Are spelling and grammar lost arts?

[Kathryn]

I don't think it was an insistence. I believe it was more of a gentle suggestion, along the lines of a slap on the wrist.

And I took note. But then disgarded the note. Obviously (which isn't a sentence at all).

 

[Dunemeister]

I don't think it was an insistence. I believe it was more of a gentle suggestion, along the lines of a slap on the wrist.

And I took note. But then disgarded the note. Obviously (which isn't a sentence at all).

Actually, that last is a sentence, and a perfectly acceptable one at that. A lot of the agony over this is a misconception about what grammar is and what constitutes "good" grammar.

 

[Kathryn]

Obviously. That's a sentence?

 

[Skwim]

Because I've little experience with nonprofessional pre-chat room writing, I don't have much with which to compare today's writing (); however, I think chat-rooms and blogs have exposed us to a lack of writing skills on a whole new level. So, while we now see a lot of poor spelling and bad grammar, I don't think it necessarily means people in general have poorer writing skills or that the percentage of such people is any greater. And this is something up with which I can put ( ), but what I can't stand r pee pole hoo chus 2 rite like dis.

Obviously. That's a sentence?

If it it's in the imperative it is, which in this case it is.

 

[Smoke]

I don't have much respect for the rules we were taught: Don't end a sentence with a preposition. Don't begin a sentence with a conjunction. Don't use sentence fragments. Don't use a double negative.

I'm not a big fan of prescriptive grammar, and as far as I'm concerned, English can bend a great deal before it breaks. Sometimes I'll even write the way I talk: Wal-Mart need to do better. Some misspellings drive me up the wall, though: Their going to get they're new uniform's before football season start's. And I can't stand text-speak: omg grl u r so funy lol

Just stop it. Stop it right now.

 

[blackout]

Spelling and grammar are not arts.
They just are what they are.
Either 'correct' or 'incorrect' according to the (current) rules of convention.

Creative spelling and grammar might be an art.
(dependent on the skill of the spell caster)

 

[GabrielWithoutWings]

But that's not a rule and never has been. To insist that it is is an egregious error.

The entirety of my schooling from 6th to 12th grade disagrees with you.

 

[methylatedghosts]

I really dislike the mistakes made with:
They're there and their
It's and its
Putting apostrophes in plurals!!
Too and to.

 

[Kathryn]

OK, how about these:

Satin for Satan
Isreal for Israel
Genious for genius

What really gets to me on this forum is when there is an OP header that is misspelled - and then we're subjected to it over and over again every time someone responds to the OP.

Augh!!!!!!

 

[MysticSang'ha]

I think so. I've always been a B student in Writing, and it's something I've always had to work twice as hard at to be at all proficient. I'm a tad bit....a TAD bit....of a literary klutz. My skills are more focused in movement and less in the written word. I mean, I can write, but it isn't as easy for me as it is to get up and move what I'm trying to express.

Around here, it's more obvious where I'm lacking because at least around here people CARE about grammar and syntax (LOL). But elsewhere, it seems as if I'm the only person that cares about clarity in my writing. I RARELY use textspeak when I text. I actually take the time to write complete words and sentences.

Heh. Go figure.

 

[Breathe]

Spoiler: Read at your own risk, it WILL annoy you!

I doo thenk dat spellng and the a grammars is declyneng vere much so lik foar sum raisin?it mus b do 2 poeples nt needin 2 wright so gd noeadaesLOL?!!!!!in sum of my classe sm ppl wd use txt speek fore distertatians!!LOLOMG bt its cuz poeples nw see lernin gramars boarin"

Sorry, none of you did it and it needed to be done. I DID put it in spoilers, so you can't complain.

I've met my fair share of people who write like that. Sadly, that is something I've heard, too: grammar and spelling are both boring, so why should they care about them? Sigh.

Yes. I do think they do seem to be becoming lost arts. It's not so much as they aren't being taught them*, it's that they don't think they need them.

*I say this, although I actually didn't study anything grammatical at school and I still occasionally write with a hint of my dialect's influence. I'm trying to lose it to write better and 'less common', though.

I'm pretty lenient with a lot of things, such as the misuse or omission of whom (since we don't use it in my dialect) and I'll even ignore your and you're as well as their and they're, I can even overlook double negatives! The one that bugs me, however, is when people use "board". The use of "im doin nuffin im board" really grates me most of all, for some reason.

 

[Rakhel]

OK, how about these:

Satin for Satan
Isreal for Israel
Genious for genius

What really gets to me on this forum is when there is an OP header that is misspelled - and then we're subjected to it over and over again every time someone responds to the OP.

Augh!!!!!!

But when I talk about my being the granddaughter of Sayton, I am not spelling it wrong.
(that really was my grandfather's middle name)

 

[Revoltingest]

But when I talk about my being the granddaughter of Sayton, I am not spelling it wrong.
(that really was my grandfather's middle name)

What a wonderful name! Roll call must've been extra fun for him.

 

[Revoltingest]

*I say this, although I actually didn't study anything grammatical at school and I still occasionally write with a hint of my dialect's influence. I'm trying to lose it to write better and 'less common', though.

You write very well.

