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Hands up who can't speak English!
| Posted: 06 Aug 2006, 13:53 | |
Moderator Joined: 15 Apr 2005, 10:03 Posts: 1240 Location: England |
My point is that the rules of language (and yes, that includes grammar) change over time. whilst there can be said to be "correct grammar", this isn't a constant, unsusceptible to change.
I see your point that it is irritating when people have exceptionally poor grammar, but it has always been this way. There have always been those less educated than others, and there always will be. It is a nuisance, sure. Also, I'm not saying that everything we are taught is wrong, but that it can be. Go back in time, and you were taught that the world was flat - It was the only thing that made logical sense. An extreme case, but you get my point. What we believe is right at the present time isn't always so. And ratherton, I take your point. But making the odd mistake in the use of grammar is hardly akin to wisemans last example, is it? If grammar completely degenerated in that manner, that would be a disaster. But when somebody says "I was sat on the bench" instead of "I was sitting on the bench", it's hardly a big deal. |
| Posted: 06 Aug 2006, 16:58 | |
Veteran Member Joined: 29 Oct 2005, 18:41 Posts: 3006 |
Magicfeet wrote: And ratherton, I take your point. But making the odd mistake in the use of grammar is hardly akin to wisemans last example, is it? If grammar completely degenerated in that manner, that would be a disaster. But when somebody says "I was sat on the bench" instead of "I was sitting on the bench", it's hardly a big deal.
As English speakers we can spot mistakes and still understand the general meaning of the sentence so in that sense, it's not a big deal. However, the standard of written and spoken English is not as high as it should be. There was a story in the UK a while ago when I pupil handed in a piece of work in 'text speak' !!!!!! http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/chat/your_comments/newsid_2814000/2814357.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/world/newsid_2813000/2813955.stm Text speak was originally used for messaging on mobile phones which had a limit of 160 characters per message. People would abbreviate words to try to save space which is fair enough. I think it's huge warning sign when pupils think it's OK to hand schoolwork in using 'text speak'. I don't really understand why it's used in emails and forums like this though where there is no such restriction on the length of messages.  Mandy felt Brian's wrath when she wandered in front of him after they'd announced free beer at the bar..... |
| Posted: 06 Aug 2006, 19:00 | |
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Moderator Joined: 15 Apr 2005, 10:03 Posts: 1240 Location: England |
Sure, I completely agree with you there, ratherton. I do feel that was a rather isolated case, however. 99.999% of school children (in an imaginary study I recently carried out) would agree that using text speak in an essay is wrong - Though the fact somebody did it in the first place is a tad worrying!
As for using text speak in e-mails and forums, I agree wholeheartedly again. I've oft said how much I hate the "lol"'s and abbreviations of that kind that have seeped onto message boards. It smacks of laziness and really grinds my gears (as it were). "Lol" isn't the best example of this, but it's just as annoying as any. Fair enough if you're in a rush (in a chat room) or have a limited amount of space (in a text message), but on a message board?! 
EDIT: Other examples of real slack forum messages include "Yeh", "j/k" and "dnt". It sickens me to my very core. People who type in such a way should be smited. 
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