I'm sorry but it bugs the hell out of me more and more lately that so many people can't seem to spell anymore!
Here are the ones I see here all the time:
They're: They're (they are) going to hate it when they move their car.
Their: Their dog barked all night over there on the left.
There: There is a marker where I tripped over their dog.
Your: Your teeth are very white. What is the name of your dentist?
You're: You're (you are) going to get sick if you eat that worm!
Comments ... #
Actually,
Spell police like you correcting people on blogs irritates me. Is there a rule that to blog you have to have every word spelled right? If you can't address someone's view because you can't get past their spelling...I suggest you stop blogging and visiting web sites. Its the internet...not a job application.
One that I see all the time: "judgement." I know that it doesn't look right, but the correct spelling is "judgment."
I guess I am not surprised that people can't spell since a lot of them can't seem to speak properly either. I can't tell you how many people have told me they "seen" something at the mall. . .
Spelling errors don't bother me. But when I hear "my bad" - I want to put a nail through their skull. It's a stupid expression & gramatically just wrong. How difficult can it be to simply say "My mistake" or "I was wrong"? It just comes off sounding like posers or trying to be hep, and it is not hep - it's ignorant talk. I also cringe when I hear "Girlfriend" from any grown woman to another grown woman. Black women carry it off better than white women though - white women just sound silly saying it. And I hate to hear somebody be called "dawg" - what IS that about? (yes, I get it - but why?)
posted by starling02 on Mar 06, 2008 at 06:05:23 pm #
I had a girlfriend in school who used to correct our grammer all the time - drove us nuts, annoying as hell. Emails & blogs will have grammer & spelling errors & typos - it's a given, because people are not going to spend time with spell check (although I do try harder with emails). If I notice I made a typo I change it usually - but I honestly don't have a problem with them. I agree that it's the people who correct other people's spelling & grammer that are the most annoying.
posted by starling02 on Mar 06, 2008 at 06:08:36 pm #
I spell extremely well, and it's just a gift. Over the years I came to realize that, and now I'm just happy to read words and distill meaning despite the misspellings. Not everyone has a gift with spelling. Perhaps my complacency amongst a larger lethargy leads to more sloppy spelling and other issues of poor grammar. Perhaps not. But it seems to be of poor efficiency to have to correct spelling and grammar while trying to ALSO have a conversation online.
Trying to get one's point across in less than asymptotic time is a challenge enough. I say we just let it go ... until the world featured in the movie "Idiocracy" arises. Then we can get militant.
If we would have lost WWII correctly, we would all be going around speaking German or Klingon... I forgeezes.
Eye are allsew spell good 'cause eye gone to Hi Skool an gradumacated. Eye done gooder in Inglish then I done in Math tho.
Ending a sentence in a preposition bothers me.
Freshman kid, 1st day on College Campus running frantically and comes upon a dapper gentleman walking across the Commons.
(Kid) "Sir, can you tell me where the Education Building is at?"
(Man) "Son, I've been an English Professor on this campus going on 20 years now. You've just butchered the English language by ending a sentence with a preposition. Would you care to re-state your interrogatory?"
(Kid) pauses.... "Yes Sir. Can you tell me where the Education Building is at...asshole?"posted by GraphicsGuy on Mar 06, 2008 at 08:30:40 pm #
I can live with spelling errors on Toledo Talk. We can't edit our posts and there is no spell check. Sometimes you type fast and don't notice a mistake until after hitting the post button. Not to mention that a forum like this is supposed to be casual anyhow.
But I cringe when I hear people using awful grammar in real life - especially in a professional setting. I know someone who frequently butchers the English language at work, and then wonders why she's stuck at the bottom. Sigh.
"We can't edit our posts and there is no spell check."
You can edit your own articles or topics or thread-starters, but you cannot edit your comments.
As to spell check, I use the Firefox Web browser, and it has its own built-in spell checker when typing in HTML textarea boxes like for a comment or article.
For example, as I type the word "textarea," the word is underlined red in my browser. Left click on the red underlined words, and you get other spelling options. If you use another browser, check to see if it has a spell check plug-in.
With the Firefox browser, I've got spell checking on any site that I enter content. I don't have to rely on the site owner. I've solved the spell check problem myself, thanks to Firefox. And it's good enough.
In the past, when a discussion existed about spelling on message boards or whatever you want to call Web sites that allow commenting, I've referenced the March 2003 Joel on Software essay Building Communities with Software :
It's just super boring to talk about other people's spelling. SUPER, SUPER boring.
The words listed in the post that started this thread would not be caught by the Firefox spell checker, since the words FatBabe44 listed are spelled correctly. "There" just being misused.
"There going to the play."
The word "there" is not flagged in the above sentence in my browser. Maybe a fancy word processor would catch it, but how many Web sites have built-in word usage checkers along with spell checkers?
Next, we'll need style checkers. No passive voice, only active. Don't start a sentence with "There is" or "There are". Show, don't tell. Bury most of the adjectives and adverbs.
Then we'll need the AP stylebook checker, which means you cannot use "pro-life" nor "pro-choice." The correct terms are "anti-abortion" and "abortion rights."
I misspell things frequently and sometimes really wish I could edit my comments, so I try not to be too bothered by others' misspellings. Poor grammar irks me slightly more, but meh, I'm over it already.
The only thing that REALLY super-super-super gets on my nerves online is when people substitute "u" for "you" and "r" for "are." Oh, and "ppl" is another one. I don't mind acronyms like LOL or BRB but "u" is like someone snapping a rubberband against my brain.
I don't like message boards that allow users to edit their comments because users would edit their comments for a lot more than just spelling. Slow down, proofread, and then fire. And get the plug-in for your browser that permits spell checking.
