Why can't people ask their questions using proper grammar and spelling?

Answer 1

Idiocy. Lack of education. Sloth.

Answer 2

'Cause you have people on here that do not speak English as their first language, don't have any formal English lessons, or you have those deviants and misfits that just don't bother using proper grammar or spelling. Others may just be ignorant of the fact that they are spelling or saying grammatically incorrect things. I think it's more about content than actual words and sentence structure.

Answer 3

If you can understand their...I mean our questions without proper grammar or spelling then whats the point behind wasting you valuable 5 points asking silly questions...

Answer 4

It’s a very good question you ask, but I don’t think it’s limited to the way people ask questions here in this forum.

In this time when electronic communication takes precedence over other forms, people have become used to what by all accounts looks like very sloppy grammar and syntax. I definitely notice it coming from all levels, including in e-mails from people, like senior echelons in companies, who should know better. I personally think that the way something is written is a total reflection on the person who sent it, but I’m in a shrinking minority, and I try not to get too upset by what I see every day.

I think that this is coming from the nature of electronic communications. If we think about things like on-line chat, as well as wireless messaging (like SMS over cell phones and Blackberry e-mails), the use of abbreviations facilitates the speed of communication. One of the respondents to the question here used a phrase like “I understand it ne way,” and at first I thought there were some letters missing from “ne,” but it actually decodes as “anyway,” and the use of this kind of shorthand makes a lot of sense when you’re trying to type a message to somebody on a cell phone that really lacks a keyboard to truly type out all the letters of the words. Almost everybody recognizes “LOL” for “lots of laughs,” and this is just one of scores of such abbreviations that have come about thanks to the way electronic communications work.

The problem is that the more used to this kind of shorthand, the less awareness there is on exactly how to construct complete sentences. You could engage in a lengthy “infinite regress” trying to trace back why people aren’t at least “bilingual” in terms of their writing skills (being able to use both the abbreviations of electronic communications but also be capable of correctly constructed English prose); teachers in schools don’t demand it, parents don’t care, employers don’t care…

Some people might argue that language is extremely dynamic and evolves over time. There seems to be no doubt about that. 50 years ago nobody would have known what words like “internet” or “laptop computer” or “cell phone” meant. In a similar way, words drop out of usage. I’m not even sure what a “petticoat” is, but my grandparents probably did. So language does have a way of adapting to the context in which it’s being used, so the sloppy language we see in this forum (and others) might be a reflection of this. I guess that’s the “glass is half full” interpretation!

Thanks for your question.

Answer 5

Poor education, which is funny considering this has spell checker on it. So the spelling should be correct even if the grammar is bad

Answer 6

idunno- did yas ever dink not all is a smart as u! Or mabey people dot have time to use the spell check, or if ya du type ya do mess up, hor not anybody gots a well edumaction

If you dont like it, dont use the service. Though it can be annoying..... Get over it buddy

If I was like you and didn't have a life- I would ask questions just like that . Get a life.

U said it Ron!

Answer 7

this is not a battle of speaking English well ok. Some people joins us here for fun and friendship and not to be critizised! How dare you react as if those people were really uneducated? You understand their answers, anyway right? don't you? So why make it a big deal? huh!

Answer 8

why do you care??? some times its typos some times its a genuine mistake and in my case its a mix of having dixleiue and i cant spell or type to good, but the real question is WHY O WHY does it really matter?

Answer 9

If people would use spell check and preview their answers, they would probably notice how unreadable some of their questions are.

Answer 10

People r always in a hurry! Who has the time to type properly and methodically.