Grammar on the Internet

grammar???

I can see in post from other English speaking countries a pronounced accent.

every English speaking country has it own pronounced grammar.

when this is your own native language can you not differentiate between "there", "their" and "they're

All those can be right in there areas of the US there regional dialects.
and the way americans move around the US theYy can be used by anyone anywhere.

this is the US and we have regional dialects both written and spoken.
and we do not speak the king English here as we kicked the British out in 1776

Originally posted by ANNED
grammar???



All those can be right in there areas of the US there regional dialects.
and the way americans move around the US theYy can be used by anyone anywhere.

This is exactly what I'm talking about.

I don't care about your spelling, I care about your words. There, Their, They're.

They're three different words, none of which have the same meaning, they are not to be interchangeable in any of your "dialects". As an adult whose first language is English there is NO excuse for not knowing the difference.

English is not my native language and I do use spell check but it is a free one and it doesn't catch all of the mistakes. I wouldn't like it if someone ignores my posts because they are not well written. Some of us are very smart and contribute valuable information to ATS and other places. Some people didn't do well in school and have problems with language just as others had problems with math, history, etc. This doesn't make them dumb or unworthy of your time.

I agree completely with GEL and Ziggy et al. This is a discussion board where ideas are bandied about by people of different ages, different nationalities and *importantly* different levels of education.

On forums we make allowances for those who misspell and pedants...it's just the way they are.

Originally posted by Elieser
English is not my native language and I do use spell check but it is a free one and it doesn't catch all of the mistakes. I wouldn't like it if someone ignores my posts because they are not well written. Some of us are very smart and contribute valuable information to ATS and other places. Some people didn't do well in school and have problems with language just as others had problems with math, history, etc. This doesn't make them dumb or unworthy of your time.

I never said you were unworthy of my time, nor that you were dumb. I also think this post was very well written. I didn't do well in school either, and this thread is pointing the finger at those who do claim American English as their native language. This thread was not directed at you, and I'm sorry if you're offended in any way.

Gosh!

When someone has a legitimate point to make, it seems that even moderators get nasty!

It would be helpful if we had a button to click to show our disgust for this!

I for one, would like to see the level of language use and grammar improve. We do discuss some wondeful topics here, and we do have some great dialogue. We also have some people here that can barely use the language it seems.

I for one am able to discern the difference between a native English user and someone who doesn't have English as their first language. The key to detecting it is in the usage and order of words.

I do have great sympathies for people who are unable to use their first language (ENGLISH) with any great degree, but they could always do as I did.

I failed English at school. Two reasons: 1) I wasn't interested in learning, and 2) I had a poor teacher that couldn't engage me with any degree of success.

When I left school and realised that I needed to have good language skills in order to work where I wanted, I learned. I got off my arse and I learned. I taught myself how to use language more appropriately. I learned that reading helps a lot, but I also learned that asking people with better skills than myself was a huge boost to self-improvement.

I can now use my writing skills far better now than I could have ever hoped for if I had just taken the "oh well" approach.

The key here is that we should all encourage one another to improve, but also we should expect more from ourselves.

Occasionally it is good to let others know we would like them to do better, but we can also help one another to be better too.

Just to re-iterate; a Moderator getting irritated, and showing it so visibly, and childishly, is not something I find to be very clever or appropriate.

Just my opinions....

Edited to try to correct all the damned spelling mistakes I made. I can still see there being some after I ahve clicked edit too...

[edit on 14-3-2010 by dampnickers]

Originally posted by KyleOrtonArmy
Why on earth, when this is your own native language can you not differentiate between "there", "their" and "they're"!?

You left out a comma after the word language above.

Yeah, it's the World Wide Web, care to not make yourself look like a blithering fool?

That's actually 2 sentences. Either put a period after Web and capitalize the C or use some other punctuation.

Most of the world is bi-lingual, that is an irrefutable fact, around the world people learn more than one language, so for you to not even use your own correctly is bewildering!

Oops! More run on sentences (you need a period after bi-lingual and after fact).

If I'm just nitpicking, let me know

Yep.

And bad spellers, I'm not talking to you, I'm talking to those who are too lazy to use a # spell check when all one has to do is RIGHT CLICK.

I wonder how you know the difference between bad spellers and lazy people just by reading their posts...

I'm just sayin'.


[edit on 3/14/2010 by Benevolent Heretic]

Heh, I have formed the habit of even when I drop into my Southern dialtect, I spell it as reasonably as possible, and add in a apostrophe where I kip over letters.

While it bugs me when someone doesn't use correct wordings, like their when they mean they are, which leaves me wondering who owns whatever they are speaking of, it's not something I hold to much.


Er... let me try putting it this way.
You have three folks.
One fellow's scruffy, smells a bit, has ripped up pants, and unkept hair.
The middle fellow has on a clean t-shirt and jeans, but could've used a shave this morning.
Final fellow is dressed in slacks, colored shirt, a belt, is clean shaven.

Which of those would you be more likely to pay attention to?
(Yes, I've fit each of those descriptions one time or another.)

On the internet, a good deal of your credibility relies on how you present yourself.

reply to post by KyleOrtonArmy


Do you know, or can you figure out what they're trying to get across? If so, why the fuss?

I make no great claim to a high level of intelligence, but I can usually, almost always in fact, understand what they're talking about.

