Linguistic tic's and crutches

[mobertol]

Originally Posted by garinda

It doesn't count, if you're merely pointing out the mistakes, of those who criticise others.



I think it's funny.

You have to be pretty sure of yourself, that you're not making mistakes yourself, if you're going to point out those made by others.

I even started a thread about whether it matters, back in 2005.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...-how-9900.html

I think some of the best posts I've ever read on here, have contained mistakes.

I believe it's more important what's actually meant. Not how it's said.

You can teach a monkey the rules of grammar, and spelling.

It's harder to get them to write a great work of literature.

Not surprised that this argument had already been tackled in the past.

I can't read "American" literature - I spend my time "correcting" the "mistakes". They are just the fruit of a different convention and "rules".
My loss probably.

I also think rules are there to be tested and broken - so why should certain things irk me so much? (Indoctrination?)

We all have our own predjudices and have acquired rules from various teachers and reference points...

So, Renaissance painting is art, "modern" art is not to my taste and graffiti is stuff of ignorant street "artists"...

Learn to translate and "read".

The message of the writer is the essence and that is where there is something to learn. Understanding needs breadth of mind not narrowness - I am guilty of that sometimes/often...

Jane Austen would not be in print today if her spelling mistakes and grammar were taken into account a few hundred years ago

[mobertol]

Originally Posted by garinda

No.

Happy Boxing Day.

But rarely on here, are those who've pointed out the mistakes of others, who in doing so, don't make their own mistake.

It's traditonal, and only polite, to point them out.

Being traditional and polite...

On here, those who've pointed out the mistakes of others, have rarely done so without making mistakes of their own.

Happy "day after" Boxing Day!

(Open to correction for grammar and spelling!)

[Eric]

Originally Posted by mobertol

Not surprised that this argument had already been tackled in the past.

I can't read "American" literature - I spend my time "correcting" the "mistakes". They are just the fruit of a different convention and "rules".
My loss probably.

I also think rules are there to be tested and broken - so why should certain things irk me so much? (Indoctrination?)

We all have our own predjudices and have acquired rules from various teachers and reference points...

So, Renaissance painting is art, "modern" art is not to my taste and graffiti is stuff of ignorant street "artists"...

Learn to translate and "read".

The message of the writer is the essence and that is where there is something to learn. Understanding needs breadth of mind not narrowness - I am guilty of that sometimes/often...

Jane Austen would not be in print today if her spelling mistakes and grammar were taken into account a few hundred years ago

"The clouds, like listless elephants,/Horizons straggled down." What a pity you don't read American literature ...

But I gots to let youse guys know that if it ain't full of "eh"s, it ain't Canajun English

[Acrylic-bob]

I'm not really too concerned about minor spelling, grammar and punctuation errors, especially on a forum like this; in a more formal piece of writing it would, of course, be different. As long as the meaning is clear and does not invite misinterpretation I don't think we need to be slaves to the rules, do we?

As Susie123 points out, my main concern is with the mangling of the language by people who's main occupation is using the language and who act as examplars of spoken English eg: Newsreaders, Politicians etc. My other concern is with the easy resort to sloppy English usage; the pronunciation of the word 'Drawing' with two r's and the substitution of meaningless words and phrases because the speaker either cannot be bothered to think first before speaking or is lacking the breadth of vocabulary.

With reference to my use of the the word 'Typo', it is an abbreviation of the phrase 'Typographical error' and has been used for many years within the printing and publishing industries. I use it because it is useful and conveys my meaning succinctly and efficiently and it sounds a little more elegant than 'Fat Finger'. I cannot exactly recall if Pitman (they taught me how to type when manual machines were still cutting edge technology.) recommend its use to describe an error made in typing, but I feel that they do.

It is estimated by the OED that there are approximately 250,000 distinct words in the English language. The number of words in the vocabulary of the average person educated to secondary level is approximately 35,000, this rises to approximately 75,000 and upwards after University education. Given that most of the people employed by the broadcast media are University educated, there appears to be little excuse for the sloppy use of English characterised by such phrases as 'y'know', 'errrm' and 'I was like this is just so awesome'.

