watchcoll Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Can I ask why that is? It just seems wrong not to, to me. i don't really know! when i'm writing formally i write properly. i generally don't do it in any 'casual' writing and i view the forum as casual, if you know what i mean? all my emails to my friends are the same. one of my friends says she likes that though - comes across more relaxed and friendly, especially as i can have a tendancy towards hyperbole or using big words she doesn't understand! the posts i really detest are the ones such as Ms Mcbeth highlighted but in one solid, half page block of text. trying to read those actually sets off a headache. at least mine are paragraphed and legible (i hope)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laineyiow Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 If I tried to write without capitals it would take far more of a conscious effort than using them does because the habit is so ingrained. Same here. It is just second nature to automatically use capitals, full stops and commas. But I do think that lack of spelling and grammar is still a lot to do with the "dumbed down" educational system over the years - where anything goes - but seemingly not correct spellings, punctuation or grammar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watchcoll Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 If I tried to write without capitals it would take far more of a conscious effort than using them does because the habit is so ingrained. writing with a pen and paper, i'm with you. my writing's immaculate. maybe its because i was a late starter with a computer? even when i was at uni i used to write my 5,000 word essays out by hand numerous times and then type them up once i'd finished. but i only had my own PC when i got to uni. at college everything was handwritten and typed up at the library - that bit was the chore for me, and i can't type as fast as i can think to be able to write it all! so not using capitals on free flow writing is maybe, subconciously, a time saving thing? you've baffled me now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica23 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Same here. It is just second nature to automatically use capitals, full stops and commas. But I do think that lack of spelling and grammar is still a lot to do with the "dumbed down" educational system over the years - where anything goes - but seemingly not correct spellings, punctuation or grammar. It's shocking. This article by Sarah Churchwell sums it up well for me. For eight years I've been teaching extremely bright, overwhelmingly middle-class university students studying American and English literature, who achieved minimum A-level scores of three Bs. They are intelligent, skilled at passing exams, and most of them don't know what defines a complete sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica23 Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 writing with a pen and paper, i'm with you. my writing's immaculate. maybe its because i was a late starter with a computer? even when i was at uni i used to write my 5,000 word essays out by hand numerous times and then type them up once i'd finished. but i only had my own PC when i got to uni. at college everything was handwritten and typed up at the library - that bit was the chore for me, and i can't type as fast as i can think to be able to write it all! so not using capitals on free flow writing is maybe, subconciously, a time saving thing? you've baffled me now.... I type more quickly than I write by hand, so maybe it is because you were late on a computer. I just can't not do capitals, in whatever format. Just as, unless I'm very cross or in a rush, I can't let what I've written stand without checking it. I spend my working life writing and reading and I notice sloppy use of language wherever I go, so it's important that I try and make mine the best it can be, given the medium. (Not claiming my posts on here are works of art.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laineyiow Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 It's shocking. This article by Sarah Churchwell sums it up well for me. Thanks Jessica for that article. Found it really interesting and so true. It is really tragic when you think that foreign students can speak and use the English language better than "English" students - what a travesty that is really! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laineyiow Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 Halibut - I would like to thank you for starting this thread. Some interesting observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halibut Posted March 15, 2011 Author Share Posted March 15, 2011 Halibut - I would like to thank you for starting this thread. Some interesting observations. Thaks very much, you're welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 I can easily see how some poor souls might spell, ' ridiculous ' incorrectly----all those vowels near to each other. Only a minor punishment may be given out to THEM. However, anyone spelling ' thanks ' wrongly should be horse-whipped on the Town Hall steps and made to run up and down Duke Street at least 50 times........and then exiled to Barnsley or Rotherham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowersfade Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 How did we get from Halibut 's mini-lecture on spelling to kissing Japanese necks in take-aways ?? I wish someone would kiss my English neck for even 1 hour. That might sound ridiculous, I know-----perhaps even red-dick-you-louse. I don 't care how you spell it----just get round here, quick sticks ! Love it... especially the red-dick-you-louse. part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.