One grammer mistake that I notice all over this site is the phrase "I could care less" Surely it should be "I could NOT care less", so the amount you care is so small that it can't be reduced?

I agree that people mixing up their there/they're/their.. and so on can be a bit irritating but its just one of those things. It also bugs me a bit when people use 'complicated' words incorrectly, but I'm sure I'm guilty of that at times.

Being a grammer nazi can be fun I try to keep from thinking badly of people as it really doesn't matter.

Originally posted by Elieser
English is not my native language and I do use spell check but it is a free one and it doesn't catch all of the mistakes. I wouldn't like it if someone ignores my posts because they are not well written. Some of us are very smart and contribute valuable information to ATS and other places. Some people didn't do well in school and have problems with language just as others had problems with math, history, etc. This doesn't make them dumb or unworthy of your time.

I didn't do well in school, but it is no excuse for me not to improve.

I have, and it would be good if we all did. After all, we are better able to share our ideas and thoughts when we can effectively communicate.

Think of it this way: If you don't know what the words are to describe your emotions how can you talk about them? If you don't know what the words are for talking about skills, how can you talk about them? How is someone supposed to understand you!?

I do apreciate that English isn't your first language, but this thread didn't appear to have been set up to flame anyone such as yourself. It has been posted because of the people who seem totally unwilling to improve their language skills.

IMPROVED LANGUAGE = BETTER COMMUNICATION!!!!

IMPROVED COMMUNICATION = BETTER UNDERSTANGING

IMPROVED UNDERSTANTING = BETTER SATISFACTION....


Are we getting the point yet?

Originally posted by seagull
reply to post by KyleOrtonArmy

 

Do you know, or can you figure out what they're trying to get across? If so, why the fuss?

I make no great claim to a high level of intelligence, but I can usually, almost always in fact, understand what they're talking about.

I make no great claim to a high level of intelligence either, but I do admit to being terrible at language skills when I left school. I would estimate I had the ability of a gibbon, but I can now communicate better in writing and can get my thoughts out significantly better than I used to.

The point is that we should all try hard to improve ourselves and one another, as I have already stated. Perhaps you read my post.

Although, here we are debating in circles, and not actually achieving anything productive...

Let's all go and get an ice cream. Anyone want one? I'm buying!

[edit on 14-3-2010 by dampnickers]

Y'know when folks are going to fuss about the language usages of others, it might behoove them to be perfect they're own selves...or is it "there"? I forget sometimes...just like everyone else. Gee, I guess that makes us human, no?

If we can understand the message, i don't see what's the big deal. Also, pointed by others posters, OP made grammatical errors too, there's more than just misspelling words.

------

English is my second language.

It never bothers me when people leave punctuation out.

Example:

"That was when I saw the aliens remark and knew he was going to take me"

Incorrect but completely not annoying. My peeve is what they include, unnecessarily.

Example:

"Then the girl's left because there belief's were on a different structure."

That is the one that drives me insane.

Originally posted by dampnickers
Let's all go and get an ice cream. Anyone want one? I'm buying!

I do!

To the OP: To me, the grammar and spelling I use is like accountability. It's something I do FOR me. It's not something I should hold other people to. When you try to hold other people to standards that you've set for yourself, it can get pretty ugly. As you've no doubt experienced.

I do hate it when I mess up and I know I do. My most common mistake is typing "then" when I meant "than". And I HATE it because it's not that I am thinking the wrong word, I just type it wrong because my fingers are much more used to typing "then" than "than". Whew!

Now, how about that ice cream?

Originally posted by seagull
Y'know when folks are going to fuss about the language usages of others, it might behoove them to be perfect they're own selves...or is it "there"? I forget sometimes...just like everyone else. Gee, I guess that makes us human, no?

That's the best bit! We are all human, and remembering this, is a great thing.

We should engage, talk and learn. Attacking someone that creates a thread for open discussion, isn't clever, or justified.

You are right that sometimes we do forget, but shouldn't we keep trying to be better? Shouldn't we keep trying to improve?

After all, wouldn't that mean we communicate better, and more efficiently?

That might make this a much better site than it is already!!!

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Okay then!!! Let's go!

What you having?



P.S.
I know it's off topic, but it's such a serious thread, and we could all use a little amusement now and again!

No 1-Liners: Please do not create minimal "me too," "I agree," or similar very-short replies. (Adding "second line" to short comments doesn't count.) No Big-Quotes: Please edit-down posts you quote to just the important parts as it greatly improves the readability of your response. No Shorthand: Please do not use "txting" shorthand in your posts, this is an international site and many people may not understand your post. Respect: Give credit where credit is due, please do not paste entire pieces content from other sites, privide a short salient snippet and link to the source. State Your Case: If you're posting links to other sites or videos, please include your commentary on how the video is relevant to the discussion.

There, They're, Their. These are three words with three meanings.

Where, Wear, Were. These are also three words with three meanings.

Compliment, Complement.

If you know the words in the first place, which you must as you are using them...why not just arrange them correctly?

If you already know how to do it right, why not do it right? If you don't know, fine, but If you do...do!

Free Ice'd Cream for everybody! But wear do you want to get it? Their's a DQ over they're, and another parlor over their. Mmmm, delic'ous' with a s'nack!