional poster who does it intentionally. There are some words for whatever reason seem hard for a lot of people to spell. It's true that if the writing is too bad you tend to tune out the message.

[native_Houstonian]

This is my favorite post for grammatical errors. I copied it without disclosing the poster's name. To me, it is frightening.

"well thats is about all i can affored imean a 60,000 townhouse at 2000 sq feet on the golf course is a good deal but yes yall are right the area around it sucks i mean i am only 19. is it so bad everyday you comehome your house is broken into and yes there are a lot of forclosures in that area there where three right next to each other.Does any one know of any develepment in the area at all.If there is no develepment there where is the closest develpoment at? There area has a lot of potental i dont see why there wouldent be any develpment at all.Its not like i wont shoot someone trying to brake in my house but i dont wanna do it every day lol.also is it is aloso really close to uptown as well 7 miles if i am right.also is there a chamber of commerce over there im not really sure how that all works and who is it if there is one.

well thanks for any help"

Edited June 28, 2006 by native_Houstonian

[sevfiv]

little things don't bother me; actually, i usually just chuckle then move on to the next post.

i never write in upper case while typing (unless it is for an article, paper, something published, and so forth), but always when writing - lazy? maybe...not caring about the meaning of the rule? most likely

i notice more grammar and spelling related errors - mainly usage (they're/their/there), and blatant lazy spelling (ur instead of your, u instead of you).

[jmancuso]

i suck at spelling and i don't bother using uppercase.

[TJones]

little things don't bother me; actually, i usually just chuckle then move on to the next post.

i never write in upper case while typing (unless it is for an article, paper, something published, and so forth), but always when writing - lazy? maybe...not caring about the meaning of the rule? most likely

i notice more grammar and spelling related errors - mainly usage (they're/their/there), and blatant lazy spelling (ur instead of your, u instead of you).

I bet you have "air-conditioning" at your house also, DON'T YOU !

Edited June 28, 2006 by TJones

[Jeebus]

I.. am.. job.

[sevfiv]

I bet you have "air-conditioning" at your house also, DON"T YOU !

hey! there's nothing wrong with compound words -or- abbreviations

but you did use a quotation mark for an apostrophe

[TJones]

hey! there's nothing wrong with compound words -or- abbreviations

but you did use a quotation mark for an apostrophe

SEE, now I gotta go back and amputate ! DAMN YOU SEV !

[gnu]

unfortunately i seem to revert back to my east texas speak a lot of times when writing. it has been so long since i have written formally that i seem to have forgotten a lot of grammatical rules.

i usually do try to - at least - get my spelling correct.

i also have a cruddy keyboard where the shift key doesn't work too well and a lot the keys repeat or stick when you type adding extra spaces and double letters. i have given up fighting with it, so i typically abandon tthe use of caps, but i will usually correct stuff like the "tthe" in the previous sentence.

the use of shorthand and/or slang bugs me the most. i want to be able to clearly understand someone's post and not waste time trying to decipher a "coded" message.

Edited June 28, 2006 by gnu

[brijonmang]

I try to keep everything grammatically correct...since it bugs me whenever I have to try and comprehend a poster because they are somewhat or fully illiterate. If it's a typo, then I don't care...but if someone posts something and mispells every other word...I can't take it! Maybe spelling came easy to me, but it really isn't a hard concept (unless you have dyslexia, in which case you can't really help it).

NE wayz....i gess sum things ghramatikly juss piss me off

[Trophy Property]

"Some friends of mine and me went out the other night. I haven't drank that much before.

Good thing we took they're car. Was I wasted? Your not kidding!"

Anybody else have thoughts on this?

Happens is does at times that the language I type is not the language that I am trying to say. Gramer is toug when you had 13 beers and 3 shorts of tookilla. Seiriouslly! i do knot see the problems wit this. u's can alll undertan wha me is trying to write-say.

[Heights2Bastrop]

So what if a poster isn't so proficent in English. Its there write two right as them sea fit!

[TJones]

So what if a poster isn't so proficent in English. Its there write two right as them sea fit!

H2B's got jokes !

Edited June 29, 2006 by TJones

[Guest danax]

It doesn't bother me a lot but it is a shame to see our language being morphed into a form due to the influence of our less-educated members, which might be an indicator of where we are headed.

Example; one common error that I see, literally daily, in print is the dropping of "ed" after a verb. Such as "I just fax you the paystubs". I see this all day from distinct sources. I'm afraid that it will become the American norm at some point. A big deal? Yes, we shouldn't be so damn tolerant.

And I think it's just common courtesy to edit the posts before posting, not necessarily to an anal degree, but to enhance the readability, the flow, and as a respect for the English language and therefore maintain HAIF's standards. Not everyone, however, has a talent for English and the goofball bad grammar posts are usually so few and far between as to qualify as comedic breaks, so, like most things in life, it's really a question of frequency as to how obnoxious that behavior is.

[TheNiche]

...and the goofball bad grammar posts are usually so few and far between as to qualify as comedic breaks...

I can second that, having made quite a few goofball mistakes myself.

I humbly submit to you my best typo of all time: in describing a particular aspect of the Katy Freeway, I created the word Bongested by complete accident. Call it a Freudian slip.

[brijonmang]

I humbly submit to you my best typo of all time: in describing a particular aspect of the Katy Freeway, I created the word Bongested by complete accident. Call it a Freudian slip.

Oh, but the laughs we shared were well worth any humiliation you may have incurred.

[heights_yankee]

If it's really bad grammar, it irks me.

