Is it just me who despairs of the spelling and grammar?

Question

I mean, I'm not ancient, but so many of the answers on here are barely legible. Even people who have some sort of grasp of it write things like ect. instead of etc.! (It's short for et cetera).
Is the root cause that spelling is no longer marked in school unless it's for English? Is it the fault of textspeak? Is it the death of the English language? What do you think?

Trouble_906 I can't see the error and I'm not trying to claim I'm perfect. Typos and slip-ups are just human. It's the ur gd cuz ppl shud no stuff that grates with me.
I know it's etc. My point is it's not ect., but maybe that was a bad example in fairness.

Wlel i tatotly argee wtih you, it`s trrelbie, and nwodayas pepole dno`t eevn seem to crae, i maen it`s so spaladsh. I tihnk you hvae a prefcet rgiht to be a cpomelte lngauage sonb.

Source(s):

bill Sahkeseprae. if i`ve slept any of tihs worng, pleeeeeze crrocet me.
Clever.
There was a study that said the human brain can recognise the first and last letters of the words in a sentence and still be able to read the word and gain its meaning.
You have obviously read this so to call me a snob is a bit pedantic, don't you feel?
Thequestion was not meant to be clever or snobbish, it was meant as a discussion.
I just fear for the state of our language if we are to hold any sway in an increasingly international world if a serious question is ridiculed with your level of pedantry.
You, I feel, are hell bent against any kind of rational discussion my friend.

Answer 1

I too am a pedant regarding spelling and grammar!It drives me mad!The worst thing is when I see spelling errors in restaurants and shops (menus and signs) I often find myself correcting the staff or actually using a pen to make the amendments! Recently I spotted a sign that stated it sold "FRUITS and vegetables" I was in despair-FRUIT and vegetables yes but FRUITS!Fruit is by nature a natural plural!No one in my family can tolerate my irritation of these ignorant folk.I'm just glad to see I am not alone!

Answer 2

Well, I am getting on for ancient (56) and I do despair of spelling and grammar. I was an English Language teacher for years, then went into healthcare. However, I still had private students at home, simply for spelling, grammar and punctuation. The poor kids had no idea because nobody at school taught them. At one point, I even had a waiting list. I see spelling and grammatical mistakes everywhere - expensive restaurants where they haven't bothered to check the spelling! I went to a grammar school in the 1960s and we studied English Language (and everything else) in depth. But which young person today in a state school knows how to parse a sentence? Who knows the seven parts of speech? People may think this is now all irrelevant but it isn't. I see CVs from young people which are appalling. They are often word processed but the spelling and grammar and punctuation haven't been checked at all. I see health reports written at the end of a shift by a young person and the spelling is all over the place. I don't blame the young people at all, I blame the change in education in the 1970s. I was probably among the last to be taught Latin for 5 years. As a consequence I can read the five Romance languages. I certainly made sure that my own children were taught English properly, and also inflicted Latin on them. But they can at least write a correct CV, letter, note, essay, thesis etc. (And they are capable linguists).

Answer 3

No, it most certainly is not! I asked a similar question a few weeks ago and got something like 190 replies. Perhaps 90% agreed that good grammar and spelling are important while the remainder were badly written, often unintelligible, defences of the writer's ignorance.

I don't go in for the notion that education is somehow the main cause of the illiteracy so clearly displayed by many contributors to Y/A. To me it is clear that feckless writing is cool and trendy for some; perhaps literacy, like good manners, is just too old school.

Anyway, from my question what really surprised me was not that the legible answers were well written and polite, but how aggressive the illiterate were in defence of their own ignorance.

Answer 4

General laziness, combined with the natural evolution of language over time. Language is a means of communication. If what one person is writing can be understood by others then the writing fulfils it's purpose. However not everyone speaks the same language. So not everyone can understand what everyone else has written.

Nothing is wrong with text speak, however it could be regarded as a different language if an only English speaker was unable to understand a message in text speak.

Answer 5

Wlel i tatotly argee wtih you, it`s trrelbie, and nwodayas pepole dno`t eevn seem to crae, i maen it`s so spaladsh. I tihnk you hvae a prefcet rgiht to be a cpomelte lngauage sonb.

Answer 6

I agree with you. We're all human and we all make mistakes but some people have clearly made no effort. I'd be embarrassed to put up illegible, poorly spelt nonsense! It's important to be able to communicate your thoughts and feelings clearly but so many people seem completely incapable. Unfortunately, spelling and grammar are now only assessed on English exams, and at GCSE level they account for only a tiny proportion of the marks. You could write the entire paper with no punctuation and still pass the exam!

Answer 7

In spite of someone's general criticism, I see nothing basically wrong with your question, except, for example, 'is it it just me' should be 'is it just I', in view of the fact that it is a complement rather than an object.

The disease is caused by failure in the education system, and the replacement of reading by television and the PC for entertainment.

I am not suggesting that one must read boring stuff, such as Shakespeare, where one good line appears in every ten plays.

Evelyn Waugh, for example, is amusing and well written. The Forsyte saga is as good a drama as one will see on TV.

Even Catch 22 was written in American English.

Answer 8

I totally agree. Text-speak has spilled over into almost every other aspect of our lives. When I read the comments by some people on Answers I want to correct the mistakes for them! The schools must take part of the blame too. My 8 -year old often brings home work which has hasn't had all the necessary corrections made by the teacher. I correct it myself and send it back. His teacher probably hates me. Can't say I blame her!

Answer 9

I don't know what the cause is, but I agree with you that its a very sad thing to see. We can all make the odd typing error, but the kind of mistakes you see on here are just dreadful, and often very very basic. I am making sure I'm teaching my little boy to spell and punctuate properly to the best of my ability, and I do that because I believe its important.

Answer 10

I blame textspeak. I`ve heard that the kids can use it in essay`s etc at school now. If that`s true it`s disgusting. It`s another slip in educational standards. Language and grammar can be so much fun, but you have to know and understand the basics first.