Did you know that readers can tell if you don't read when you post things on the internet?

Question

Reading is like a whole seperate world from the one we live in. I feel terrible for the people that don't read fiction novels. You're missing out on so much if you don't read, you have NO IDEA.

Anyway, when people that don't see the words they use in writing on a regular basis post up here on Y!A and such, readers like myself say to ourselves, "Man. I guess that person doesn't read ever..." because you say things how you HEAR them, not how they're actually spelled. Like "If I 'fast ford' through a tv show" or "I'm 'suppose' to go here." and "my son plays with a 'stuff' cat" and my favorites, the slaughtering of "there, they're their, your, you're" and people, ONE WOMAN is spelled WOMAN. Not WOMEN.

Anyway, reading is so much fun and it makes you more knowledgable at the same time. Just try it! Read Jurassic park by Michael Crichton. It'll have you at the edge of your seat for HOURS!

Opinions? Oh, and God help me if I made a spelling error, I know I'm asking for it...

Answer 1

I am an avid reader myself, as well as a writer, so I also cringe when the English language is bastardized.
While I agree with the sentiment of your post, I think you are being a little insensitive to others. Please bear in mind the following:
1. Not everyone has had the benefit of a decent education. This is an open forum and a college degree is not required to post here. Everyone should be encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas and everyone has something worthwhile to contribute. Just being at Y!A shows a quest for knowledge.
2. Many people suffer from learning disorders, such as dyslexia, which render even the spell check useless.
3. English is not everyones first language and not everyone posting here is in an English speaking country. Just being able to communicate in a second language is to be applauded.
4. Many people are not computer savvy and are just learning how to negotiate in cyberspace. Typo's are easy to make, and some people may be a little confused about how to use the spell check feature.
Please have a little compassion for others, as we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Try to enjoy the spirit of the posts.

Answer 2

I love finding people who feel the same way I do about reading and language. I'm taking a study of modern English class in college (it's a requirement for English majors), and they use the descriptive approach. For instance, the professor and the authors of our books argue that saying things such as "I be back" and using double negatives is actually a more complex mode of speech than standard English, and is closer to the roots of the language. They can say what they like, but I don't think I will ever be comfortable with those ideas. Still, it could be worse; I would settle for seeing words spelled properly on yahoo answers; when instead of wen, etc. I sometimes think people spend a little too much time in school socializing rather than paying attention to their spelling and grammar. It makes me want to move and start my own little country where everyone speaks correctly, and works on spelling correctly. I know my roommate would join, at least. Paperjust also makes several excellent points; I try to be tolerant and understanding, but when I see almost every word in a post spelled incorrectly, I tend to be annoyed. Perhaps I need to work on my patience and understanding a bit more.
Reading is a great deal of fun; some people don't understand how it's possible to enjoy anything written before 1950, but many of my favorite books are from the 19th century and earlier. My absolute favorite is Russian literature; I'll take Tolstoy and Dostoevsky over Gossip Girls any day. (no offense intended to those who read Gossip Girls.) My current fun (not for class ) book I am reading is Dante's Inferno, and I like it a great deal so far. Really, people who don't branch out and pursue older literature are really missing out in life.

Answer 3

That is not onehundred percent true, sometimes poeple type things to be faster. I read a lot and I still had trouble spelling their correctly.
Jurassic Park was good, but I liked Lost World better. I thought they did a good job on the movie for Jurassic Park, but the Lost World movie was terrible, especially compared to the book. I liked the book Time Line also (which was also made into a dissapointing movie). I guess that is to be expected.

Answer 4

My dear, the worst ones are those who post their stories and poems for review, and it is painfully obvious these people have never even opened a book. As an editor, I get submissions sent to me all the time. Some of them are the most illiterate piles of trash you can imagine.

There is of course a difference between a typos (I make them all the time) and not being able to construct a sentence. It's the internet, and our brains move faster than our fingers. So sometimes we confuse 'brake' and 'break'. I can forgive that. What I can't forgive is something like:

"i wont 2b a riter n i have sum rele god ideis 4 a book can sum1 hlp me publsh?"

This person has no business killing a tree!

Answer 5

It goes to the simple fact that the more you read, the more literate you become. But it's much more than that. Kids today not only don't read, but they are degrading the writing skills they have by using net lingo or text lingo when they write. ABC recently had a lengthy report about how kids are starting to use this lingo in papers for school and I even know kids who are using when speaking - for example they will say LOL instead of just laughing or JK when they are joking around.

But maybe this is just the evolution of the English language. Fifty years from now, English could be completely unrecognizable from what we speak today.

Answer 6

Reading for pleasure has fallen to other ways of entertainment; people like movies because movies are quick. People do not have the attention span they used to have, due to evolving technology and a faster pace of life, lack of time, etc. But yeah, a good book beats almost anything. And there are so many genres that appeal to so many different tastes....people do read but so many do not.

And as for the poor grammar that people practice...part of it is because in casual environments (email has promoted this) people are more apt to spell the way they talk...which has never been grammatically correct. Yet, there are plenty of people who do not have a middle school age child's grasp of the English language....sad, but true. In high school I once saw an abandoned page from someone's essay in the library. In the first sentence, he or she typed out "gonna" instead of "going to"---the fact that he typed this amazed me. Education is not as important as war in this country, and reading is not the only solitary way to pass the time anymore (video games, television, movies, etc).

Most teachers in secondary schools want to be on the cutting edge of technology, so they allow their pupils to use the Internet and watch movies rather than requiring them to read and retain information from a book or two. They use PowerPoint rather than discussing something. Kids memorize the PowerPoint facts and don't listen to the presentation and don't actually think about things. But what are you going to do?

I used to get so mad because my parents wouldn't let my brothers and I own a Nintendo (when I, the youngest, was in my early teens they relented and let me have a GameBoy--but by then I was such an avid reader that I didn't really care all that much). We all learned to love reading as much as my Dad did and for that I feel grateful. I watched plenty of television, and like everyone, I love movies, but books are still an essential part of my life today. That is because my parents supplied them to me whenever I wanted, and other than television, they were the main entertainment source in a rural area. But fewer and fewer people in the U.S. today are pushed towards books like that.

Answer 7

Your write. Just kidding. I love to read, hate anything or anyone attempting to stand in my way of it. I buy more than I can read, and refuse to go to the library because I just cannot stand to send my friends away (although some I would have gladly returned). One day, someone made a comment about learning about people already in my life instead of the ones in books. He's probably right, and I hate him for that.

Answer 8

I agree. English is not my native language, and I'm still learning it. But I do try to spell correctly when I'm posting questions and answers.

I haven't read Jurassic Park, but I like Michael Crichton's Timeline and Airframe.

:)

Answer 9

hehehe, yeah, I know what you mean! I started reading alot over this last summer and then I started writing. I've always been above grade level at reading and writing, but never liked it much, and its never been a habbit to use proper grammar when typing. Since I started reading more I have seen a difference, though.

Answer 10

lol, i think you spelled everything right. I totally agree with you. I try to proofread everything I post and then I do it a second time after I post. When you misspell regularly, people tend to think you are less intellegent. (hopefully I didnt spell anything wrong here lol!)