Rupert_Baehr Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Spelling, grammar and punctuation undoubtedly do change over time. Shakespeare's original writings contain vastly different spellings to modern dictionaries, and as for Chaucer, it's all but unreadable unless you've studied the language of the period. The last major sea-change in spellings took place a long time ago, but we may not be in the birth pangs of another one, since the rise of the Internet and text-messaging has produced a sub-language all of its own. Indeed they do. (And I can read and understand Chaucerian High English in the original) but when I was hiring people, I didn't give twopwenny damn about their understanding of OHG (or OHE, if you like.) I expected the people I hired to be able to speak the language which was in common use during the 1960s. If they couldn't, they didn't stand a chance of getting hired. If U spk txttlk n U wrt 2 me 4 a job, don't hold your breath. I'm retired (so you can let the breath out) but I suspect that there are more employers who would prefer literate employees than there are who will 'Just take anybody off the street'. The proof of the pudding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 It seems every young person you meet these days has the inability to spell - I know many on Facebook and they're all exactly alike. What I find most interesting is that they all blame it on their "dyslexia". I get hundreds of emails a month through my company and they all spell phonetically - which is an alarming trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halibut Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Someone has a problem with grammar on here and it's not long before the grammar police jump in. I think grammar police on an open forum are a little sad I think if it's done sensitively it can be a public service. It's also quite amusing when you get racists on, spouting about people not speaking English when they're scarcely literate themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaimani Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 i think there's a place and time for the 'right' kind of writing. on a forum or personal communication then you can, and should, do it any which way that allows you to express yourself best...as long as others understand you. invariably people start to gripe about grammar, spelling etc when they have nothing else to say. in formal language the 'proper' way still stands, though even that's evolving all the time. the other thing is that many 'English speaking' countries tweak the language to what suits them and, as mixing, immigration, the net etc have been added to the mix the language has had to change and is still changing as we try to find a new common ground. it's all irie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Prime Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 People that get all hot and bothered about this subject need to watch the world news more. Seriously. There are much worse things happening around the world than bad grammar. Yes. If someone is submitting a job application or some other form of official then they should put every effort in to get everything right but a banner or poster. It's hardly the end of the world is it. For example. This forum makes me laugh. Someone has a problem with grammar on here and it's not long before the grammar police jump in. I think grammar police on an open forum are a little sad A cliched and boring response. No it's not as bad as genocide but it's still a problem. If your dog dumps on your carpet do you ignore it because someone's thrown a brick through the window? If you're not interested in the problem say nuffink innit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaucin Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 It's not likely to end when we're teaching kids aged 5 to decode 'non-words': to prove synthetic phonics teaching works. What happened to "if it's wrong don't show it to the kids on the board because they'll remember it"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Smith Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Then there are the lemons saying "he would of got there on time". I have arguments about this with friends who being relativists say there is no problem as long as everyone understands each other. Yes we do, for now but it slows down interpretation. There is a shop in Tottenham that's been there for years called 'every bodies music'. I wondered if the owner realised that he had effectively set up a shop for funeral parlour music. But I frequently don`t understand what these peole who use such terrible grammar are trying to say. The main point of the original post is not so much directed against people who, for whatever the reason, aren`t particularly literate, it`s about organisations, and indeed people who can use grammar correctly, deliberately using it incorrectly. Quite apart from anything that`s never going to help educate those out there who need a bit of help in that direction.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMozzy Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 (Though it should really be " "Trendy" illiteracy: where will it all end and what are its consequences?") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Smith Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 People that get all hot and bothered about this subject need to watch the world news more. Seriously. There are much worse things happening around the world than bad grammar. Yes. If someone is submitting a job application or some other form of official then they should put every effort in to get everything right but a banner or poster. It's hardly the end of the world is it. For example. This forum makes me laugh. Someone has a problem with grammar on here and it's not long before the grammar police jump in. I think grammar police on an open forum are a little sad Two points. First, as I said above, although I think it`s sad when people are a bit illiterate, my ire is particularly directed against organisations deliberately using bad grammer. I wouldn`t actually pick up anyone on a Forum about bad grammar, unless it made the point of their post unclear. The argument that because people are getting murdered all over tha world one shouldn`t bother about relatively minor things, like litter for instance, is, if you think about it, not one that holds any water. Someone has just broken into my house ! Don`t bother about it, compared to Hitler he`s OK really....... Where do you stop ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Smith Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 It seems every young person you meet these days has the inability to spell - I know many on Facebook and they're all exactly alike. What I find most interesting is that they all blame it on their "dyslexia". I get hundreds of emails a month through my company and they all spell phonetically - which is an alarming trend. Is it true that these dyas you can spell incorrectly and still pass exams ? It must be if so many people, particularly young people, can`t spell correctly or use correct grammar, yet the exam pass rates have never been higher ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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