Why do so many people have abysmal English skills?

Question

From error ridden syntax to atrocious sentence structure, and nonexistent punctuation, it's just horrible to try and read some of it! I was always just a B and C student, but I did try and garner a working knowledge and reasonable command of my native language. Everyone is going to make a typo here and there, but what we see on these boards is inexcusable. And you have no idea how much this will haunt you when seeking employment, considering the person doing the hiring will have you pegged immediately as a stock boy or cashier instead of Manager trainee!

Answer 1

Because the American educational system is focused on passing the tests, not in actually thinking or learning.

Answer 2

I realize that this isn't really a question. As for poor skills in the English language, there are too many here to mention. Just remember that you are on a site where there are lots of children and young adolescents doing the asking. they have yet to finish their education. In that I find hope, the questions that are just too poor grammatically, I don't even bother with an answer. Sometimes you just have to know when to not be upset over things. Different levels and characters of people is what makes the world go around.

Answer 3

Well, I'm with you on this one. Frankly, I've only been on this board about a month, and I am appalled at the lack of basic English that I see here. In fact, I try to avoid answering questions that contain egregious errors, but that's probably over 50% of all questions.

It's really a shame. I agree with you that these people (whether they are adults, teens, or children) had better get it together and learn basic English because it really will haunt them in their professional lives. In my profession, making even one typo in a report is such bad form that I could lose a client over it. And it would be embarrassing as hell.

I also believe it shows an enormous lack of respect for the readers of the forum. And this problem is everywhere on the Internets. It seems to be particularly egregious here, but I've seen it on all kinds of websites. My pet peeve is "loose" weight instead of "lose" weight. That one makes my head explode every time.

Great comments and question, by the way.

Answer 4

Since IM and sites like Yahoo came along, the need to write and type fast has increased. Therefore, we express faster than we think. I can be really bad sometimes. I've known some Very smart people on here who are the same. In sociolinguistics this is well understood (that expression is dependent on the context it's in.)

Answer 5

you got a point but spelling sucks. take spanish for instance, its a language that has very few spelling mistakes since you have one letter for one sound. the only problem is "h"'s

Answer 6

That wuz verry will ritten.

Answer 7

I AGREE!

Answer 8

O.K.