What on Earth has happened to the English language?

Question

This site is host to some of the most illiterate people I have ever read. I understand that a lot of people are american, who use a very bastardized version of English, but the spelling and grammar, is appalling in 90% of questions asked.
Does education not exist anymore or do people just watch TV, chew gum, and play with computers whilst listening to rap music?

Answer 1

I totally agree with you about this. Unfortunately (or not, depending on your stance) for me I was taught in a Grammar school in the early sixties. We had the most wonderful English teacher who taught us, with great enthusiasm for the subject, the whole gamut of English Grammar. One of her favourite sayings was, "There's no such thing as nice!! Nice doesn't mean anything, do not use the word."

She also objected to the phrase 'All of a sudden' because there is no such thing as a sudden! Little things like that, from a teacher one likes, tend to stick and, having reached 'A' Grade in my English Language 'O' Level (the only 'A' I got!) I have found that I have become pedantic and niggly about the way English is now spoken and spelt.

I am afraid I also have the unfortunate habit of labelling people who cannot spell as merely lazy! I know this is probably a bit extreme and does not apply in some cases, but I can't help feeling this way.

I correct announcers on television and radio, and sometimes find myself correcting people with whom I am having a conversation. I have corrected and sent back Mail shots received, and please don't start me off on the aberrant apostrophe!!!

I am sure the English language is fading away and in time all so-called English speaking people will be speaking a sort of mid-Atlantic shorthand. I find it sad that people cannot be bothered to try to speak and write correctly, particularly when small, ancient languages, such as Welsh and Gaelic, are bouyant and well practised through the genuine love of their people for their language.

Sorry to go on but this is rather a flag-waver for me and I find it difficult to stop, once started.

Answer 2

American English is rapidly becoming a foreign language.
The standard of English taught in schools has been falling since the 50s. I took the 11+ in 1954. In 1961, when I was in the Upper 6th, the school had a crisis in the English department, and some 'A' level English students were asked if they would take the odd class. I discovered that 2nd yrs. didn't know where to put fullstops, or that fullstops are followed by a capital letter.
You can't rely on computer spell checkers. Personally, I find that some of the questions and answers here are not simply spelt incorrectly and that the grammar leaves a lot to be desired, but they are unintelligible. That goes for questions which appear to be homework-related at GCSE level.
By the way, in British English the word is bastardised, not bastardized.

Answer 3

This site is host to some of the most illiterate people I have ever read (You read posts not the people). I understand that a lot of people are american ( needs a capital), who use a very bastardized version of English, but the spelling and grammar,(no need for a comma here, only after the coordinating conjunction) is appalling in 90% of questions asked.
Does education not exist anymore or (needs a comma before “or”) do people just watch TV, chew gum, and play with computers whilst listening to rap music?

Answer 4

I suspect that young people today don't care. And, this is perpetuated in the education system as well. In a supposedly well-educated country like Australia, the number of kids that reach an age of 16, without any particularly impressive reading or writing skills, is appalling. I think the same goes for a lot of countries.

To the respondent who signed off with: "I was an English teacher", I would like to say the following: I agree that languages evolve, but do you really think that the poor state of grammar and spelling displayed here on Y! Answers is a sign of evolution? If you do, then the education system is in a worse state than I thought it was.

:-)

Answer 5

I think it is a mixture of things.

Some people on the site have English as a second language.
Some think it's uncool to spell correctly and use correct grammar.
Some have simply never been taught correct spelling and grammar.

The advent of electronic communication as the primary form of 21st century communication has brought benefits and disbenefits to good English. More people are using English and reading English - and with word processors they will get spell-checking and a certain amount of grammar-checking.
But such direct communication does not encourage the careful checking of language that writing used to do.

It's easy to bemoan the state of the language; every generation does the same. Personally, I value correct spelling and grammar and I find it disappointing that so few others appear to do so. But we should not get this out of proportion; Shakespeare's spelling was terrible too.....

Answer 6

It has been banished from the Internet.

I think a lot of the people who use this site are foreign, which may explain it somewhat. But you're right - there is a frightening number of people out there who just can't be bothered to type out their words.

Sadly there are all too many people who DO just watch TV, chew gum, and play with computers whilst listening to rap music. I would like to publicly state that I am not one of them.

Answer 7

Well some of the questions are from young people just learning to spell and use the computer. Others come from immigrants with limited American language skills. The rest are using shortcuts in spelling that change from person to person. The biggest fault is not wanting to take the time to use spell check.

Answer 8

I was thinking the same thing. The only conclusion I can come to is that most people who use this site are very young (maybe under 12), and/or are from another country. At least that's what I hope. The thought that some of these questions/answers are produced by people with at least a HS education is frightening.

Answer 9

Yesterday, I received an e-mail about an audition for a chocolate commercial.
There were several spelling mistakes in the missive, including 'choclate'.
I take this as an example of shoddy work and/or low intelligence.
It was enough for me to turn down the audition.
How likely is it there would be a coherent script?
In an industry driven by a combination of words and images, it is another instance of falling standards.
Oh, and 'haste ye back' used here earlier is a Scottish phrase and the dolt who thought it was a 16th century reference is displaying ignorance, which, evidently, is bliss.

Answer 10

Here, Here. They don't teach spelling or grammar anymore in school. I have been in class rooms and have seen stories written by students who were told to use the "guess and go" method of writing. I asked some of the teachers what on earth were they doing and they said it was better to get the child to create than to stifle them by making them spell and write correctly. So between that and how lazy most people have become across the world when it comes to communicating with each other, it is no wonder that the "English" language has been butchered beyond belief.