Jeffrey Shaw Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Why is it misleading? The correct use of apostrophes renders misunderstanding unlikely. Gee- you can hear apostrophes in spoken English? Get you! ---------- Post added 16-12-2012 at 14:56 ---------- That's true of quiet a few words arrogantly regarded as "Americanized" by the British. The fact is that the spelling of many of these words hasn't changed since the 17th century (when there was no standard spelling of anything) when English settlers arrived, meanwhile back in England, attempts were made to gentrify and romanticise the language and the spelling drifted. Just remember , American English is a different language to our own. It was radically redesigned by Webster, writer of the first USA-English dictionary, largely as he individually decided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Gee- you can hear apostrophes in spoken English? Get you! Oh dear, Jeffrey ... You didn't really think that retort through, did you? Feel silly yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleksandr Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 I'm going with Harestone on this. Why dumb down a language that's taken thousands of years to evolve ... just for the sake of some learning difficulties numpties who prefer 'Grand Theft Auto' and aerosol paint (or whatever) to a good book. I'm certainly no expert on the English language, as it contains many others ... I permanently keep my well worn dictionary to my side though and enjoy discovering new words (and how they were formulated) Surely, as a teacher (of English?), you must derive some sort of pleasure from teaching? Teaching phonetically, or text-speak is not the way to go. Although I'm not a big fan, I'd presume the millions of children who've been inspired to write (or read) by JK Rowling may agree with me. I agree. Where does it all end? Should we change our spelling to suit those with speech impediments who go to hospical [sic] and have trouble finking [sic] clearly? Should we change our lettering to make the characters symmetrical, or make all words palindromic to help dyslexics? Should we start writing from the lower right corner of the page using a wiggly worm dipped in ink to suite our Arab 'friends'. Anyway, what's wrong with a percentage of children failing to read and write? We'll always need people to empty the bins! And what's wrong with that? Emptying bins a a perfectly respectable and necessary occupation, but it doesn't require literacy or numeracy or anything else very much - not even physical strength these days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good mood Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 Anyway, what's wrong with a percentage of children failing to read and write? We'll always need people to empty the bins! And what's wrong with that? Emptying bins a a perfectly respectable and necessary occupation, but it doesn't require literacy or numeracy or anything else very much - not even physical strength these days! You'll get slated for this, because of course not all refuse collectors are illiterate, but what you've said here is fairly reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleksandr Posted December 16, 2012 Share Posted December 16, 2012 You'll get slated for this, because of course not all refuse collectors are illiterate, but what you've said here is fairly reasonable.Thanks. I'm not saying that they are illiterate; in fact, some are bright. Some are graduates, but they don't need to be. That's my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davyboy Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Emptying bins a a perfectly respectable and necessary occupation, but it doesn't require literacy or numeracy or anything else very much - not even physical strength these days! Our bins are numbered.....so you're wrong on that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepsendlane Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 No, we shouldn't change our written language for the feckless. At school the teacher used to hit me with a ruler after a spelling mistake , at the same time he advised me to spell like it sounds, This has lead to a life time of spelling wrongly so who was feckless in the first instance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmes1 Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Jfish1936 makes a valid point. If children don't read spelling is likely to be poor. Oh and no, we should not change the way that we spell the English language. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 At school the teacher used to hit me with a ruler after a spelling mistake , at the same time he advised me to spell like it sounds, This has lead** to a life time of spelling wrongly so who was feckless in the first instance. ** 'Lead"? Led. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepsendlane Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 ** 'Lead"? Led. Thank you Jeffery;) In the new year I take English Lessons up to C.S,E. some thing or other. Who would believe that after leaving school at 15 fifty five years ago. Mind you if the teacher hits me with the ruler this time I promise to shove it up his Aristotle some thing I wish I could have done all those years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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