Kids and English

[masak_aer]

"Peeps", type whatever you want, write however you want...just don't make me have to guess what you are trying to say. If I have to guess and my guess is dead wrong, then it's all your fault...hehehe..

 

[j_garcia]

I was kidding

As a proud educated(Masters in Biochem) stoner I resemble that remark!!
Also I much rather have the world on pot then booze...

I thought you had been drinking I've read your posts and you would not be one of those I'd lump into the grouping of "should use a word processor or at least the spell check" group.

"forum speak" seems to have become a whole new vernacular itself, just like IM and TXT have. I'm not saying everyone should type and recheck everything to make what they are typing perfect as if they were submitting an English paper... The ones that bug me are the very basic, obvious ones, like those posted by Buckeye. These are not typos for the most part, but grammatical errors. Just like BASE vs BASS; we've had that discussion here before.

 

[jaxvon]

My wife is an educator...

I completely understand this position. My mother is a teacher and I know how hard it is to get kids to learn and to get parents to help out in the process. That said, the education system as a whole needs to raise their standards on literacy (in my opinion).

Brian, yes I am 18. You'll notice that I am mainly talking about people in my generation, though grammar mistakes bother me regardless of who they're coming from. I brought this subject up because when I communicate with people around me (be it IM, email, facebook, etc), I see them confuse "you're" and "your", and often times completely ignore English conventions. These aren't just random people who I went to high school with that didn't care; these are students at the University of Michigan, a very prestigious school with (supposedly) high standards.

 

[racquetman]

Could it be because people idolize athletes and celebrities. That's who they want to emulate, not the nerdy scientist with the 180 IQ. When your heroes are Shaq, Kobe Bryant, and Tom Cruise (combined IQ might equal 180), then your priorities probably don't include speaking and writing properly.

 

[j_garcia]

I brought this subject up because when I communicate with people around me (be it IM, email, facebook, etc), I see them confuse "you're" and "your", and often times complete ignore English conventions. These aren't just random people who I went to high school with that didn't care; these are students at the University of Michigan, a very prestigious school with (supposedly) high standards.

The prestige of any given school has nothing to do with the abilities of the students they turn out. Compare an English major to someone on a football scholarship and you will get very different results.

 

[MDS]

Could it be because people idolize athletes and celebrities. That's who they want to emulate, not the nerdy scientist with the 180 IQ. When your heroes are Shaq, Kobe Bryant, and Tom Cruise (combined IQ might equal 180), then your priorities probably don't include speaking and writing properly.

That is right on the money and it is the heart of the issue. Athletes that make millions of dollars (and usually end up broke at the end of their career), but wouldn't be able to pass a basic literacy test. cRAP 'artists' that have neither musical talent nor lyrical talent and have invented their own 'language'. (Remember the debate over ebonics and the idiots who claim it is really a 'special' dialect of English? Yeah, a dialect for the uneducated). White kids in the suburbs trying to emulate their mannerisms and vocabulary (if you want to call it that).

It's all part of the dumbing down of America.

One more thing - enough of the attacks on people because of their age. Jaxvon started this thread and from what I've seen of his posts over the years, he writes almost perfectly fluent English. That is to be commended, not ridiculed. For anyone that isn't interested in rising to the same standard - that is your problem.

 

[brian32672]

One more thing - enough of the attacks on people because of their age. Jaxvon started this thread and from what I've seen of his posts over the years, he writes almost perfectly fluent English. That is to be commended, not ridiculed. For anyone that isn't interested in rising to the same standard - that is your problem.

Clearly you are speaking to me. As I am the only one that brought it up.
Jackson, knows I meant nothing of him.
I speak with him almost weekly.
I know you have problems with me, and could care less.
I was not attacking anyone, as a matter of fact - If you would reread my post I was sticking up / supporting Jackson and Sheep.

I will say the one word that does bother me is base/bass.
I think a lot of people 'within the 90s' get that from this - HERE

Also 'peeps' does bother me. But I usually dismiss the slang that is used in forums.
But I really do not tolerate it from friends. Or actually prefer not to hear it.

 

[MDS]

While we are on kids, no offense Jackson. But you are pretty wet behind the ears, same for Brian (no not me). I may be wrong, but I think you are both 18. The reason I quoted Garcia, is for exactly this reason. You and Brian are quite smart; Brian's typing skills are not up to par. But in no way would I judge him for typing badly. I am pretty damn sure he can make coherent sentences and statements.

That is called 'damning with faint praise'.

 

[bobbydigital]

I think most people just don't take the time to re-read their posts. In almost every reply I've made, I had some mistakes before I post I just try to catch them before post it so that the people I am asking for help will not have to decipher what I am really trying to say. I think that this is just common courtesy, unfortunately most common courtesies have disappeared along with good grammar. I am a youngin' so I don't mind slang or abbreviations but I hate it when people don't use proper grammar if it affects what is trying to be communicated.
I also think that if someone can't take the time to write descent english in their posts, I won't take the time to offer any help.
Bad writers are usually bad speakers also which brings me to my pet peeve: when a person says "axe" instead of "ask", like "can I axe you a question"

 

[majorloser]

Yesterday I couldn't spell engineer and now I is one!


Here's a simple question: "How many books have you read in your lifetime and do you continue to read on a regular basis?"

