What has happened to grammar and spelling in today's youth?

Question

I have been reading some of the questions and answers from some of the users and looking at the grammar and spelling of quite a few people makes me want to vomit.

I know I will seem like an old fart (I'm only 31), but what has been happening in the schools since I graduated?

I know some people will say that this is just SMS language and substituting "u" for "you" just makes it easier. But aside from that the grammar is HORRIBLE!! I have seen misspelled words that actually include more letters than the real words have, so it is not just for speed or convenience!!

Does anyone else see this as a problem? or am I just getting grumpy as I get older? And is this how people write when they are in school or at work?

Last thing, there are probably some grammar and spelling mistakes in my question. But I can guarantee that it is better than 98% of the grammar and spelling than most people here.

Answer 1

I agree with you. I'm 15, and some of my friends get annoyed with me when i type out all of my sentences, instead of using ur=you're etc. it gets me annoyed when I see people wr!tin leik thiz! Or L!K3 Th!$.

Answer 2

Fascinating! I speak French and Spanish fluently, as well as my native (first) language, English. I just spent over an hour on both sites and have found the same problem. In the French site, the same question was asked and answered in virtually the same ways people have answered here. I thought it was an American problem, but now I know it's an international problem.

Spell check doesn't pick up words that are misspelled through misuse. It doesn't pick up grammatical mistakes either. However, it certainly helps, so I don't understand why people can't take an extra few seconds to click on "Check Spelling" or use their word processing spell check. I fear that 31 years old is more than a generation away from our teens and pre-teens, who were born into the electronic age (not capitalized because it's not a real title -- yet).

I don't mind code spellings in private texting, but asking a question or giving an answer in what amounts to a world-wide forum is entirely different. I wish I could get through to these people, but it seems to get more and more difficult as the years go on. I hope it isn't wishful thinking that these people will eventually realize how badly they are presenting themselves to the world.

Answer 3

The internet is generally an informal "place" to hangout. Judging the grammar proficiency of a generation from responses you see on the internet isn't going to give you any accurate information.
Many teenagers today are apathetic about their grammar outside of school, but that does not mean that they are not capable of good grammar. My younger brother (14), types like an idiot online and his grammar is abysmal. However, I've looked over papers he's written for school and his grammar and spelling are on point. It's a shame that he doesn't practice good grammar/spelling online or other places, but it's just a phase. Eventually he'll grow out of communicating like he's never been to English class. I know this because I was the same way. I was a grammar nazi in school and I couldn't care less outside of school. Many teenagers are that way for some portion of their lives.

Answer 4

As a reader, one among my contemporary gripes has been with reference to the superiority of grammar, spelling, and punctuation blunders interior the books I study. Do publishers no longer use editors and copyeditors at present? My mom replaced into an English instructor, so i'm effective she laid the commencing place for my language skills. yet i replaced into additionally a voracious reader -- as a teenager, exceptionally -- and SEEING appropriate grammar and punctuation on paper helped strengthen what i replaced into being taught in college and at homestead. those days, e-e book is not any assure of high quality or sound technical writing. yet another irk I even have is that our collective vocabulary looks to have suffered. On a message board I established, a poster replaced into complaining because of the fact the author had used too many "vast" words interior the unconventional the poster had basically study. i ought to basically shake my head. that's what dictionaries are for, human beings. additionally, enable's deliver returned sentence diagramming. that's a life like gadget for coaching grammar.

Answer 5

Well: we know about " School's Education Program that helps Children in Spelling certain words in which teaches us
all basic Grammer Skills & yes very important today called
Learning Simple English also has Knowlage for our Future
Studies in College makes complete Sentence while taking
Leccure Notes with Word Perfect "

Answer 6

me thinks it Bcuz txtin slang is more beter and more quicker than regular lang. LOL!! Just kidding!! You just get into the habit from texting and it's hard to stop. And when you are asking/answering a question you don't really want to take the time to spell check it and make sure it is gramatically correct. It isn't being graded so most people don't see the point! My English teacher said that she has seen "texting language" in essays!! Now THAT is terrible!

Answer 7

It's a problem if these people don't know any better, or don't know enough to limit their use of "internet grammar" to forums like this. I wouldn't judge anyone on the basis of how they post questions on this site. I think sometimes it's a source of pride to kids to be as atrocious as possible in their use of language, and see what response they get, especially in an anonymous setting like this where there are no real consequences.

Answer 8

It's not all about diction. The textspeak is quick and easy, the new way. I thinks it's challenging, sometimes, to figure what they want. For me, the worst part of the English is the word usage.

Overall, I'm encouraged by what's being asked and replied. Sure, there's wisecracks and 11 year olds pretending to be 17, but I think this is all good. It makes them express themselves with words...sometimes jumbled-up hodge-podge words, but, it is abstract communication.

Just my humble opinion.

Answer 9

It's the technological revolution that has changed everything. People use shortcuts when using instant messaging and text and that just transfers over to speech and writing. I'm old school, I use spell check every time.

Answer 10

My generation was taught a lot more language arts than my children's was--and my mom's generation was taught a lot more than mine. It seems the schools are so full of starting algebra (who needs that in real life, anyway?) in younger and younger grades--that they are neglecting other subjects.

Realize, however, that some of the misspelled words that you see are typos, or cool abbreviations thought up by today's youth.