i understood it but i'm still not going to start typing like an idiot.
True.
And actually spelling can be quite important. I know many prospective employers would disregard an application form with incorrect spelling.
Considering spelling is something you are taught from an early age, it really shouldn't be that hard to get the hang of, unless of course, you are dyslexic.
Text speak, phonetic typing and bad english are all pet hates of mine. If I'm not sure how a word is spelt, I dictionary.com it.
It's all down to laziness in my eyes.
this is the first day of my life
I’m glad I didn’t die before I met you
But now I don’t care I could go anywhere with you
And I’d probably be happy
Pround Pulmeria Sis :: Feel free to PM me anytime ::Always happy to help!
Is it really that only 55 out of 100 can read that?
wow.. I thought it would have been easier..
I had some problems with few words but that's just normal for me anyhow 'cause English isn't my native language.. For example the word "pweor".. I still have no idea of it.. but that doesn't matter that much...
It really makes me mad when I can't spell a word that I want to use
Me too. At least if I know I can't spell it, which I often don't. That's why I type everything (or one of the reasons anyway - it's also pretty hard to type a letter upsidedown). Searchable dictionaries are a great thing
Emily
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(> < ) This Is Bunny. Copy Bunny into your signature to help him on his way to world domination.
Considering spelling is something you are taught from an early age, it really shouldn't be that hard to get the hang of, unless of course, you are dyslexic.
Text speak, phonetic typing and bad english are all pet hates of mine. If I'm not sure how a word is spelt, I dictionary.com it.
It's all down to laziness in my eyes.
I think it's sometimes down to laziness even if you are dyslexic. Before anyone jumps on me for saying that, I'm dyslexic, so I most assuredly do realize how hard it can be. Certainly when I failed every spelling test in elementary school, that wasn't because I wasn't trying hard enough (no matter what my second grade teacher thought). But it annoys the hell out of me to see people using it as an excuse not to try at all, as dyslexia doesn't mean your spelling can't still improve with practice, or an excuse not to bother using spell check or looking things up in a dictionary. If I don't know how to spell a word on an exam (or a spelling test), there's nothing I can do about it, and that's going to happen a lot more often because I'm dyslexic. But there's absolutely nothing stopping me from using spell check and a dictionary, and having someone else proof-read my work when I need to. I don't always bother with spell check if I'm having an informal conversation online, and there's not time in an IM converstion (although in both situations I still make an effort to spell as best I can), but there's no excuse for turning in an important paper or job application with spelling mistakes.
Emily
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(O.o )
(> < ) This Is Bunny. Copy Bunny into your signature to help him on his way to world domination.
Well said, Invisible. Of course there are many people who, through dyslexia or whatever, have natural difficulties with spelling. And they're left to struggle with those difficulties, and they have my sympathy ...
But a huge amount of the appalling English which we see today is sheer idleness/inattention and lack of courtesy on the part of the writer (oh, they'll have to make of it what they can - who cares ...)
We have a wonderfully rich language in English and we should cherish and respect it - and when we take the trouble to write it, to do so correctly. I personally think that to see future English reduced to the crudity that is textspeak would be a criminal rejection of our linguistic heritage (while entirely accepting the usefulness of textspeak in its place in today's world).
Of course we all make mistakes but, when I see the number of obviously un-reread/unchecked posts on RYL, the word discourtesy does come to mind. Why should the reader have to interpret the sometimes illiterate meanderings of those who don't even try to spell?
All that said, I entirely accept that the primary function of RYL is to provide help for those who SH, and not to become some sort of teaching aid for English spelling/grammar. And as long as it does that, all sins are forgiven ...
Tony (in semi-pedantic mode).
PS. There may well be spelling/grammatical mistakes in any of the above, but at least I'll have done people the courtesy of checking it - something I always do before posting. And even then mistakes slip through, but I've tried ...
PPS. But don't let anything put people off posting whatever/whenever they want - and in whatever way they want. But it will be the more intelligible if written in reasonably spelled English!
Text-speak simply shows that the language is evolving. This isn't something grammar purists can prevent (try as we might), and personally, in the case of text messages at least, I wouldn't want to. Text-speak primarily existed due to the limitations of discourse in SMS messages: when you've got 160 characters to convey your message, obviously there is a need to utilise this space, and so vowel deletion and elision come into play, purely for the simple reason of fitting more content into a smaller amount of space.
Text-speak generally is becoming a youth socialect, or a sub-variety of the language which, when used in context, is fine. As long as all participants understand, why should people use the Queen's English all the time?
Clearly this doesn't refer to public forums such as this one, but those who argue against the existence of text-speak in any circumstances should think carefully.
Text-speak is a sub-variety which can exclude: so are acronyms. I wonder how many members of this site have ever written Recover Your Life? Even when making reference to this site on other, unrelated sites, I've seen people write RYL - which surely is just as incorrect or unhelpful as text-speak? It is far less about the rigidity of language and much more to do with context than people realise.
Linguistic elitism (otherwise known as prescriptivism) isn't a new phenomenon, either. Samuel Johnson wrote in the preface to his 1755 Dictionary of the English Language, "I found our speech copious without order, and energetick without rules: wherever I turned my view there was perplexity to be disentangled, and confusion to be regulated; choice was to be made out of boundless variety, without any established principle of selection; adulterations were to be detected, without a settled test of purity; and modes of expression to be rejected or received, without the suffrages of any writers of classical reputation or acknowledged authority"
Last edited by Bruise Pristine : 11-10-2007 at 10:49 AM.
Reason: typo, oh the hilarity...
when I do write thing I do try and make sure they are spelt correctly however I usually use the letter u in stead of u and forget the g off the end of words but that is simply to make me faster typing and to also avoid mistake as when i usually go to say you I usually always get the two last letter round the wrong way and always have to back to change it along with words ending in g, thats the only reason I write like I do in texts on here but I would never totally go into text speak because sometimes it can be really hard to understand and also can be taken the wrong way...
But then when i text and I dont have enough space in my text then i shorten words down even more but then thats due to space because it takes time for me to go back over it and see wot i can shorten down so that others will still know wot im on about.
I also agree with emily over the fact some people with dyslexia just use it as an excuse because I know someone like that and I know when she does put her mind to it she is really good at both spelling and everything else because Ive seen her do it but then at other times shes makes a big deal out of the fact she cant so it even though its the same thing someone has asked her to do...
Just wanted to give my input, this is in no way a dig to anyone or anything but simply my viewpoint on this subject of text speak and dyslexia and people using it.
I WILL FORGET THOSE THAT HAVE HURT ME
BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET THOSE WHO ARE ALWAYS THERE TO HELP ME
