Those that can't speak, spell, or write...

Many times on ATS there have been people criticising others here for their poor use of language, or their lack of gramatical skills, or ability to spell.

I have even been guilty of it myself. It is a sorry fact, but still a fact.

However, I am not posting this to mentally, verbally or emotionally 'bash' those amongst us who have poor language skills (nor is this a jibe at people who do not use English as their 'first'). Please be clear about that before posting your reply.

My post is to ask many of you a question:

Have you ever had problems communicating an idea to someone?

If you have answered 'yes' to that question, the chances are you or they have problems with understanding or using language.

Now for another question:

Do you think that there is a reason for this?



I would say there is a reason for this, and here is my understanding of the issue at hand.

For a long time, we have heard politicians, legal professionals and 'business leaders' use some very complex language. As a result, whenever most people talk to politicians, business leaders, etc. (or even hear them speak) the majority of listeners are switched off. Further, the majortiy of these listeners claim 'boredom' or 'lack of interest'. I would suggest that it is neither of these, rather, it is a deep misunderstanding of their own emotional response to an inadequacy - their inability to understand complex language. The listeners that are not switched off are usually those with a good grasp of language, or with a deep knowledge or interest in the topic being discussed.

Now, here is my point:

Politicians, and 'business leaders' do not want too much competition, and as such the less peole are able to convey ideas and thoughts acrurately and quickly the less competition there will be.

Think about that for a moment... the less competition there will be. As I have grown up, a lot of my friends have stopped talking to me. Not because I am boring (as some of them claim), but because they cannot understand my language. I'm English, as are they, but many of them glaze over when I get onto topics of conversation that don't involve the pub or what was on 'telly' last night.

Now just to give you a bit of background, I go jet skiiing, horseriding, cycling, socialise in the pub, I run a business, I have many associates, acquaintances and friends - far from boring. But as already stated, many of these glaze over when the topic of conversation moves to more 'complex issues'.

To suggest 'boredom' or 'lack of caring' is a calumny. The boredom or lack of caring is generated by a mis-understanding of their own emotional state, and/or their own short-comings with language.

Here's my suggestion to ALL of us (and I take this advice literally myself). Arm yourself with a dictionary, thesaurus and if you can get one some sort of "better wordpower" book. Pick a new word every day and try to learn it, know it, then use it. Very soon you will find yourself using 'big words' and understanding what the politicians really say. The words they pick are very important, and often are overlooked because of a lack of understanding.

Know what a politician says, and you konw what he is thinking, what he wants, how he lies...

Dumb sheep is what the politicians and 'business leaders' want us to be. Good little sheeple that get up, go to work, make money, pay taxes, shop (spend money), and go home to eat, sleep and get up tomorrow to do it all again.

The time has come to arm ourselves with the greatest tool that we were ever blessed with. Language.

Also, know this; if you can convey your thoughts, ideas and emotions acurately and succinctly the perception others have of you tends to rise.

Not only that, people that speak at gatherings, meetings, symposiums, etc tend to have a strong understanding of language. Next time you hear a public speaker, listen to their accent, their tones and use of words.

Continued...

When we want to get our ideas and thoughts across, the use of expletives, and constant repetition of words ('like', 'whatever', etc) do nothing for our image as a learned person.

Instead when we want to inform others of the wrongdoings of the governments around us, etc. an eloquent speech, or powerful writting skills tend to help captivate an audience.

Break people in gently with topics so as to avoid 'turning them off', but be bold, skilled and most of all understanding not just of your topic, but your language too.

That way, when faced down by the 'nay sayers' you can defeat them, quickly, intelligently, and succinctly.

Usually those that have issues with others when they don't care to use perfect grammar when talking about junk on the net, have serious social issues and cant for the life of them communicate in person.

reply to post by dampnickers


Hey are you trying to give away the farm? haha.
This is an excellent suggestion and one way that people who pride themselves in not knowing how to spell and speak and read obscure the truth from themselves.

Another little trick is if you see a word or an idea in a message that you don't fully understand or think you might but want to know more, here's a clue. Look it up! You'd be surprised at hidden meanings in words and concepts that are right there but you are too busy looking elsewhere you miss the detail.

Nice post!

