Poor use of English in the UK
|
Whenever I look at this forum, and others, I am shocked at the way people mangle the English language. I find that many non-native English speakers in UK, particularly the Polish, speak and write English to a far higher standard than native speakers. The problem is that bad English perpetuates itself as children copy parents and students copy teachers, it is therefore incumbent on everybody to make the effort to use the language correctly. We all make mistakes, and the odd typo can slip thruogh (oops!), and some people find it hard to spell accurately, which is also excusable. Dyslexia, to a varying degree, affects about 10% of people but most dyslexics are highly intelligent and motivated. Two of the most successful people I know are dyslexic and one, at the age of the 35, realised how this was hampering his career, and undertook a special training to improve his ability to write well. Since then, he has done incredibly well. |
|
|
What really infuriates me is poor grammar and deliberate mis-spelling, for example:
"We was on the train ..." i also get really annoyed when i see people writing like this and wiv no punctuation or capitals or brakes between sentences it is pathetic i suppose they fink its clevur or sumfink |
|
|
Then there are those who think it's clever to write and talk like Jamaicans, in that awful Yardie slang, or to write as if they were texting on a cellphone. I may well be accused of intellectual snobbery, and that doesn't worry me one iota because I am a snob and proud of it, but I have to say that people who don't take the trouble to speak or write properly demean themselves and debase any value that their opinions might otherwise have. I have no doubt that I will come in for some considerable flack for this comment, but please don't bother unless you can express yourself coherently and accurately, and don't waste your time or mine with insults and abuse as I'm impervious to them. By: MikeP |
|
Comments from visitors
The above is too short; so in my defence, I answered the phone just as I was about to click post, then came back and posted without checking.
grumpyoldwoman - 9-Jan-12 08:17
Tony Hawk has made computer games and dvd's (Ithink) with "Tony Hawk's......." as the title. His fans ignore the apostrophe and end up with a rude reply from Tony Hawks, who is understandably getting fed up with it.
So; apostrophes do matter!
grumpyoldwoman - 9-Jan-12 08:14
From a Teacher -- short and to the point:
In the world of hi-tech gadgetry, I've noticed that more and more people who send text messages and emails have long forgotten the art of capitalization. For those of you who fall into this category, please take note of the following statement...
"Capitalization is the difference between 'helping your Uncle Jack off a horse' and 'helping your uncle jack off a horse'."
Is everybody clear on that?
Lets eat mum.
OR
Lets eat, mum
C MII POYNT?! <B)
If I was an employer, I wouldn't employ anyone who couldn't write their own CV, who wasn't well presented and who couldn't read or write or do basic calculations. It's no wonder that many firms are looking for older employees who were taught properly and who can communicate with others. When I was at school, presentation of my work and my personal appearance were of the utmost importance.
I have just read my last post on here and noticed several mistakes, please acept my appologies, as typing is not my forte.
The overuse of the word "absolutely" is one of my pet hates, along with "these ones", together with phrases like "ramping up"; "rollingout"; "putting in place"( instead of 'introducing'); "on the up" (instead of 'increasing'). In recent years, the practice of putting "more" in front of words like 'quickly', 'slowly', etc. Instead of 'quicker. or 'slower', is also extemely bad English style in my opinion.
The unfortunate thing is that poor English in general seems to be increasing, in favor of a 'dumned down', slovenly style of both spoken and written English.
I am not saying that my own English style is faultless, and on times my puntation leaves something to be desired, but I would like to think that it is somewhat superior to much of what I have heard on TV, and radio in recent years.
I was included in an email conversation recently and words such as "cud" and "shud" were used. One of these guys worked for a large bank called Lehman Brothers, perhaps you've heard of them? Maybe this explains a lot about the fate of that particular company!
Kenny (Site Admin) - 22-Apr-11 01:53
How some people on here manage to understand each other is beyond me! Mind you, if there are frequent misunderstandings I probably wouldn't notice.
At least they seem to have started spelling "sponger" correctly now, after I shouted at them in a schoolmistress fashion!
grumpyoldwoman - 9-Oct-10 14:37
A few of you reading this will be aware of this anyway, and the ignorami will probably remain blissfully ignorant of their lowly status in life.
so i'm like so outta here innit know wo' I mean cos I avent got the thyme to waist wif peeples wot cant rite english proper.
The number of readable comments is dwindling; capital letters are only used for SHOUTING, punctuation is a thing of the past and far too many people just drone on & on & on & on (& on)without a break in the text.
Instead of looking for comments I agree or disagree with, I now just try to find one or two which can be read and understood without too much effort to translate into English or having put my finger on the screen to avoid losing (not "loosing"!) my place.
grumpyoldwoman - 7-Oct-10 07:54
This is not entirely true. Many people who have the resources to become educated choose not to do so, either out of defiance or laziness. Then there are people who have had no formal education, through lack of opportunity, but who through their drive and determination have succeeded in becoming succesful and thus wealthy.
There are plenty of imimgrants who remain illiterate but certainly the English set a poor example.





