If I can't read it, I won't!

[shaygetz]

I don't know how a person who consumed medicinal herbs and spices in the quantities that I did in the '70s could still put a coherent paragraph together. I am indebted to my seminary teacher, Sister Ruth Rodriguez, for insisting that all new students take her college level English class and to my beloved for proof reading everything I type. I highly recommend doing a blog or a How To series here for those who wish to improve themselves in this.

[nachoman]

I don't know how a person who consumed medicinal herbs and spices in the quantities that I did in the '70s could still put a coherent paragraph together. I am indebted to my seminary teacher, Sister Ruth Rodriguez, for insisting that all new students take her college level English class and to my beloved for proof reading everything I type. I highly recommend doing a blog or a How To series here for those who wish to improve themselves in this.

You need to be careful here; after all "ignorance is bliss". Through high school and early college, I felt I was "competent enough" in literature for my intended career path. My university required a senior "grammar" class as a graduation requirement - and it is a good idea. My professor was rather picky, and I learned many of the mistakes that you can catch anywhere. Now I work a job where correct grammar and word choice is *legally* necessary, and my university learnings are definitely coming in handy.

The drawback is, I no quickly spot errors in news articles, government documents (the ballot mentioned previously), things my boss writes... In other words, knowing too much could potentially get be into trouble by rubbing a wrong nerve or internal trouble by simply being obsessive. I try to maintain a "good enough" switch in my head to keep casual emails, Christmas cards, and forum postings from bothering me too much. I've also learned that mixing in a few cliches, intentional misspellings, and local vernacular can make language seem more personal and becoming in the right setting. People would likely get turned off by this forum if it was written in standard "legalese" or in a scientific style.

[Cannonball]

The drawback is, I no quickly spot errors in news articles, government documents (the ballot mentioned previously), things my boss writes. <snip> I've also learned that mixing in a few cliches, intentional misspellings, and local vernacular can make language seem more personal

You mean like the one I underlined above? :mrgreen:

tooges:

[thumsup]

[quote="Squidbait"]OK, my minor rant for the day. Maybe it's aimed at you, but probably not. If it is, then take it personally, because you annoy the heck out of me!

If you haven''t go the energy to hit the "shift" key and the period to start and end a sentence, or hit "return" to start a new thought, I haven't got the energy to wade through your stream-of-conciousness text to figure out what the heck you're talking about. :evil:


Now about that proof reading.

Joe

[ezdays]

The drawback is, I no quickly spot errors in news articles, government documents (the ballot mentioned previously), things my boss writes. <snip> I've also learned that mixing in a few cliches, intentional misspellings, and local vernacular can make language seem more personal

You mean like the one I underlined above? :mrgreen:

tooges:

When we had our own electronic manufacturing business, my wife ran the production assembly area. One thing it took her a while to learn is that it is nearly impossible for one to check their own work for correctness. The same goes for writing. I thought I was a wiz-bang writer, no spelling or grammatically errors, until I realized that my secretary was correcting all my mistakes before she typed whatever it was that I wrote. When you try to check your own work, you normally see what you think was there. When you proof your own writing, you tend to read what you wanted to write, not what is actually on the page. Now days, spell checkers and grammar checkers are a godsend, but they are by no means perfect either. For example, right now Firefox is telling me that "chiche" is misspelled, when it isn't, yet it says, "no" is correct, when we know it isn't where it's used. I had a lot of trouble in MSWord with it confusing the use of, "was" and "were". It would try to correct "I was", to "I were". Maybe later versions of the program got better, but we can't all afford to continually upgrade, just because some software mogul was running a bit short of cash.

This thread by all standards is a healthy one, we got to know a lot about others here and their degree of tolerance. Will anyone change as a result? That's hard to say; for me, I'll still be at the mercy of secretaries, spell and grammar checkers, proofreaders and editors, even though I claim to write professionally on occasions.

[TrainNut]

I've also learned that mixing in a few cliches, intentional misspellings, and local vernacular can make language seem more personal and becoming in the right setting.

Thank you! Perfectly put. You have so eloquently captured exactly what I was thinking.
What nachoman said!