You can edit your postings (articles, topics). Every version is saved, and if interested, a person can run differences to see what was changed from one version to the next.
I recognize that it's a BORING topic and it's rude to point out misspellings, but I've read a lot of other boring topics posted here and just chose not to comment within them.
Kooz, If you hadn't noticed already, I created this as a topic rather than a snotty reply inside an unrelated topic just to be an ass to someone. Thanks for dropping in for your monthly insult.
Have a nice day!
Poking fun at other people's grammar and spelling or correcting it in real life isn't a good way to make friends. That is, unless the spelling and grammar is so incredibly atrocious that you can't understand the point they are trying to get across.
I love to write, I love to talk, I love to communicate in general. My vocabulary is outstanding (I've been told numerous times by everyone from my friends to my professors.) when I am actually attempting to write something meaningful I can do it with eloquence, humor and substance but I, like everyone, make mistakes. But I don't understand whats wrong with certain things, like ending a sentence with a preposition (used earlier as an example.) If something like simple mistakes made in ignorance bothers you a lot, go become an English teacher and have an excuse to badger people about their language skills and maybe improve them.
Having things you dislike is OK, I just can't stand when people physically correct spelling and/or grammar without being asked. Absolutely nobody likes it, I know, I used to do it to my friends. That being said...
Things which irritate me:
-LOL, u, r, ur or any other Internet slang or abbreviation, up to but not limited to never using any punctuation or capitalization. All of these make you look like an idiot, with the exception of LOL, which I don't really understand since when I want to express laughter I type: "Haha" in varying sizes. "You", "Are", and "Your" do not need to be shortened. "Laughing out loud" is appropriately long enough to abbreviate.-"be" (As in "I be going home from school." Think you need to stay there for a bit longer, boss.)
-TYPING IN ALL CAPS DRIVES ME BAT SHIT FUCKING INSANE. IT'S LIKE YELLING ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING YOU SAY AND MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A COMPLETE IDIOT.
Poor diction irritates me no end. I hate the phrase 'exact same'. Lady in the next cube: 'I wouldn't shop there. You can get the exact same thing down at the Bargain Barn for less!'
Another nasty phrase is the infamous 'not a problem' instead of 'you're welcome'. MadJack, trying to be polite: "Thank you for your help. It's a big relief to have my car running again." Mechanic: "Not a problem!" If I thought it was going to be a problem, I wouldn't have brought it here, would I? I'd take it somewhere that specializes in problems, wouldn't I?
Then there's 'so'. Idiot secretary at work: "I'm soooo not trying to be difficult." I paused to sort that one out. She's what? Seeing my glazed expression and smelling no liquor on my breath, she tried to enlighten me. "This is soooo my bad."
Right. Poor writing bothers me as well, more lately than in my early BBS years. As the great unwashed gain access to the Internet, they eventually get bored with porn sites and chat rooms. They will inevitably discover web logs. Since they can't write well, anything they contribute is painful to decipher and generally not worth the time. I say generally, because every once in a while you find a diamond in the rough. Write? Or rong?
I enjoy it when I observe people correcting other people's grammar. It gives me a false sense of hope for the English language.
AIN'T THAT RITE REINHARTI even hate it when I do that.
Enough. I'm going to begin drinking. My compliments to FatBabe for an excellent topic.
Here's one - "We the People, in order to form a more perfect union...
More Perfect???
So that's why the constitution is invalid, simple colloquialisms of the day taken out of context.
I agree with the original post: Obedience to arcane dogma is of the utmost importance.
I feel like I can't communicate with people who can't comprehend such mundane details. Go back to America, umm Uncle Phil.
So that's why the constitution is invalid,
Nah, its not invalid, its just ignored - At least you'd better hope so, because if ignoring something makes it invalid most of your posts would...
Hey, wait a minute!! You just might have something there!!
If that is why the Constitution is invalid, then the same could be said about the Bible (which I think of course, it is).
posted by starling02 on Mar 08, 2008 at 05:47:27 pm #
Didn't Hillary Clinton (years back) propose that we accept Black-English as a valid language? Personally, I love great accents & dialects - but I hate that so many young kids use such sloppy speech, automatically - it's what comes out of their mouths. I realize they learned it at home, but maybe parents could set a better example.
posted by starling02 on Mar 08, 2008 at 05:50:48 pm #
The title of this thread is Can anyone spell anymore?
madjack added: "My compliments to FatBabe for an excellent topic."
OK. What do you think about the sad irony depicted within this Toledo Journal photo from last spring? Several Toledo Public School students were not permitted to attend graduation last spring because they did not pass all sections of the Ohio Graduation Test. Some of those students held a little protest, which is what the Toledo Journal photo is showing. Note the different spellings for the word "proficiency" on two of the signs.
Apparently, the adult on hand did not help spell-check the signs, which could have saved the students some embarrassment. Do the schools teach students how to use a dictionary? This is an example of bad spelling to get angry about.
If spelling is a concern use MS Word offline and then paste in the comment box. The program will “correct” your spelling (even bringing words to your attention that isn’t in its dictionary). There is even a “tool” for “correcting” your grammar. I am always being cautioned to not use contractions (“isn’t” when I should use “is not”).
posted by oldsendbrdy on Mar 09, 2008 at 09:57:28 pm #
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current date: 09-Jan-2009 12:51 A.M.
Those don’t really bother me because when you are typing fast a word like that is easy to flip flop in the brain.
My biggest peeve is “definitely”. When people murder that one it isn’t because of speed, it is because they really do not know how to spell it.
Butt, wut due eye no?
posted by Ryan on Mar 06, 2008 at 04:05:30 pm #