Is Poor Grammar and Spelling Acceptable?

Question

There seems to be so much poor grammar and spelling on this and other sites that I wonder what is being taught in schools today. Is such a low standard of English acceptable, or does it display a lack of respect for the reader who does not seem to warrant the effort required to produce postings of a reasonable standard? Lately I have noticed sentences after sentences in postings with no capitals.

Answer 1

We here at YA are all wondering the same kinds of things as you are. Where do these people work? go to school? that they can get away with such poor skills in life. Their spelling, their sentence structures that are so poor, you have no idea what they're talking about, the text messaging abbreviated words that come out of cell phone useage but DO NOT belong in the real world, oh it's awful and it's such a bad reflection on the person doing it. I personally would only toss such an application into the nearest trash can.

I disagree completely with poster drshorty, degreed or not. There's an old saying that 'you reap what you sow' and to me it's abolutely correct. If that's all that some people care about themselves and their communication skills, then I confess that I don't also care about taking the time to respond to them.
When did email become abbreviated and careless?? I never heard that one. No one writing to me, writes fancy, but they do write and communicate in complete sentences, with proper spelling, and I understand them perfectly.
Email has never been an excuse to just flake out of the communication skills of the day and do your own damn thing! When you are charged by the message as in cell phone texting, I can understand the brevity, otherwise, it's rediculous and ignorant.

Answer 2

No it is not acceptable. I never give anyone a best answer if they have poor spelling by the way. People do it sometimes on accident, I always "forgive" accidentals. Many schools do teach proper spelling it is just that grammar gets intermingled with "chat speak". English is very much a informal language due to our culture today. Talk to any English teacher and you will hear the tales of woe about the atrocious spelling and grammar that they have to discern.

Answer 3

Most schools have moved away from teaching traditional grammar. Linguistics, the idea that language evolves so we shouldn’t concentrate on hard & fast rules, became the accepted teaching methodology. I completely disagree and aim to raise my children as grammarians.

I was in high school when instant messaging became popular and I have watched that along with text messaging slowly kill our language. I am floored every time I get a business e-mail from an associate with language and structure borrowed from IM/texting. It has reached a point where many senders/posters don’t even have a concept of how unintelligible this style is and how unintelligent it makes them sound.

Answer 4

Well, we don't have control over what and how and why people write the way they do so maybe we should let it go.

Some are lazy, some like to be casual, and some perhaps really don't know the correct way...

Sometimes, I am myself guilty of not capitalizing or shortening words not because I don't know any better but because of lack of space (I can be wordy and the questions ask for limited words), or because I just felt like. Sometimes, when I text on my phone, I use shortened versions sometimes coz (oops, I did it here with coz) it's a pain to type on my phone :) :( ! :)

I think we should lead by example. The ones who are likely to be inspired will be inspired.

Answer 5

I know that some people cut down words because their sentence is so long and they are trying not to go over the characters, whether to ask a question, response to the best answer etc. I am guilty of that on occasion.

I believe that words (not acceptable at school i.e. wtf) that can be used in lieu of another is acceptable on a casual forum.

What is not acceptable is if the person's question or answer is so illegible that you have no clue what they were trying to say. For example what is below.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjNVgQ7qXSSYQF9Bme6eB3bty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071202233033AAtEf8V&show=7#profile-info-yHgkuzN1aa

Answer 6

First, it's: ARE poor grammar and spelling acceptable?

I suppose it's a matter of where a person is typing something.

You'd have higher standards on an English essay than you would on a chat line.

In general though, you show disrespect for readers, when you make no attempt to write carefully. It is laziness and carelessness.

Answer 7

It could be any number of things. It may be the poster is in a rush and isn't checking spelling or grammar. It could be a reflection on their education (maybe they have learning disabilities or they are from a poor educational background)...

but just try not to judge. you don't know what someone is like until you've walked a day in their shoes.

Answer 8

I don't think it should be acceptable. I agree with what the first person said. It makes you look uneducated. The thing with the sentences not beginning with a capital really bugs me. I'm glad I'm not the only one who is noticing this.

Answer 9

Definitely not. A friend of mine is a college professor, and is constantly pulling her hair out over students with poor grammar and spelling. It's as simple as turning on the grammar check on your computer. There is no need to sound uneducated, especially in formal writing; it distracts from you essay and makes you appear dumb and annoying.

Answer 10

Well it's a lot faster & eisier to not capitolize. I'ts not like I dont use grammar in school, but it's not like it's super important to use grammar on websites & stuff. Sometimes I just like to take a break for school. It's not like we don't know English! & i do admit I am lazy, that's why i dont correct spelling mystakes on websites & stuff.