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?
John L.
"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?
John L.
Yes, and a bit of punctuation can be useful too. Before anyone screams about English as a second language, the worst offenders are always people with English as their first language. On another forum where I may be found, there was a poster who routinely used comma (,) instead of apostrophe (') (and not always in the right places either) and also never left a space after a full stop. His posts were very difficult to read.
Why don't we show the world what a great language we have, by using it properly ourselves? In parallel with that, we can be very patient with those for whom it is a second or third language. If only some of us took the trouble they do, to express themselves clearly.
(DF96 now ducks behind a wall, in expectation of incoming fire)
Why don't we show the world what a great language we have, by using it properly ourselves? In parallel with that, we can be very patient with those for whom it is a second or third language. If only some of us took the trouble they do, to express themselves clearly.
(DF96 now ducks behind a wall, in expectation of incoming fire)
The art of using the rules of capitalization, punctuation, grammar and spelling to clearly communicate one's thoughts in writing seems to be rapidly passing into history. The flat and run-on style of texts and tweets has spread into fora like this one, where the content is often more complex and needing more clarity.
On the other hand I am more often impressed and somewhat humbled by the posters here whose first language is not English. Compared to what I would be able to do in any other language, most of them manage to make their points clearly and often with humor as a bonus.
On the other hand I am more often impressed and somewhat humbled by the posters here whose first language is not English. Compared to what I would be able to do in any other language, most of them manage to make their points clearly and often with humor as a bonus.
I don't disagree that good punctuation aids reading comprehension, but forums are a casual place. We don't use the same degree of spoken precision and formality in casual conversation as we do when addressing the annual shareholders meeting.
Text messages and short forum posts can stand to be pretty loose. The mini-tomes that some people post here could use better punctuation and formating. There are several long time, frequently posting forum denizens here who need editing.
Text messages and short forum posts can stand to be pretty loose. The mini-tomes that some people post here could use better punctuation and formating. There are several long time, frequently posting forum denizens here who need editing.
Any post which requires scrolling to read in its entirety is, prima facie, badly in need of editing.
Clarity is the main issue. I am not arguing for everything to be in formal technical English, but something better than the written equivalent of a teenager's grunt or a hippy's "whatever" would assist communication.
I am an ESLer.
I stopped responding to these "lazy" posts long ago. If they can't be bothered to not write in text, I can't be bothered to respond
cuz im lazy
I stopped responding to these "lazy" posts long ago. If they can't be bothered to not write in text, I can't be bothered to respond
cuz im lazy
As long as someone is able to get his point across without
making my head hurt when trying to read his post, i'm okay with it.
There are people who have great difficulties in using correct grammar,
i consider myself fairly lucky in this department.
English is my third language and it probably shows,
if there are people who are bothered with that i kindly invite them
to learn my first language.
What makes me lose interest quickly is a big lump of text without any formatting, one sentence written after the other without ever hitting the Enter-button.
Unless the subject really interests me, i simply don't read those posts.
making my head hurt when trying to read his post, i'm okay with it.
There are people who have great difficulties in using correct grammar,
i consider myself fairly lucky in this department.
English is my third language and it probably shows,
if there are people who are bothered with that i kindly invite them
to learn my first language.
What makes me lose interest quickly is a big lump of text without any formatting, one sentence written after the other without ever hitting the Enter-button.
Unless the subject really interests me, i simply don't read those posts.
Oxford comma
As in...
"...newspaper account of a documentary about Merle Haggard:
Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall" Making Light, October 21, 2010
John L.
As in...
"...newspaper account of a documentary about Merle Haggard:
Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives, Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall" Making Light, October 21, 2010
John L.
The scary thing is that english has become the de facto global default language because it is probably the easiest language to learn. I am regularly astounded by how bad native english speakers can be at using it correctly.
That is actually correct: it is a list containing four people in three entries. However it has scope for misunderstanding and mirth, especially if read with the wrong length of pause, so could be better put as "Among those interviewed were Kris Kristofferson, Robert Duvall and his two ex-wives" although this creates an ambiguity (whose ex-wives were interviewed?). Second try "Among those interviewed were his two ex-wives and Kris Kristofferson and Robert Duvall" - poorer written English, clearer spoken English? Those striving for clarity will understand the problem; the rest will wonder what all the fuss is about.auplater said:
"Amongst those interviewed were his two ex-wives, along with Robert Duvall and Kris Kristofferson"
🙂
🙂
You perhaps meant to say "English, not American"? 😎
It was interesting to see some people complaining in the linked article about retaining an "archaic" word. All major flavours of English retain words which other flavours regard as archaic, and sometimes this allows for subtle distinctions of meaning. One of my concerns is that these distinctions (and some much less subtle ones) seem to be disappearing, which impoverishes the language. Having said that, I know that I don't always get these right myself but at least I am aware that there is an issue.
It was interesting to see some people complaining in the linked article about retaining an "archaic" word. All major flavours of English retain words which other flavours regard as archaic, and sometimes this allows for subtle distinctions of meaning. One of my concerns is that these distinctions (and some much less subtle ones) seem to be disappearing, which impoverishes the language. Having said that, I know that I don't always get these right myself but at least I am aware that there is an issue.
I live in New England, so "flavour" will do nicely as either the American or English spellings are accepted pretty universally around here.. 😀
And we also use "Amongst" in this obscure colonial backwater.. (Not an archaic usage around here at all)
English has regional flavors as others have commented, and the term "American" referenced in conjunction with the language we all speak makes me a bit uncomfortable. (Canadians from the nearby maritime provinces for example often have accents that are not noticeably different from the range existing here.) I've found very few native English speakers I couldn't understand despite some rather significant regional differences across the English speaking world - in fact the only person who ever told me he didn't speak "American" clearly couldn't speak "English" either.. 😛 😀
And we also use "Amongst" in this obscure colonial backwater.. (Not an archaic usage around here at all)
English has regional flavors as others have commented, and the term "American" referenced in conjunction with the language we all speak makes me a bit uncomfortable. (Canadians from the nearby maritime provinces for example often have accents that are not noticeably different from the range existing here.) I've found very few native English speakers I couldn't understand despite some rather significant regional differences across the English speaking world - in fact the only person who ever told me he didn't speak "American" clearly couldn't speak "English" either.. 😛 😀
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