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Grade School English


Ace-Garageguy

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So what really IS the deal with ignoring capitalization, punctuation, reasonable grammar, correct word-usage and spell-check?

It really doesn't take much more than a few extra seconds to use English well and reasonably correctly, so please help me understand.

I know sloppy writing is the internet-standard, but WHY ?? :unsure:

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Because they can, some are lazy, some do not know how to structure a sentence properly, and maybe some do not care, its something that you have to deal with if you plan on spending anytime on forums or sites that allow interaction with people.

I wouldn't lose to much sleep over, I am sure that there are more important things in life to worry about.

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My guess: it's due to texting and various online social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Basically we have two groups of members here: those that grew up before texting and Facebook and Twitter, and those who grew up during texting and Facebook and Twitter.

Those of us who grew up before the internet came along learned correct spelling, grammar and punctuation in school, and we apply what we learned (at least most of us do) in our written communication, becaue that is the "proper" way to communicate. It was expected of you, and if you didn't, you were considered to be less educated.

Those who grew up during texting and Facebook and Twitter also learned correct spelling, grammar and punctuation in school (I assume)... but because the communication outlets of today encourage abbreviations, acronyms, slang and such, they tend to communicate in that way. To them, correct spelling, grammar and punctuation are basically irrelevant. It's all about being "cool" and using the latest new lingo.

It's a generational thing. And personally, I think we've dropped a level or two between generations.

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Bill, I think a lot of it has to do with the basic education that people get. As an "old fart" who had nuns (Sister Mary Discipline with the steel edged ruler on your knuckles) and Brothers and/or Priests (with the 10 lb. textbook falling on the top of your head), we learned the things we had to learn quickly to avoid the wrath of the teachers. With the changes in school grading curves and society's more permissive rules and regulations over the past 30 or 40 years, the quality of education has suffered greatly. Many people didn't either get the basic spelling, grammar and punctuation education back in their formative years, just like basic arithmetic (people who can't make the correct change at a cash register. We can beat this to death but it unfortunately won't change it.

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Bill, I think a lot of it has to do with the basic education that people get...Many people didn't either get the basic spelling, grammar and punctuation education back in their formative years, just like basic arithmetic (people who can't make the correct change at a cash register).

And that's exactly my point. In the most powerful nation on earth, with the highest standard of living (arguably, I know), I'm amazed that clear and concise communication in the native language seems to NOT be a byproduct of a high-school education. There's NO question that good communication skills AND good math skills lead to higher income jobs, but the schools are failing to impart these BASIC LIFE SKILLS to young people. It's NOT a question of generational slang.

How is it that these things, necessary for young people to continue to help America flourish, and to flourish themselves, are somehow now considered to be 'non-essential'?

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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My guess: it's due to texting and various online social media sites like Facebook and Twitter...

Those who grew up during texting and Facebook and Twitter also learned correct spelling, grammar and punctuation in school (I assume)... but because the communication outlets of today encourage abbreviations, acronyms, slang and such, they tend to communicate in that way. To them, correct spelling, grammar and punctuation are basically irrelevant. It's all about being "cool" and using the latest new lingo.

I completely understand the reason for using common abbreviations for texting (you can look where you're driving more often if you use fewer letters), but in communications where speed just isn't the overriding issue, I don't get it.

Edited by Ace-Garageguy
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I completely understand the reason for using common abbreviations for texting (you can look where you're driving more often if you use fewer letters), but in communications where speed just isn't the overriding issue, I don't get it.

It's because they are so used to communicating that way. Speed isn't the issue anymore... after a time it becomes ingrained, a habit.

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And that's exactly my point. In the most powerful nation on earth, with the highest standard of living (arguably, I know), I'm amazed that clear and concise communication in the native language seems to NOT be a byproduct of a high-school education. There's NO question that good communication skills AND good math skills lead to higher income jobs, but the schools are failing to impart these BASIC LIFE SKILLS to young people. It's NOT a question of generational slang.

How is it that these things, necessary for young people to continue to help America flourish, and to flourish themselves, are somehow now considered to be 'non-essential'?

I disagree.

I think that schools are still teaching the basics, but today's kids are inundated with online communication. They text all day long, and when they're not texting, they're on Facebook and Twitter. It's become a way of life for kids today. And the shorthand lingo so common in texting and on social media has become their "normal," because that's the way they most often communicate non-verbally. It's not a failing of the schools... it's all the new outlets for non-verbal communication that today's kids use that's shaping their communication style.

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I disagree.

I think that schools are still teaching the basics, but today's kids are inundated with online communication. They text all day long, and when they're not texting, they're on Facebook and Twitter. It's become a way of life for kids today. And the shorthand lingo so common in texting and on social media has become their "normal," because that's the way they most often communicate non-verbally. It's not a failing of the schools... it's all the new outlets for non-verbal communication that today's kids use that's shaping their communication style.

Like it or not, this is the new way of using language and communicating, time to get use to it, or not, but things are not going to change for the better anytime soon.

Edit- I was not disagreeing with Harry

Edited by martinfan5
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Like it or not, this is the new way of using language and communicating, time to get use to it, or not, but things are not going to change for the better anytime soon.

Edit- I was not disagreeing with Harry

I agree! It is the new way of using the language and communicating, like it or not. You can't change it, for better or worse it's here to stay. About the best we can hope for in a situation like this, where we all communicate with each other in written (non-verbal) form, is that people would have enough respect for their fellow members to write their posts in standard English.

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I agree! It is the new way of using the language and communicating, like it or not. You can't change it, for better or worse it's here to stay. About the best we can hope for in a situation like this, where we all communicate with each other in written (non-verbal) form, is that people would have enough respect for their fellow members to write their posts in standard English.

We can only hope

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Please don't get me wrong...I'm really not trying to be a pedantic little richard, and the online forum environment isn't particularly important in the overall scheme of things. What I'm seeing as a disturbing byproduct is more and more sloppily written and unclear business communications, and work produced in the media by people who have DEGREES in English or journalism...work that wouldn't have made it past any decent editor in the not-too-distant past.

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Please don't get me wrong...I'm really not trying to be a pedantic little richard, and the online forum environment isn't particularly important in the overall scheme of things. What I'm seeing as a disturbing byproduct is more and more sloppily written and unclear business communications, and work produced in the media by people who have DEGREES in English or journalism...work that wouldn't have made it past any decent editor in the not-too-distant past.

Interesting that you mention degrees in journalism. I read both major Chicago papers online, and one of them regularly features poor spelling, bad grammar and just flat-out bad writing... by so-called "professional" journalists and editors. Stuff that any high-school English teacher would immediately catch. And I'm not talking about the Podunk Gazette... I'm talking about a major big-city newspaper. The stuff that gets by the editors is amazing. And embarrassing.

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It's not just younger people. There plenty of people who grew up before the internet age who don't know the difference between there/their/they're, to/too, along with punctuation/capitalization, etc. Their posts can be hard to comprehend at times...especially if they're having a meltdown. :-D Always fun to watch.

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