Does spelling still count?

[Ice]

I am concerned about the generation in their teens now due to text messaging. I send maybe 3-5 messages per day via text on my cell phone, and it really changes the way you communicate. Abbreviations are the norm, and certain words are used more as they are easier to type (short, and you don't have to use the same key for adjacent letters.) Punctuation is of course practically non-existent. I worry that we are encouraging a generation with a vocabulary of 500 words.

My sister is one of the worst - sometimes I have trouble deciphering what she is trying to say In a common text message she frequently uses words such as wud, cud, etc - looking at a text I received from her it goes ... hw r u wot u up2 2dy nefin gud - I constantly tell her that her English is appalling

Now I know she *can* spell perfectly well if she so chose to, but like all teenagers she simplifies words so they can fit it onto one text message (it also has something to do with the people she associates with )- hence saving them money. I use text but rarely shorten my words.

 

[Martin]

I use text but rarely shorten my words.

Same here. I don't know how it is over there in the UK and the US, but text messages cost nigh on nothing over here; some 4 cents. Now, I simply refuse to rape the English language (or any language for that matter) to save myself 4 bloody cents.

Cheers

 

[Ice]

I think it's the entire concept of message boards which are to blame here (if blame must be asigned) - On message boards such as the one you are on presently, it's all about reacting - you react to messages you read. When reacting, you're not going to think hard and long about spelling, or you'll lose the point you intended to make.

I can see your point here - I rarely bother to check what I have written when using message boards, though obviously if I was writing an article or a paper I would go over what I had written to check for spelling and grammar mistakes. However, when using instant messaging, some of the words I type are poor - usually because I touch type and never bother to check what I have written, due to the speed I am typing at (in order to keep a conversation flowing) - I can't see that it really matters when using IM.

Saying that, I do always notice when people have made mistakes with their spelling/grammar but cetainly wouldn't pull them up for it.

 

[Ice]

Same here. I don't know how it is over there in the UK and the US, but text messages cost nigh on nothing over here; some 4 cents. Now, I simply refuse to rape the English language (or any language for that matter) to save myself 4 bloody cents.

Cheers

Standard cost for a text message over here is 12p.

 

[Cathy C]

I belong to a number of different loops for writers, and I am constantly amazed (not in a good way) at the sheer number of supposed "authors" who not only can't spell, but can't even manage basic sentence structure. Now, I'll forgive the occasional error to typos, but have to shake my head and sit on my hands not to send snarky e-mails back correcting their posts. I admit that I don't speak other languages, so I am very lenient when someone is trying to master American English (quite different than the British and Australian versions!) We have taken slang to new heights and have a difficult time comprehending other styles of the language.

I got involved in a discussion just today about whether an obscure bit of British slang should be used in a story that is being submitted to an American anthology. I asked whether the character speaking was British or American, and suggested a substitution when I learned she (the character) was American.

But, it's also frustrating when UK and Australian books are "dumbed-down" for an American audience. JK Rowling and Orson Scott Card are only two small examples of a wide difference in the UK version versus the American version. But I heard recently that American books have to be written to a 6th grade reading level! No wonder we keep losing the scholastic olympics!

Cathy

 

[Geenh]

The funny thing about grammar is 'which part do I bash now!'

Gramatically speaking, Cathy, 'but' should not begin a sentence.

Although I loathe the new 'mobile phone/online' language, who are we to judge when we don't follow basic grammatical rules???

I, myself, do not generally follow an exact grammatical line; however, being too particular is being ridiculous!

As long as our children know how to speak and write correctly, who cares how they text and internet. If they don't speak and write correctly, then it's our job to change it.

 

[Eugen]

The funny thing about grammar is 'which part do I bash now!'

Gramatically speaking, Cathy, 'but' should not begin a sentence.

In creative writing, Geenh, 'But' can begin a sentence. So can 'And'. Phrases without a subject/ verb group may stand as sentences too. It's still a gamble, though, being innovative, like verbalising nouns (legged it to the woods; nailed her point). Good writers confident in their skill try it. Poetry counts but too much liberty with language might spoil it.

 

[Stewart]

Does spelling count? Does this bother anyone else?

It bothers me. I see so many people who are so ignorant that they expect people to speak in English wherever they go yet they themselves have no grasp of the English language, especially when communicating by text message on a phone or via the internet.

