Grammar and spelling are a thing of the past!!!!

[EweSheep]

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I'm quilty of it.... pondering to think..... what else can I say?

In here, it's not a big deal but when I read a newspaper or closed caption, I DO expect good grammar. I can understand typos on CC because of the broadcast issues but if I see it in the newspaper, I would be a little peeved who has taught that person to proof read the articles before running it off the presses. I know no one is perfect but I hold the highest esteem for people working for the news to get the language and reading and spelling skills up to par.

LOL Jeepchick, thanks for the chuckles! I would feel bad for the teacher who is teaching this child to write like that. My first grader could write sentences better than that and she wants to excel her spelling which I am proud of her.

 

[Dunkopf]

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The part about the employers irks me. We have to make log entries in my job and the person that trained me said "Don't worry about spelling, punctuation or grammar. As long as you make it clear what you are saying it will be okay." I see a lot of poor grammar and spelling on this forum, but I figure there are different levels of education and I don't expect teachers to turn out perfect students. A 'C' is considered average. That means you can screw up quite a bit and still be average.

My grammar isn't perfect by any means. I do however use spell check when I'm not sure. My DW is picky about grammar and spelling. My DD is an editor and goes ballistic over incorrect grammar. I can assure you that she never lets anything slip through. She takes extreme pride in her job. She has always gone to public school by the way. We do correct our children when they use poor grammar. I laugh when I see signs spelled incorrectly. Overall it just isn't something I can afford to use part of my stress reserve for. I would be very embarrassed if someone pointed out that a sign I was holding was spelled incorrectly. Especially if it was calling someone stupid.

Whether or not someone spells correctly or uses proper grammar comes from the home. Teachers can only teach proper spelling and grammar. They can't pound it in and when a person is raised around people that spell or speak poorly, it's usually reflected in their children. As class sizes keep getting larger the teachers have less and less of a chance to help kids individually. It's up to the parents to go over spelling lists and speak properly around their kids.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Rules for spelling and grammar change. I spell poorly. I was once given a school dictionary by a teacher; she said I needed it more than the school did. I try not to let the glaring errors go. But...

When I was younger, this would not have been acceptable English, now it is..."I will grow my business 5% this year". No one used the verb "grow" in this way, now it is common usage. Words creep in too, geocaching, google, biodiesel, soul patch, manga, Ipod, app, etc are all new words. Word usage also changes..."take out your tablet and take notes" does not mean the same thing to a college student today that it did to a high school student 30 years ago. You need good grammar and spelling for effective communication, but it is not something people should get hung up on. Here are some quotes to get you going:

English poetry from1450 or so:
When that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swith licour,
Of which vertu engendered is the flour;

For an entirely different type of poetry from a little before this, try Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is alliterative, and quite unreadable to the modern English speaker.

From the 1860s:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

 

[DuckyGurl]

I am home schooled, and feel weird when I misspell something! I don't know why, but I just feel....ashamed. So I try to keep grammar laws. It really irks me when people who are supposed to know this misspell or use incorrect words. Sigh, is this what our world is coming to?

 

[country lady]

I haven't read all the posts. I, too, think that professional people should speak well. In the past we had newsmen who could teach us proper English, such as Edwin Newman and Walter Cronkite. That is not true now. Some of the signs in public places don't help-- "20 items or less." Should be "fewer." We also have crazy spelling in our culture: kidz, kolas, etc.

I've heard that now cursive writing will not be taught in elementary school. I can't believe that one. It seems we are dumbing down education. I have sympathy for older people because many had to quit school and missed the crucial learning curve of reading and writing. In my area, there were so many women who died in childbirth and the older children, especially girls, had to assume the mother's role. I give these people a pass. They had survival skills that made up for their lack of formal education. In my area, years ago a girl could cook before her teen years.

Still, a person is judged by communication skills. Some of the funniest stories and humor uses "folk" speech. We all loved Minnie Pearl. Although I don't remember that she ever used improper English, she came from a well-to-do family and went to a private girls school. My least favorite words: like, absolutely, exactly, Well, I mean, etc.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Yes, cursive is being fazed out. Why? Its reason for being is gone. Cursive is hard to read an only used to speed up writing. What little hand writing we do now can be done in print. Every where you write as a adult wants you to type or print. Other than my name I have not wrote more than 5000 words in cursive in the 13 years sense collage. So my opinion the year spent learning to write in cursive is better spent on a second language or something you will actually use as a adult.

 

[Buff Hooligans]

There have been threads like this in the past on BYC, and many people who do not have the skills mentioned have been offended.


Edited to add punctuation...

 

[cackydoodledoo]

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Wow!! That is funny!! If I was that teacher I think I would have peed my pants from laughing so hard! See spelling does matter!!

 

[cackydoodledoo]

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AGAIN I will say that we are not talking about forums, FB or other internet chat areas. We are talking about professionals who can't spell and don't practice good grammar. We are talking about journalists, teachers, TV stations, businesses and billboards. Things like that. We are not directing this at BYCers! We don't care if you can spell but keep in mind if your spelling and grammar are really horrible not very many people will read your posts because they either can't understand it or it's so jumbled they can't follow!

I think if people take the time to read all the posts then they will understand that we aren't targeting them and won't get offended. If they happen to be one of the "professionals" we are talking about and don't have good spelling and grammar skills then I hope they are offended and do something about it. I don't want to read a newspaper that looks like a third grader was proofreading it!!

Also the fact that the thread is still going fine is testament to itself that we are just having a friendly conversation about something that irks us. No harm done!!

 

[Godsgrl]

I have a grammar question, since we are on this topic currently. Around here, (deep south) people will say, "The meeting is on tomorrow." I was surprised when the middle school principal used this repeatedly in a conversation with me. Is this proper grammar? I was always taught to say, "The meeting is tomorrow." Or "The meeting is on Thursday."