[MasonJar]

I've also learned that mixing in a few cliches, intentional misspellings, and local vernacular can make language seem more personal and becoming in the right setting.

Thank you! Perfectly put. You have so eloquently captured exactly what I was thinking.
What nachoman said!

Hence, David's comment:

Anyone remember Removable Eoads?

That's the local (i.e. Gauge) vernacular in practice...!

Eoads, bug brushes, groindolas, etc... There's a long and storied history here.

As far as the Texters are concerned, I've seen studies that report that the practitioners of things such as "c u L8R", "thx", and "gr8 2 B here" know that there is a difference between what they type and what "proper" English is. It's as if they are speaking/writing in a different language or at least dialect.


Andrew

[Cannonball]

One thing it took her a while to learn is that it is nearly impossible for one to check their own work for correctness.

I found this out the hard way when I submitted my term paper for Advanced English Composition last semester without having anyone proof-read it. I figured the ol' spell checker and I would have it covered. Man, was I ever wrong. I lost 15 points due to spelling errors.

[Sumpter250]

Anyone remember Removable Eoads?

Now that takes me back a day or three!

[shaygetz]

21 REASONS WHY THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS HARD TO LEARN...

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

[train1]

Looks like this thread topic is an excuse for not starting a thread about modelling something or talkin' trains.

[Selector]

I don't like to get involved in these types of exchanges because they tend to have a lot of personality and emotion rubbed well into them. But, against my better judgement...

By its very nature, a forum is a two dimensional place where only the two dimensions have meaning. There is the initiating dimension and the reciprocating dimension. The initiating dimension can have two forms...petitioning and offertory. (That means asking or seeking in the former sense and laying out for others to take or leave in the latter sense.)

Neither of these dimensions can exist by itself for the whole, the forum, to have any value or meaning. In other words, there has to be an interchange, not unlike the proto railroads we model. At the same time, it is not demanded of any one of the participants taking either dimension to act as they must in order to complete the transaction(s) necessary for the forum to have its intended purpose...and meaning. None of us is compelled to do anything, including logging in every day. (We'll forget the rules of conduct for now...they lie outside my message).

We exchange information, including that we can make little or no sense of what a poster has written. Would that exchange not suffice? Why go on to attribute negative characteristics and flaws in a person's character, upbringing, learning, or state of health (physical or mental) solely on the basis of what they contribute to the forum? Why challenge a person out in the open when a private inquiry might make your own contribution to the exchange more helpful? More to the point, is the forum meant to be unidimensionally you or is it bi-dimensionally we? If you find that an obsruction of some kind, an impediment or defect, is getting in the way of your good will to be truly helpful, does pointing out the defect with an assignment of blame augment your intent to help? I would think not. Instead it serves to aggrandize the person criticizing at the expense of the asker who is in need of assistance. Far better to politely ask for clarification, or to use stronger terms in private exchanges off line, than to post where everyone can see that you are offended by what the person has left for all to read.

The civil thing to do is to not be disagreeable when disagreeing with something you see...otherwise you are the proberbial kettle that won't appreciate the delicious irony apparent to more objective onlookers. Seek clarification, ask for an illustration, or request other words.

To me, thinking the worst about someone is easy to do. It is the failure in reason that leads to all bias, which in turn leads to errors in assumption, which eventually breed bigotry and ill will, not the good will needed for this forum to flourish.

Thanks if you read through all that.

-Crandell

[Squidbait]

OK, my minor rant for the day. Maybe it's aimed at you, but probably not. If it is, then take it personally, because you annoy the heck out of me!

If you haven''t go the energy to hit the "shift" key and the period to start and end a sentence, or hit "return" to start a new thought, I haven't got the energy to wade through your stream-of-conciousness text to figure out what the heck you're talking about. :evil:

Now about that proof reading.

Joe

Did I say anything about spelling? It's fixed now Mr. Pickyfussy.

[MountainMan]

I cannot believe this topic is worth five pages...

[Squidbait]

I cannot believe this topic is worth five pages...

It's a slow week...