Spelling mistakes I usually chalk up to fast typing and our addiction to spell check. I will fully admit that I am a terrible speller and will often change the word I wanted to use to some synonym b/c (and I always use that short cut) I don't know if I'm spelling the 1st one right.

[escapee]

If it's really bad grammar, it irks me.

Spelling mistakes I usually chalk up to fast typing and our addiction to spell check. I will fully admit that I am a terrible speller and will often change the word I wanted to use to some synonym b/c (and I always use that short cut) I don't know if I'm spelling the 1st one right.

I do that, too......change the word 'cause I don't know how to spell the original one. Sometimes, though, if I'm not too rushed, I'll keep open an extra browser window with a dictionary site up so I can find the correct spelling. The other easy trick is to keep a new email window open, type the offending word in, then hit spell check. Some may call it cheating, I call it being considerate.

The other thing, punctuation-wise, is that periods almost always belong INSIDE end quotation marks. Should be..........My boss is a "holier-than-thou type." Not "type".

I spent a short time as a proof reader. Ever since then, I can't read anything without proofing it. It's a curse, I tell ya.

Happens is does at times that the language I type is not the language that I am trying to say. Gramer is toug when you had 13 beers and 3 shorts of tookilla. Seiriouslly! i do knot see the problems wit this. u's can alll undertan wha me is trying to write-say.

Well, I must have quit drinking just in time. I never had any "shorts of toolkilla." Sounds lethal, though.

[escapee]

unfortunately i seem to revert back to my east texas speak a lot of times when writing. it has been so long since i have written formally that i seem to have forgotten a lot of grammatical rules.

i usually do try to - at least - get my spelling correct.

i also have a cruddy keyboard where the shift key doesn't work too well and a lot the keys repeat or stick when you type adding extra spaces and double letters. i have given up fighting with it, so i typically abandon tthe use of caps, but i will usually correct stuff like the "tthe" in the previous sentence.

the use of shorthand and/or slang bugs me the most. i want to be able to clearly understand someone's post and not waste time trying to decipher a "coded" message.

You know............keyboards are cheap. What happened to it? Have you been hanging out with Trophy and letting him spill his beer and tookilla on it?

We moved up to NE Texas two years ago, and it IS a whole different world up here. You got your, "he don't never," and, my personal favorite, "yes, mame." Supposed to be "ma'am." But, I'll trade poor grammar for the slower pace, the clean air, lack of traffic, and good hearts.

I can second that, having made quite a few goofball mistakes myself.

I humbly submit to you my best typo of all time: in describing a particular aspect of the Katy Freeway, I created the word Bongested by complete accident. Call it a Freudian slip.

That reminds me of my favorite typo on TV. One afternoon in Houston during a bad storm, I glanced over at the television and saw this trailer at the bottom of the screen: "...storms with mable-sized hail...." Now, I don't know how big Mable is, but that's bound to be some big-assed hail!

[gnu]

You know............keyboards are cheap. What happened to it? Have you been hanging out with Trophy and letting him spill his beer and tookilla on it?

no, i spilled delaware punch all over it.

it's actually an old laptop...so it's not really so cheap. i guess i could plug an external keyboard into it but that would take up too much space on my desk.

We moved up to NE Texas two years ago, and it IS a whole different world up here. You got your, "he don't never," and, my personal favorite, "yes, mame." Supposed to be "ma'am." But, I'll trade poor grammar for the slower pace, the clean air, lack of traffic, and good hearts.

That reminds me of my favorite typo on TV. One afternoon in Houston during a bad storm, I glanced over at the television and saw this trailer at the bottom of the screen: "...storms with mable-sized hail...." Now, I don't know how big Mable is, but that's bound to be some big-assed hail!

i definately would go for the slower pace of life. it's amazing - I haven't lived up there since i was 3 or 4 - all it takes is some beer and tookilla and I am spouting it out in that accent like I never left and got edumacated. Just tell Mable to keep away from me.

Edited June 29, 2006 by gnu

[bachanon]

The other thing, punctuation-wise, is that periods almost always belong INSIDE end quotation marks. Should be..........My boss is a "holier-than-thou type." Not "type".

I thought that a period belonged INSIDE the end quotation mark only if the words being quoted were a complete sentence. Why would quotation marks be needed in the example that you've given?

I started typing without caps specifically for emails and HAIF. Lately, I've returned to upper case out of necessity.

I enjoy having my grammar corrected. In fact, I've corrected one or more bad habits due to comments from other HAIFers. However, I do not know if they were referring to me specifically.

[brijonmang]

bachanon, you are correct in your punctuation statement. The only time you end a quotation with a period or exclamation point etc., is when the quote is a complete sentence itself.

I think having grammar corrected is always helpful as long as the person making the corrections is kind and not condescending. It will help you sound more eloquent and professional in the end.

[nmainguy]

Bach iz korrect. Ya always put tha periud after tha qutashun marcs if it ain't a complte senense i hate peepul that aint gooder spelers and don no how to use punkuashun

An i agre wit bregon that itz ok to korrekt a speler tha kant reely spel and punkshoeate

[escapee]

I thought that a period belonged INSIDE the end quotation mark only if the words being quoted were a complete sentence. Why would quotation marks be needed in the example that you've given?

I started typing without caps specifically for emails and HAIF. Lately, I've returned to upper case out of necessity.

I enjoy having my grammar corrected. In fact, I've corrected one or more bad habits due to comments from other HAIFers. However, I do not know if they were referring to me specifically.

Ok, the quotation marks there were for "unusual" or "unique" terms. Cutsey, sort of. Take a look at this good link. Linger on #13. And, I was trying to be gentle, folks. http://www.ku.edu/~edit/quotes.html