Spelling/grammar importance?

[peregrinerose 0]

Since the other thread was getting off topic, here's everybody's way to vent their grammarically challenged complaints or concerns.

After all, how important is grammar, really? Or spelling. I have cruddy handwriting for the sole purpose of disguising my spelling (or lack thereof).

However, I was on match.com. My husband emailed me first with a 2 sentence no grammar, lousy spelling email. I deleted him. Then I emailed him on his ad later, not knowing it was the same guy. But his lousy grammar almost cost him one hell of a babe for a wife.

So, is it important or not??

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[billvon 2,989]

Its abselutely critical!!

[kelel01 1]

I think it's very important. I know I don't use perfect spelling and grammar all the time, but that's mostly just me being lazy or colloquial.

Kelly

[Nightingale 0]

If lousy spelling or grammar interferes with the understanding of the message the poster is trying to communicate, it's a problem.

If it's just a spelling or grammar error here or there, it doesn't really bother me.

[white_falcon 0]

what she^^^^^^ said.

Scott

[BikerBabe 0]

Bill said it for me.

This is one of my pet peeves...not only spelling and grammar, but that goddammed l33t speak that I see everywhere.

Replacing letters with numbers and symbols CAN'T take less time, so why do they do it? WHY? It's stupid, it makes the person typing it look stupid, and I immediately delete or ignore them.

If you can't form a coherent sentence, I will, without a doubt, question your intelligence. I know it's prejudicial of me, but I can't help it.

I also will not patronize stores or other establishments who can't tell the difference between your and you're, its and it's, there, their, and they're, or improperly plaster apostrophes all over their signage.

Yes, I'm a grammar tyrant, and proud!

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[wmw999 2,439]

Quote

If lousy spelling or grammar interferes with the understanding of the message the poster is trying to communicate, it's a problem.

If it's just a spelling or grammar error here or there, it doesn't really bother me.

Pretty much likewise. Except that, well, if someone with lousy grammar is calling someone else stupid, I usually smirk

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[mnealtx 0]

I think that it's important but not critical.

Being able to express your ideas coherently and, more importantly, clearly readable (readably? is that a word?) helps the reader understand your point much better.

The above is, obviously, just my opinion.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Rebecca 0]

Oh my - a thread for me!

Generally, I'd say it's very important. In specific situations, it varies.

In a professional context (memos, presentations, resumes, etc.) it's absolutely essential. Your written communication conveys not just words, but an image of you - your intelligence, sincerity, and credentials. I saw the first page of a printed Power Point presentation entitled "How To Be An Effective Marketing Manger", and immediately thought, "What an idiot. I wouldn't take him very seriously."

In here, it's whatever, but if a post is very poorly written or full of that IM language, I ignore it. And like Wendy said, if a poster goes on and on about stupid people, and he can't even spell, well... pot, kettle... There are several posters whose opinions I completely disregard because they can't even express them correctly.

If you want to be taken seriously, pay attention to these details. If you normally do pay attention though, typos and slip-ups are totally forgiven.

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[cliffharris 0]

Quote

Or spelling.

I think they call this a run-on sentence?

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

Quote

Or spelling.

I think they call this a run-on sentence?

That would be a sentence fragment, if anything.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Rebecca 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Or spelling.

I think they call this a run-on sentence?

That would be a sentence fragment, if anything.

You get a gold star!

you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel loquacious?' -- well do you, punk?

[Zenister 0]

I agree, it is a nicety for formal communication, but it's simply not critical if the message is clearly expressed and formatted. Many of the rules of grammar and spelling are archaic leftovers from a time when all discourse was handwritten and needed better rules to force legibility and clarity.

The nature of this medium means a number of those rules are unnecessary or erroneously applied. Paragraph structure is a good example, without knowing the exact conditions, resolutions, etc that your message will be displayed on following standard block paragraph structure can cause less understanding, not more...

Language adapts to the environment and cultural influences, the users who cannot (or will not) adapt generally scream about how the 'sky is falling', because the rules they have grown accustom to are changing.

How many have seen a telegraph message? Did you understand it? Did it conform to the rules of grammar had it adopted its own that applied to the specific medium.

Apostrophes? How often do you misunderstand a sentence because of the presence or absence of an apostrophe?

AM I YELLING? I am on the internet....

:’s ;’s? other than creating smilies that actually help understanding across the digital medium, what real use have they?

If you think this is bad, you should see what is happening in Asia where SMS text messaging is very very common. Wait till that has become a standard form of communication in the US and its evolving conventions begin to appear everywhere else as well…

However, much like music, the basic rules need to be taught so that the student can understand the hows and whys of when they can be and should be broken…

ps. For all the geeks out there, what does this page really look like without your browser to format it for you… code is the one place that level of precision is required, simply because without the communication breaks down….humans are far more adapatable.

