The orthographer grows philosophical

[flemmings]

Half the time I think going back to the looseness of spelling that Shakespearian (Shaxperian, Shakesperian, Shaksperian, Shaxberdian) English had would be cool, and half the time I think chatspeak and the net have done exactly that and hate it with an unyielding passion. (Pet hates, in no order: to instead of too ('I want one like that to.' To what, is my automatic response); alot as one word; and the apostrophe'd plural: 'many country's are feeling the credit pinch.' Dear god, what *do* they teach them in these schools?)

And in between I have random moments at the front lines, where written English yields to spoken, and am inclined to be charmed by things like 'without more adieu' (no use in long good-byes) and 'waiting on tenderhooks.' Tenderhooks sound rather pleasant, in fact.

And then I think it's just because I'm a suck for a pun, and 'tenderhooks' is quite as bad as 'company's.'

Comments

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

Dear god, what *do* they teach them in these schools?
My 18yr old cousin is taking grammar in post secondary... she didn't know what an adverb was. *despairs*

[summer-queen.livejournal.com]

When my parents were grade school teachers, they were told not to flunk kids (didn't stop them from doing it, but....), as school policy was to NOT flunk anyone, even if they *should* flunk. (because heaven forbid we flunk someone lest we stifle their creativity, or wound their pride)

But then, I didn't really learn much English grammar until I took French in high school. Then I finally learned all the verb tenses by name and function, and so on.

Things that drive me nuts: per say for per se, adding -ed to make something past tense when it doesn't need it (broadcasted).... I know there's more, but I'm blanking.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

To be fair, the thinking behind broadcasted is understandable. The noun broadcast becomes a verb and one makes a regular past tense of it, because you don't remember that the (now slightly archaic) cast is a verb itself.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Per say of course is from people not taking Latin in HS, which would have taught them grammar as well.

[flemmings.livejournal.com]

Somehow I assumed that the problem had been around so long that the people supervising the interns also couldn't write or spell. The letters that get published on The Star's webpage, that certainly don't come from young people, display all the shortcomings I've mentioned, as well as the usual stand-bys: there and they're, the 'd' left off of passive participles ('we will be close tomorrow'), and paragraph-long run-on sentences devoid of caps, with dangling participles out the wahoo.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

I can attest from my workplace that elementary grammar and spelling errors are perpetrated by all ages, and I wish they'd STOP.