Why are Americans virtually illiterate?

Question

The poor standard of English usage, especially by Americans, on the Web is concerning. This may be due to the SMS texting culture, the low average age of internet posters or simply a dropping of language standards.
Do you have an opinion on this?

Answer 1

I will get hell for this, but I think you're on to something...
My suspicion is that in the U.S., too many very, very, young people have a lot of time and computer resources available to them.

My first inkling of it was a surprising lack of appreciation of irony at any level. (E.g., one English person wrote about shooting her dog with pellets and almost all the answers took her at her word and wrote belligerent and horrified condemnations of this "cruel" person. The writer was just as shocked as I was.)

I suppose as the rest of the world provides their young people with more time and computers we'll get a more varied form of this problem.

Answer 2

Americans aren't virtually illiterate, and you can't really judge things by looking at the Internet. Lots of teens on the web type in a quick shorthand, with abbreviations that aren't standard English, mainly so they can type what they want to say more quickly. They do it when they text message especially because typing on phones is a pain, and the fewer letters they have to use the easier it is. These aren't kids who are writing essays for school with "u" for "you" or whatever other shortcuts they have, they just do it on the Internet for speed and ease.

If teens from another country were using this shorthand, would you be so quick to say that everyone in that country is practically illiterate? I don't think so. Why do you assume the worst about Americans?

Answer 3

Maybe because of the fact that only 25% of the population ever completes a bachelor's degree. Or that the quality of a public school is dependent upon how nice or rich the surrounding neighborhoods are. Or maybe it's because people would rather watch Jerry Springer than read a book.

Sad. The US considers itself a superpower but the vast majority of people don't even have a college education.

Answer 4

Yes, as a literate American I believe that the standards concerning literacy have dropped globally. A more concerning topic is the growing number of ignorant members of the global community who continue to look down upon Americans and how they choose to express themselves. This is just my illiterate American opinion though.

Answer 5

Poor linguistic performance is a symptom of intellectual inanity. I am just shocked by this overwhelming ignorance on the part of Americans posting and responding to questions on Yahoo. And, as everybody knows, ignorance begets prejudice, hatred and racism. No wonder America is losing on all fronts.

Answer 6

Well, you know Americans...they walk in the 'sidewalk', then they find their hotel and get to the 'lobby'...after they have checked in they use the 'elevator' and they go to the 'apartment' .
No wonder why in Yale and Harvard they still teach proper English...they show that if you want to be educated you have to speak properly. If you dont want to, then be an average American and watch TV all day.

Answer 7

I can't speak for all American people but I would like to represent as a strong, educated, young American female. Sure, anything like the dumbing of the U.S. nation is of a great concern to me. I would like to live with the impression that I don't live amongst a bunch of degenerates.

Answer 8

On these boards, it appears that there are way too many teenagers without good typing skills, who don't realize that misspellings make them look careless or stupid or both. The bad spelling, bad writing goes far beyond the new "text message shorthand" that is getting popular.

Answer 9

Honestly, I think it's a combination of

a) Lesser focus/expectations/performance in terms of vocabulary and grammar in an education system that rewards EFFORT and not MERIT...

and

b) Outright laziness.

Answer 10

I agree. It may also be because of video games, television, poor educational systems, college is way too expensive and not everyone can afford it, etc. Take your pick.