Is good grammar and spelling necessary?

Question

While looking through the questions and answers I notice that the standard of English varies hugely. Do you think poor written English is acceptable; are there times when good English still matters? It would be interesting to give your age in your reply - I wonder if this subject is more important to older people (like me!).

For those who feel slighted, I am 49!

Why has only one person picked up on the grammatical error in the question, I wonder? And why don't you all have proper jobs?!

To Social Science Lady - the 'poor' is used as an adjective where 'written English' is effectively a compound noun, it is not an adverb of 'written'. Good spot, though.

The ayes seem to be in the ascendency just now. The replies so far are all (well, almost all) fascinating - there are some very intersting characters out there in Y/A land. Keep it coming.

Heartening to see so many young people concerned about this subject. I appreciate the very polite way most of you have responded. Have you noticed how aggressive some people can be in defence of their own illiteracy?

Answer 1

If you speak and write like an uneducated idiot regardless of whether you are or not, that's the way people will regard you and treat you, putting you into the "Doesn't know much" category which will mean that anything said or written just WON'T be taken very seriously, whilst on the other hand, an educated person - or at least someone who tries his/her best - will naturally speak and write properly, making things so much easier to understand - and, more enjoyable too, and yes, I'm "over 21" - unfortunately, WELL over! The unnecessary use of "text-speak" only goes to multiply the problem of bad "English" in general ! ! !

Answer 2

Correct Spelling For Necessary

Answer 3

Is your question designed to annoy, or are you really like this? Grammar and spelling are useful but not essential if the meaning of the words is not obscured. I prefer good English most of the time, as it is easier to understand, however it is possible to be too picky. Back to the subject of spelling, don't you think that it is time that the English language was brought up to date in this respect? Many words are spelled in a way that makes little sense, you must simply know how to spell them, as a dyslexic this has been much more noticeable to myself than it would be to most other people. Spellchecker are so useful, but certainly not sufficient. Any properly spelled word is accepted, this is not enough as it may be the wrong word. Grammar checker are of no service and a waste of space. It really comes down to developing a sense of correct grammar for yourself. Think how difficult this must be to people who have poor grammar recognition skills. I am semi ambidextrous, favoring my right. Most people are right handers with poor left hand skill. Some might find this irrelevant fact interesting, but why do you suddenly ask the question, "why don't you all have proper jobs?" You don't know what jobs people on here have. Are you not satisfied with the responses? Not angry enough for you perhaps? Or is it that you are too ready to judge other people, without having any good cause to do so? The people who are enjoying being young will change the language, it always happens, embrace change when it is for the better, it makes life much more enjoyable.
I don't think it is important, but I am 52 and live in the UK. I think that spoils your theory.

Answer 4

English is unique in the world of languages in that it is an entirely democratic language and belongs to the people who speak it.

The English language has standard grammar and spellings. However, these cannot be forced upon the users [the owners] of the language.

The use of English usage varies around the English speaking world and beyond into the English language fringe to include countries which use it at an official level, such as India and Pakistan and some other Commonwealth Nations.

The Oxford English Dictionary is updated more or less on an annual basis. New words, formerly street slang or slang and dialect, are added to the English language after they have been in common usage for about ten years. This only applies to English spoken by the British in UK.

The Oxford English Dictionary now containes about 600,000 words in English.

Spoken English today is quite different to that of my childhood of the 1940s and 1950s.

What does the expression "stack me" mean? It is a slang expression of the Regency period which was still in common use in London into the 1950s. An expression of surprise, and exclamation thereof, etc. "Stack me!" Also incidentally, "Stone me" [see Hancock's Half Hour].

Spellings of place names as well as words in English change in time. There is a place near where I live which is now called Burnt Ash - on maps of the 18th century it is called Burndash. Which is correct? Both?

Answer 5

I'm 35, a professional and have learnt more English grammer in the last 4 years speaking French than I ever did at school. Which is a sad indictment of the UK school system.

I feel now that proper grammer, punctuation and spelling are vital. Without the proper basics in your native tongue you will never be able to properly learn a foreign language properly. I have seen so many academic, scientific and technical reports with basic and fundamental grammer errors that it makes me wonder what we are teaching.

There are times when you can get away with 'bad' spelling or punctuation but for anything more formal than a text message or a personal email you should be making that all important first impression.

As I said my grammer is not great but shouldn't the semi colon after acceptable be a question mark with a capital A for are.

Answer 6

I think they are extremely important. I have seen countless questions and answers that are totally impossible to work out - either through poor spelling or grammar. There are often ambiguities created through poor spelling or poor grammar - for example if someone says "I wander" - do they literally mean that they walk around, or have they made a mess of the spelling, trying to say "I wonder"?