Another thing that really makes my pee boil is the increasing prevalence of turning a simple statement into a question by rising inflection at the end of the sentence. The Divine Oscar had it right when he described America as the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.

[mobertol]

Thanks for the elucidation WRT "Typo" -had only seen it used once before in a PM a short while ago and assumed it meant "typing error".

When i came to Italy 25 yrs ago I learned to speak Italian from the TV -RAI -the equivalent of the BBC. My husband and his family all spoke in dialect so I learned that first...

The BBC used to be a haven for spoken English -shame it has lowered it's standards towards the LCD - I blame the popularity of so-called "reality" TV for this. As in England where the language is being bastardized with American English -the same this is happening in Italy, the purists are complaining here too.

BTW another thing I can't stand is the use of acronyms

I think it may actually be against the rules of Accyweb to use them ...will have to check.

[mobertol]

Originally Posted by Eric

"The clouds, like listless elephants,/Horizons straggled down." What a pity you don't read American literature ...

But I gots to let youse guys know that if it ain't full of "eh"s, it ain't Canajun English

I have read some US Lit. Eric, just not a lot, and prefer to read proper English (Studied Robert Frost for O-level for example)

I have also read the books of Laurie R. King mainly because they complete one of my own literary fantasies. Mary Russell, the protagonist wins Sherlock Holmes heart! How i envy her

Ms. King writes very well indeed

(Who wrote your quoted poem?)

[jaysay]

To me anybody that gets a bit tetchy about grammatical or spelling errors they make, will only have a very short life span on here, after all its coming up to 7 years since I joined this happy throng and have probably taken more stick from our blessed Margaret than anybody else, yet she Say's I'm not nice when I reciprocate, but I suppose I'll just have to grin and bare it and carry on regardless

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by jaysay

To me anybody that gets a bit tetchy about grammatical or spelling errors they make, will only have a very short life span on here, after all its coming up to 7 years since I joined this happy throng and have probably taken more stick from our blessed Margaret than anybody else, yet she Say's I'm not nice when I reciprocate, but I suppose I'll just have to grin and bare it and carry on regardless

Yours aren't just misspellings, they are malapropisms, which makes them noteworthy.

Incidentally, what part of your anatomy do you intend to bare?

[Margaret Pilkington]

I do not mind acronyms or abbreviations as long as it is made clear first what they are meant to mean.

When I was working in Nursing we were discouraged from using abbreviations.......although most of us used things like TPR(temperature, Pulse and respirations) and BP (blood pressure) these were universal and understood by everyone......but on my speciality PID meant Pelvic Inflammatory Disease....whereas elsewhere it could mean Prolasped Intervertebral Disc.....so misunderstandings could arise from these abbreviations.
Acronyms and abbreviations assume knowledge which might not be there.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

Yours aren't just misspellings, they are malapropisms, which makes them noteworthy.

Incidentally, what part of your anatomy do you intend to bare?

In your case that would be my arse

[Acrylic-bob]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

Acronyms and abbreviations assume knowledge which might not be there.

The words 'nail' and 'head' spring to mind.

If jaysay is going to bare part of his anatomy, can somebody take pictures please?

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by MargaretR

Yours aren't just misspellings, they are malapropisms, which makes them noteworthy.

Incidentally, what part of your anatomy do you intend to bare?

The problem I have is using a spell check which corrects my attempts at spelling (I do take the trouble to try and make it readable for other site users, unlike some I could mention) if I'm not careful and actually check what my mate spello has done, we end up with as you say malapropisms, but so long as I can bring a fun into your own tedious little world, who am I to complain

[Acrylic-bob]

There's nothing wrong with a well placed malapropism, as Hylda, my avatar, would be the first to point out. Now, about displaying your bottom....

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Acrylic-bob

There's nothing wrong with a well placed malapropism, as Hylda, my avatar, would be the first to point out. Now, about displaying your bottom....

Ya but mine are unintentional Bob, as for my bottom, only MargaretR deserves that revolting sight

[Margaret Pilkington]

Revulsion is a very personal thing....a bit like beauty...what turns some on, will turn others right off.......anyway John, don't bother letting me see it. I have seen enough bums to last me three lifetimes(that's a lot of bums)