The ability to write properly directly relates to the ability to read. The more exposure to the written language, the more likely the person can compose a proper sentence. Familiarity breeds knowledge.


Now let this pot smokin' old fart engineering major get back to my internet porn!

 

[j_garcia]

I also think that if someone can't take the time to write descent english in their posts, I won't take the time to offer any help.

What is "descent" English? Really DEEP English, perhaps reserved only for those who take the time to reread their posts? ->poking fun<-

 

[nm2285]

IMs and posts often contain many errors that I'll forgive as typos or short-cuts for convenience sake. I know I rarely reread the posts I make. The only time I really do reread them is when they're long and complicated. The errors that get to me most are those that people are basically trained to make - simple ones that everyone should know. For example, "How are you?" "Good!" always kills me. The correct response has been "Well" for decades and probably centuries, yet people have no idea.

"Who" vs "whom" is a tougher one that many people screw up. That also goes for "less" vs "fewer."

PS: I'm 21 (or will be Thurs), in college, and an engineer and I'm always blown away by the number of students who have no idea how to write even though their perfectly capable in conversation and in other aspects of education. Of course, that's not nearly as bad as the slang I hear from athletes and musicians (or rappers). Why anyone would want to emulate what they hear from those people is just beyond me. When language changes that much, communication becomes far too difficult and the language basically fails (even though it's not truly being used).

PPS: Go easy - I didn't reread this post either!

 

[j_garcia]

"Who" vs "whom" is a tougher one that many people screw up. That also goes for "less" vs "fewer."....

PS: I'm 21 (or will be Thurs), in college, and an engineer and I'm always blown away by the number of students who have no idea how to write even though their perfectly capable in conversation and in other aspects of education....

PPS: Go easy - I didn't reread this post either!

Their and they're and there is a good example too LOL. Going easy, just thought it was funny. Hey, if I make a mistake, it doesn't bother me when people point it out...hopefully I'll learn from it.

 

[majorloser]

Here's what really amazes me, how many engineering major graduates or students have included a post to this thread.

I think we need to turn off our computers and get a life! I mean really, are our lives so boring that we have nothing else to do?

Well, me for one, I'm turning this thing off and going to watch TV! What's the sense in having all that equipment if you spend most of your time on-line?

 

[bobbydigital]

Now let this pot smokin' old fart engineering major get back to my internet porn!

It appears we share a few common interests Major.
Ahh... porn and pot, bridging the gap between the young and the old

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Other pet peeves:

Ending sentences with prepositions. Especially the word "at."

"Where's it at?"


The overuse of "um" and "like" in conversation. High school females excel in this area.


Wordiness. So many can get their thoughts across by keeping it simple. Reread what you've just typed, then eliminate 30% of the garbage. If the information is thick, make sure to use the return key when starting a new topic. The return (enter) key is underutilized.


Starting sentences without caps. How many emails do we receive without capital letters starting sentences, and then end with a period? Why bother?

 

[rgriffin25]

I am actually thinking this thread may start to scare some people off. I for one went to college and thankfully I have graduated. I sure as heck do not want to come to AH to find the notorious red ink on one of my posts.

Here is an idea.. Maybe Clint should quit his day job and edit "bad" posts on AH for grammar mistakes??

 

[brian32672]

That is called 'damning with faint praise'.

You are being quite ambiguous.
Sorry, I don't see it that way.
Look at what I said, you are both 18 - Brian's typing skills are not up to par (as mine are not either, I think I said why). But in no way would I judge him for typing badly..

If you are speaking of the 'wet behind the ears', man you must be kidding.
Have we all not, had this said to us.
I mean when I was 13, I heard it from a 20 yr old.
This goes on from ages 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23+++++++++
Heck a 50 year old could come and say that to me now.
Would I take offense, surely NOT.
By chance, I did call Jaxvon to double check that he did not take that comment the wrong way.
Now, what do you honestly think he said. He has plenty of commen sense, more than others around here.
Including me.......

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

English is a very complex language. It doesn't even have a "correct" plural for 'You' (y'all is looked down on by most teachers). Spanish has its vosotros/ustedes and Mandarin Chinese has nimen. English also has very confusing 'count words' (example: sheets of paper).

Don't get me wrong, Spanish and Chinese are far from perfect themselves; Spanish doesn't have enough curse words and Chinese has too many words spelled (in pinyyin anyway) and pronounced "zai".

My point is this: English is a very complex language, and writting it is even more complex, people who have spoken nothing but English from birth to eighty tend to missuse hundreds of words, and not know vocabulary for an additional 30,000. So I'm not going to go apeschit about kids misspellin' a few words. As long as they can use an airport map to find a bathroom everything will be fine.

Slightly different topic: Language in schools should be a much higher priority than it is now. We insist out highschool freshmen know Algebra (which maybe less than 1% will remember by age 20) but not how to say "Help. Fire!" or "I need to get to a hospital" in a second (or third even) language. Especially since many locales have a very large foriegn-born population.

 

[jaxvon]

Here is an idea.. Maybe Clint should quit his day job and edit "bad" posts on AH for grammar mistakes??

Why do half the posts in this thread seem to think I'm complaining about people posting with poor grammar? That's not the issue at hand.