I only pay attention to those who ask questions in proper English - any of that garbled crap they type because they can't be bothered with full words is instantly ignored by me. I don't mind one or two typos, that is fine. Constant typos are annoying, it just means the person is too lazy to correct them.

You didn't mention punctuation, but I think it is also equally important. I absolutely hate it when you see massive questions or answers with no full stops, commas, capital letters, or anything like that. I can't be bothered reading them. It is also annoying when punctuation is misused, for example the use of the apostrophe in front of an 's' which is there to make a word plural. An apostrophe should never be used like that. Not even when talking about CDs, DVDs, TVs, etc. The correct plural form of abbreviations does not have an apostrophe. An example of why this is important is:
"Those things over there are my husband's"
"Those things over there are my husbands"
See the difference?

The only time I think poor English on Yahoo! Answers is acceptable is if it comes from a person who is learning English as a second language. If they are trying their best, then it is fine, although I may point it out to them for future reference.

I am 15 years old. I have been using Y!A since I was 13 or 14. I have always used correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. Anyone who blames the education system for poor spelling is wrong. Anyone who blames young people and teenagers for poor spelling is wrong. Anyone who blames mobile phones for poor spelling is wrong. The reason for poor spelling is simple. Ignorance.

Answer 7

I agree with you. Grammar and spelling were dinned into us in our day. Nowadays, any sort of language discipline seems to have gone by the board.and I am constantly reading about recruiters for companies tearing their hair out at the standard of written English displayed on application forms etc.

Spoken English is even worse and I am constantly embarrassed because I cannot understand what people (particularly the young ) are saying. This is not snobbishness but a cringe inducing problem.


I live in a town where there is a large immigrant community and I absolutely dread being asked for, say, directions because I cannot understand their English. Even worse, I cannot understand what some of the English are saying!. I end up going home, thinking 'am I deaf or what'! It's the never ending glottal stops, I think.

Answer 8

Not a great start. The question should read: 'ARE good grammar and spelling necessary?'

There are two nouns, 'grammar' and 'spelling', so the verb is obviously plural.

Anyway, the answer is yes. To communicate effectively, you need both. Poor spelling and grammar confuse meaning and make it unclear what someone is trying to say.

They also give a poor impression, eg. when applying for a job. A CV full of mistakes will often go straight in the bin.

I'd also add punctuation. For example, a missing comma can make a big difference: 'No dogs please' (statement- not true, most do!) and 'No dogs, please' (request).

The misuse of apostrophes is also a scandal, eg. putting them in the wrong place or using them when not necessary.

Check out the Lynne Truss book 'Eats Shoots and Leaves' for an excellent discussion of/guide to pronunciation.

Teaching in schools must one reason for the dreadful standard of English. Far too much literature is taught, and not enough language. Pupils get more grammar lessons in a foreign language than they do in their native tongue!

Answer 9

"Like in all social situations, ...."

As in all social situations, my friend.

As a person with an interest in linguistics, I take a descriptivist approach to grammar. In this analysis, the grammar of a language is not a codified set of formal rules but rather, a description of how the users of that language actually speak or write.

In certain contexts, though, where formal English is required, prescriptivist grammar does have a place. To judge which context you're in can be difficult. I tend to favour formal grammar in many situations where others use an informal style. I don't always write in complete sentences, but I do always punctuate and use correct capitalisation (except in text messages, because it's very difficult to change the capitalisation on my mobile phone).

I think that Lynne Truss' description of punctuation as a courtesy to the reader is apt. Could some more care on your part make reader's work easier? I can cope with poor spelling (my own spelling's not brilliant) and even with txt spk, but unpunctuated passages I just skip. They're rarely worth the effort required to decode them.

I think that while I can be fully descriptivist for informal spoken English, I feel that the written language, even at its most informal, requires some regulation.

For the record, I am 23, and was far more pedantic and far less forgiving as a teenager.

Answer 10

If we are to all communicate in one language then it should be as standard as possible. When I employed people I always gave them a written exam in the form of a letter to a customer to see how well they could spell etc. Also I discovered that some could not actually write and resorted to capital letter all the time. The spelling and grammar was usually bad in these cases. Even when using computers with spell checks I note that some people still manage to spell incorrectly. The whole problem is now getting into the media as I notice that captions on TV news etc are often spelt incorrectly. I also hear news presenters that do the outside pieces, especially on local news, are getting into the habit

Answer 11

How interesting that amongst the replies stating that good grammar is essential, there is so much 'bad' grammar!

Poor written English is unacceptable in a modern society that has a good educational system and provides opportunities for all to learn English. I appreciate that for those whose first language is not English, grammar can be difficult, especially in writing, but it has become an acceptable part of society for even British children and young adults to speak and write the poor English they use, without correction.

I can spot a spelling mistake a mile away, and am prone to correct the indigenous population on their poor grammar, but feel at times it is a complete waste of time.

I am 47.