I don't like to see abbreviations on a form (such as u or 2 for you or to) for two reasons:

1. It is horrible to read;
2. Forums are used by people of many different nationalities where English is not necessarily the first language and people don't consider that a non native English speaker may not be aware of this cultural decline/evolution of the English language.

I especially wish RainbowGirl would take the time to review her spelling as it's hard to read her posts without cringing.

 

[Stewart]

who cares how they text and internet.

Ooh! Internet. Is this a new verb?

 

[RitalinKid]

How do you guys feel about words such as "through" being replaced by more direct spellings like "thru". "Thru" is already popping up in dictionaries, and I know it's in use on road signs here. Linguists have found that a language replaces a certain percentage of its vocabulary every 1000 years. I believe it's ten percent, but I'm not at home to check that. With all that in mind, can certain changes be accepted as the evolution of the language?

My friends that speak Spanish as their first language hate words like "through". The Spanish language sticks to its rules of pronunciation much better than English. It's easy to look at "through" and say, "Why do I need the 'o', 'g', and 'h'?"

 

[novella]

I think "through" is preferrable to "thru" in all cases, but thru now appears in the dictionary as a variant, so I guess it's accepted to some degree, at least in the US. My UK Chambers dictionary says that it's an American spelling. Ha. But in the UK they accept the variant "thro" as a long-established shortening.

The one that I hate is "lite," which I associate with diet-food marketing. I think now it has the odor of irony hanging on it like a cheap suit. Spenser used the "lite" spelling of light to sound "ye olde"; he really managed to bollocks up spelling for lots of people, just by constantly making up fake "olde tyme" variations.

I accept that language is in flux and will definitely change drastically over a century or so, as it always has, but I err on the side of conservatism, primarily because I see meaning and comprehension lost in many cases and because I'm a student of etymology, which is most traceable in properly spelled words.

I think, on the other hand, it's a big mistake to try to prevent change entirely and to fight against new coinages, which can be really fun and useful.

 

[Cathy C]

Gramatically speaking, Cathy, 'but' should not begin a sentence.

This statement shows the difference between British and American grammar. 'But' is taught in high school to be a substitute for 'however,' and the manner I have utilized the word is perfectly acceptable in both business letters and in fiction.

British vs. American grammar is a WHOLE different subject!

I agree with Novella on the subject of new word coinage. I think some of the new words that have evolved, such as "Blog," are interesting but wonder if a dictionary will be an effective "Rosetta Stone" ten thousand years from today? So many words, or different meanings of words, never even show up in Webster's. It will be... interesting.

 

[Ice]

In creative writing, Geenh, 'But' can begin a sentence. So can 'And'.

I'm in agreement with Geenh here, I was always taught that when writing correct grammatical English you could never start a sentence with but or and.

 

[Phedre]

But Correct and Creative sometimes don't like eachother...

 

[Motokid]

THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig waht?

 

[novella]

There used to be an ad on the subways in NY:

if u cn rd ths, u cn gt a gd jb as a crt rptr

Who needs vowels?

 

[namedujour]

I get irritated with spelling, grammatical, punctuation, and shift key typing issues (like not capitalizing anything, or hitting all caps) on the Internet, but what's really disturbing is the fact that these things pop up frequently in published works.

How many reviews have you read on Amazon where some frustrated reader can't finish a book because it needed a better editor? I'm one of those readers. When I write an Amazon review, I take writing technicalities seriously - after all, I'm commenting on an author's grasp of the writing "craft" as much as the overall book, and it seriously affects my enjoyment of a book if the writer has little grammatical tics and spasms.

Recently I wrote a review like that for Sharon Kay Penman's "Sunne in Splendour" which - for all it's great reviews - I couldn't finish. She had comma splices in virtually every paragraph, and I said so, then only gave the book three stars. Of course, virtually NOBODY will find a review like that helpful. When you "attack" a book as universally loved as that one, people get indignant.

That's another issue: The lack of discernment among readers. They generally seem to overlook anything. So I go looking at the one-star reviews first. If they seem written more intelligently than the five-star reviews and bring up grammar issues, I take them into account.

Otherwise, if the one-star reviews are misspelled and so forth, I completely ignore them. I consider the source.

 

[namedujour]

On the topic of spelling, I got this from a friend recently. It's kind of fun:

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt.

 

[Libra6Poe]

Here's what bothers me: when people say/write ATM machine, etc... it's like saying automated teller machine machine.

 

[Halo]

Or PIN number - Personal Identification Number number! I have to admit to saying this one myself.