PS how many words did the OP misspell in that first post. I get about six or seven if you exclude British spellings. In addition there's one more that few will find but if you do so, you get extra credit. haha.

I've been amazed at how many common words I've been misspelling once I started using a checker. In addition if you misspell a person's name then don't expect your reader to follow you because you've made it nearly impossible for them to look them up due to this.



[edit on 21-7-2008 by Badge01]

Communication is an exchange; therefore it is not complete until the listener understands what the speaker was trying to say. In a conversation, written or spoken, the listener (reader) does have a responsibility to try to understand the speaker (writer), but it is my opinion that the speaker also has a responsibility to ensure that he can be and is understood. Complexity and 'big words' are not always good, depending upon what one is trying to accomplish with the communication.

For example: I'm at the feed store and see a fellow come driving in with his dog in the back of his pickup truck, loose. Having formerly been a veterinary technician, I know that dogs are often injured/killed by this practice and decide to try to change his mind.

First, I give a nice, erudite, complex discussion on physics and why the dog could go flying out of the truck despite the best intentions of everyone.

Bubba doesn't understand half of what I've said and didn't buy the rest. He is unmoved.

Next I inform him, using correct medical terminology, about the possible ill effects to the dog of riding in the back of a pickup truck at 50+ mph.

Again Bubba is unconvinced, having not understood about 2/3 of what I said.

I next attempt to change his mind with a highbrow discourse on ethics as it relates to the treatment of companion animals.

Bubba is clueless.

Finally I say "Dude! Lots of good dogs get hurt or killed falling out of pickup trucks, and it's against the law. Ol' Leroy (the sheriff) could write you a $50 ticket for it. Either put him in a cage or let him up front with you."

Well, Bubba sees the light now! That $50 could be his Friday night beer money down the tubes. Into the cab goes the dog.

Only during the final "conversation" did I communicate with Bubba. Only when I talked to him using words that he could readily understand and concepts that mattered to him did I accomplish my objective. The successful communicator must speak to the audience at their level.

By this I do not intend to imply that educating oneself is unnecessary, or a bad thing. I do not mean to imply that people shouldn't improve their vocabulary, spelling, and use of language. I do mean to say that sometimes one's point can be made more effectively using clear, simple language that reaches the audience, and that people may be "turned off" just as easily if they can't understand you as if you are being too "simple" for them.

PS I'm a redneck who drives a pickup trick, albeit not with a dog in the back, and I'm not picking on rednecks. It was just an example.

reply to post by Badge01


There are actually nine incorrectly spelt words. I'm glad that you spotted them. I was beginning to think that no one might.

A very interesting thread and yes language and the words we choose to converse with are very important and can convey alot about us and our beliefs.

We all have different language types. Some are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. I am a visual person and will talk about "seeing" your point of "view", an auditory person may talk about "hearing" what you are "saying" and a kinesthetic person would "feel" that something is right.

This is part of a subject called NLP or Neuro Linguistic Programming and it is a very powerful tool. NLP can and is used to manipulate others and literally re-programme them.

As for politicians; they often sound impressive and rarely answer a question.

Edit to fix some words that I missed out!

[edit on 22-7-2008 by YarlanZey]

I joined to see where posters live. Like what country or where in the US. Thought lots of the bad grammer and misspelling came from translation softwear. Just because I sound like a hillbilly uh well I am. but not knowing how to spell a word doesn't take away from the truth. And yea I often find myself stating some info and someone wants to debate it. Wasn't my point in posting, just puting it out there. Believe what you believe, but don't tell me to disown what is truth to me....bil

I was once told that we communicate to get a response. So when I say hello to someone, I am doing so because I want a response.

I think that communication is something that makes us human - we need to communicate otherwise we would stagnate. And I do not mean just by reading and writing - we also communicate by speaking, drawing, and body language and also more subtle ways like how we dress, use colours, etc.

We also communicate by smell, which all animals do, but humans for some reason choose to suppress and we layer ourselves with false smells. I often wonder if these smells are even more powerful that we realise and often go unnoticed because we cannot smell them anymore.

More and more I feel that our communication is being restricted, even though on face value it appears that is not the case. Everything is so false now. It is all so pre-conceived and constructed . . .



[edit on 22-7-2008 by YarlanZey]