I'm pretty lenient with a lot of things, such as the misuse or omission of whom (since we don't use it in my dialect) and I'll even ignore your and you're as well as their and they're.....

You must not be lenient regarding those, lest civilization crumble.

....I can even overlook double negatives!

How Russian of you. Ochen plocha pa Angliski!...or however it would look in English.

Some of my pet peeves:
"enormity" for big
"alloy" for aluminum
"polymer" for plastic
"methodology" for method
"Relator" for Realtor
"nucular" for nuclear
saying "tur bine" instead of "tur bin" (We don't say "en jine" for engine, do we....well Paul Simon does.)

 

[Rakhel]

He didn't know what his true middle name was until he joined the Marines. For all he knew it was Walter Slayton not Walter Sayton.
A nurse left off the L and since granny didn't know how to read proper English(Mississippi English was based on Phonics back then) she missed the missing L.
But I can only begin to imagine the hell he got in the Marines

 

[justbehappy]

OK, I've held off on this topic for a long time, but I just can't take it anymore!

(And before I go any further, let me give this disclaimer - I can and do make spelling and grammar mistakes myself from time to time, so if you're thinking of scouring my posts and copying and pasting all my errors as some sort of refute to this OP, don't bother!)

Is it just me, or does it seem to others that the ability to write well is becoming eroded in modern society?

I have a son who is dyslexic, but because his IQ is over 130, his vocabulary skills are excellent. This combo of characteristics results in his ability to express himself well verbally, but very poorly when it comes to the written word.

Because I have seen him struggle so much with spelling over the years, I am sensitive to some peoples' struggle with the written word and I usually don't point out their errors on this forum.

But, MY GOSH! I know we're not writing theses here, but what I see when it comes to writing skills (or the lack thereof) here, and in "real life," is becoming more and more distressing with each passing year!

Are good writing, spelling, and punctuation skills becoming more obsolete? Is the bar being lowered by our education systems, employers, or other factors?

Your opinions, please!

I personally write with the way I think. Or basically, how it would say it out loud. A lot of times the things we can don't sound like complete sentences, and sometimes we don't pause where there's supposed to be a comma. I know how to use grammar correctly, but I chose to type how I think. It's not like it makes it harder to read.

 

[Smoke]

Some of my pet peeves:
"enormity" for big
"alloy" for aluminum
"polymer" for plastic
"methodology" for method
"Relator" for Realtor
"nucular" for nuclear
saying "tur bine" instead of "tur bin" (We don't say "en jine" for engine, do we....well Paul Simon does.)

Along those lines, I hate:

descendants for ancestors
fortuitous for fortunate
commentate for comment
flaunt for flout
anxious for eager
Immaculate Conception for Virgin Birth
less for fewer
then for than
Pronouncing realtor as REEL-TORE instead of REEL-ter (REE-ull-ter is okay)

 

[Skwim]

I personally write with the way I think. Or basically, how it would say it out loud. A lot of times the things we can don't sound like complete sentences, and sometimes we don't pause where there's supposed to be a comma. I know how to use grammar correctly, but I chose to type how I think. It's not like it makes it harder to read.

Yours is not, but reading some people is a true and annoying challenge.

 

[Kathryn]

Along those lines, I hate:

descendants for ancestors
fortuitous for fortunate
commentate for comment
flaunt for flout
anxious for eager
Immaculate Conception for Virgin Birth
less for fewer
then for than
Pronouncing realtor as REEL-TORE instead of REEL-ter (REE-ull-ter is okay)

Ugh, and I hate when people say RE law ter.

Oh, now we're on to pronunciation!

How 'bout "AL munds" for almonds? It's ahl munds, folks. Gently, gently...

SWord for sword (sord, people, sord!) and SAL mond for salmon (sa-mun - like a little sigh of happiness...) also drive me crazy.

How 'bout when people try to shorten refrigerator to fridge and they spell it "frig?"

And now that I'm onto that sort of thing (quotation marks to be specific), in case anyone is wondering (and I know they are - or SHOULD BE - because I see this in here all the time), when we put a period, question mark, comma, or exclamation point in a sentence that includes a word or phrase in quotation marks, the end mark goes INSIDE the quotation marks - like this:

"I say," Mary exclaimed, suddenly sitting up straight in her chair, "Let's go for a butt naked swim!"

NOT - "I say", Mary exclaimed, suddenly sitting up straight in her chair, "Let's go for a butt naked swim!"

Or,

When I say you're "stupid," or "juvenile," or "incredibly immature," (as you're claiming I say all the time), well...I guess I'm just stating the obvious.

NOT:

When I say you're "stupid", or "juvenile", or "incredibly immature", ...

You get the picture.

Anyway, enough of all that.

I sound like such a pretentious snob. And I'm sure that my own posts are full of errors.

 

[Skwim]

Along those lines, I hate:

descendants for ancestors
fortuitous for fortunate
commentate for comment
flaunt for flout
anxious for eager
Immaculate Conception for Virgin Birth
less for fewer
then for than
Pronouncing realtor as REEL-TORE instead of REEL-ter (REE-ull-ter is okay)

My pet peeves---small ones---are the misuse of that and which, particularly when not punctuated correctly; and the use of different than instead of different from.