I don't want to be pedantic, but why do so many writers of Q&A's seem to be illiterate?

Question

There is no need to use text message types of abbreviations when asking or answering questions here. I know that it is easy to transpose letters when you are typing quickly, but there is the built in spell-checker. As a lover of the English language and with no problems about the natural evolution of language, it makes me flinch when I see the atrocious writing on many of these pages. Maybe I'm old-fashioned as well as simply being old but do many other people feel the same way? I can't be alone.

My name is my true name and I have heard all the cracks about 'not as smart as you think you are' - 'who's a smart boy then' - etc. By the way I am English, living in England and on a trip to the US a few weeks ago I spoke to a number of ordinary people (just like me) who agreed with these sentiments.

Answer 1

I'm Japanese and have learned English as a second language. I often post answers on Japanese version of Yahoo! Answers, and it's pathetic just how many Japanese people want to be just like "native English speakers." There are so many questions asking things like, "What should I do to improve my English so that I can speak just like native speakers?," "I translated this Japanese sentence into English, but can anyone check if this is how native speakers would say it?," "Would this sound funny or awkward to native English speakers?," "How do I get rid of my Japanese accent so I can sound like native English speakers?," "The English stuff we learn at school, how difficult would they be for native speakers?," and so on. Native this, native that. Some people even use American Yahoo! Answers as a learning material to learn "real" English. Can you believe that? A generation of young Japanese people learning English from Yahoo! Answers? And most of them can't even tell good grammar from bad grammar... they would just assume if native English speakers are using it, it must be correct. It's just pathetic.

Answer 2

I happen to agree with you about the level of literacy among many people today. However there *are* some legitimate reasons for both abbreviations and spelling errors.

I am a touch typist, so it doesn't bother me to type everything out in full. But many people (or is that ppl?) here are not. Saving time while typing can be significant.

And it is *not* the case that "there is the built in [sic] spell-checker [sic]". Some people have a spell checker when typing at Yahoo Answers. When I got a new computer, for instance, the spell checker disappeared. I rarely used it anyway (as I am also an editor and only rarely have trouble spelling) so I didn't miss it... Moreover, as you may have noticed in your *own* question, a spell checker has its limitations. It doesn't, for example, notice when you forget to hyphenate a word, or incorrectly hyphenate the following two words. Lastly, some people here aren't native speakers of English, and the spell check can actually do more harm than good. I answered a question one time where the asker *did* use the spell checker; it "corrected" a word that was incorrectly spelled (but understandable) into a completely different word...it took me some time to figure out what was being asked!

Answer 3

Most of us could care less that we are being graded by you english proffs.

you know what is funny being literate is being able to read and write

WE USE 26 letter and even if I mispelled the whole paragraph you would still know what I am trying to say.

At the exploratorium, in SF there is a poster on the wall. None of the words are spell correctly however if YOU are not illiterate you can still read.

Go play scrabble argue with a master of english and rhetoric or read a book if grammar is your concern

Use spell check if you need, be butt hurt and inhernetly anal if you must

BUT MANY OF US COULD CARE LESS ABOUT YOUR GRIPE

i hope i mispelled at least one word for you

See I for one hate the english language a language where 5 words have the same dumb A$$ meaning and we have taken all the beautifully created letters annd truncated them into 26

if that aint some anglo european shite I dont know what is. Then you turn around and gripe.

Why dont you just ignore the ppl using net talk

lol omg u r afah gu gl find something else to pull your grey heair over
bub

Answer 4

Remember that everyone is different.

Apparently you love to deal with illiterate people because you are here answering and questioning amongst all of us imbeciles.

I'm pretty sure you have written a few books by now, so if you love English so much write a few more and stray away from the Q & A.

Good answer Guido.

Answer 5

Hey I'm 20 and I agree with you completely. I think the problem is that most of the kids on here are 14ish and just looking to waste time during the summer. Once the novelty ends and it becomes more of a resource I would imagine the "text talk" will die out.

Or at least I hope so....

Answer 6

They aren't David "Smart" lol. If you can, donate a dictionary. Maybe you aren't into the abbreviations and you'd like everyone else to "just spell everything out" for you. But I do agree they can use the spell check, it's very handy for those who simply can't spell.

Answer 7

I agree, I do, but my opinion is don't ruminate. What brings Yahoo! Answers to the place it has become is the wide diversity of people who use it. I choose and pick my answers based on what I want to answer and I choose to not ruminate on others. I am old-fashioned too, really I am, I just think another gray hair isn't worth it. Blessings!

Answer 8

Because they are concerned more by the fast communication of an idea than the structure of grammar. If i can communicate an idea fast and simple, without a thesaurus or dictionary, then why should I.

Answer 9

Publik skewlz rool.

Can you believe there's a society who wan't all of America to write like this? Check it out!

Answer 10

It is what it is and it aint what it aint.... Bet you just loved that one... Anyway, isn't the content of the answer or question more valuable than the ability to articulate... Really now... This isn't brain surgery, it's Q&A.