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[pajarito 0]

Quote

what she^^^^^^ said.

Scott

x 3.

Jay

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

Quote

Or spelling.

I think they call this a run-on sentence?

That would be a sentence fragment, if anything.

You get a gold star!

I hate writing and don't think that I do it well, so for ME to give advice cracks me up!

Thank you for the star, though...can I put it on my computer, teacher?

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Darius11 12]

I am the worst speller on this planet and I really don’t’ care if I am posting here. As long as you can understand me.

But work is different I have to make every thing perfect so I take the time.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[bch7773 0]

gramner and speilling R nott a11 thet empourtent. get ovr 1t.

MB 3528, RB 1182

[Keith 0]

I think it's extremely important.

edited for spelling error

Keith

Don't Fuck with me Keith - J. Mandeville

[Botellines 0]

Me dont speake Inglis

[CornishChris 5]

I think that it is important, especially as we spend so much of our time communicating in writing via e-mail and sites such as this.

What really annoys/amuses me (in equal measure), is when there is a thread on here (generally in SC), where the subject of the thread is mispelt over and over by contributors:

i.e. Irak, Al qida, Abu Grab etc.

If you are going to get heated on a topic at least have the courtesy to do it in a grammatically correct fashion.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[christelsabine 1]

Quote

I think that it is important, especially as we spend so much of our time communicating in writing via e-mail and sites such as this.

What really annoys/amuses me (in equal measure), is when there is a thread on here (generally in SC), where the subject of the thread is mispelt over and over by contributors:

i.e. Irak, Al qida, Abu Grab etc.

If you are going to get heated on a topic at least have the courtesy to do it in a grammatically correct fashion.

You're especting too much, really! Go back home and ask your Tasmanian Marsupal (? sp?) what he thinks about that opinion? He will guzzle you.

Furthermore, it is so easy to understand different wordings like f. e. Irak, Iraq, Iraque! What does it mean in fact? You know what I'm talking about.

It's different in biz. That's right.



That's what makes the world turn: Various languages including their clerical errors.

dudeist skydiver # 3105

[CornishChris 5]

It means that people trying to offer a do called 'educated opinion' on a topic do themselves a disservice when they mess up the spelling of the topic on which they are claiming to be knowledgeable about.

edited to add: Tazmanian.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[jimbarry 0]

Like many other questions, the answer is probably "depends".

It depends on the situation, location, audience, purpose, medium. For me, most of the time it just means the writer was too sloppy to care enough about the reader to do it right.

On IM, who cares, but on a resume, I just say to myself "This yahoo had 1,000 chances to check this thing out and didn't."

The funniest are the ones where the error is on store sign, in a newspaper, on CNN, or some other inexcusably stupid or expensive place.

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

Quote

But his lousy grammar almost cost him one hell of a babe for a wife.

So, is it important or not??

I think it is very important.
I also think that people are so lazy nowadays that they downplay it, and even criticize those who do think it's important, to cover for their inability or unwillingness to do the work, to learn to get it right.

Poor grammar, or not bothering to capitalize or punctuate when you type, is indicative of a lazy character, I think. If instead of typing, we were painting a room, grammar would be like taping off the trim and being careful not to leave drips or thin spots, and most of the typing we see on the internet would be like not bothering with a dropcloth and splattering the carpet, edging around trim without taping it off and streaking the trim as a result. There is a right way and a wrong way to do most things, and most people settle for the easy, lazy way out when it comes to grammar, or writing and speaking in general.

I acknowledge that a person can be an absolutely wonderful person even if they write like shit and have atrocious grammar skills. It's just that like anything else, you make an impression with the way you type -- you tell people a bit about how bright you are, and beyond that, how willing you are to make your work presentable, neat, and correct.

If someone posts something on the internet that absolutely ignores spelling, grammar, and punctuation, I think somewhat less of them, or at least, by contrast, I think well of people who type with an evident degree of intelligence and skill.

Blue skies,
-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"

[peacefuljeffrey 0]

Quote

Bill said it for me.

This is one of my pet peeves...not only spelling and grammar, but that goddammed l33t speak that I see everywhere.

Replacing letters with numbers and symbols CAN'T take less time, so why do they do it? WHY? It's stupid, it makes the person typing it look stupid, and I immediately delete or ignore them.

If you can't form a coherent sentence, I will, without a doubt, question your intelligence. I know it's prejudicial of me, but I can't help it.

I also will not patronize stores or other establishments who can't tell the difference between your and you're, its and it's, there, their, and they're, or improperly plaster apostrophes all over their signage.

Yes, I'm a grammar tyrant, and proud!

I loved this post! Are you married? Wanna be?!

You more eloquently said what I was getting at in my post.
Thanks.

Blue skies,
-Jeffrey

-Jeffrey
"With tha thoughts of a militant mind... Hard line, hard line after hard line!"