A request

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Steven Greenhough on 18/12/2015 17:27:54:
This thread is shameful. Whilst we might percieve a less comprehensive grasp of the written word as 'lazyness', we might also consider that a great many people won't have any problem deciphering such communications. We might also wish to consider that we are not really on a crusade to raise the lingual bar but merely to smugly profess just how far above it we are flying. I don't particularly like text speak but i accept that when typing on a keyboard it may feel like the natural mode for some. I may not understand why some cannot spell or punctuate, but I accept that it is the case. I fully realise that this will likely rile some people, and I also accept that there will be the possibility of sanctions against my use of the forum, but this thread isn't really a request for clarification of something; It's a political statement to let the inferior oiks know they're not welcome/worthy. It says 'Meet my required standards or go away'(because lets be honest no one is going to miraculously become educationally illuminated due to a internet forum request), and it's downright snobbery.r

.

Well said, Steven

Most of the responses have [underlying the humour] carried the same sentiment, but I applaud you for 'saying it out loud'.

I really hope it has run its course.

MichaelG.

[jason udallParticipant @jasonudall57142]

I have recently read most ( the collected works) of H P Lovecraft.

The language is noticeably different ( not just the cthulu mythos words).
This is just that. Different not wrong.
Read articles from early ME..the language is noticeably different to mainstream English usage of today.
( NOT JUST YUFF SPEEK)

I would hope the op intended to plea to be for less disjointed explanations rather than prose style .

[Peter HallParticipant @peterhall61789]

Hmmm. The OP seems to have opened a can of worms. I entirely understand his point, but personally I would far rather see someone attempt to make a helpful post online than not, however garbled. And I found posting on forums difficult and intimidating at first.

My own grammar and spelling is, of course, faultless and exemplary, but even I am alarmed at the mistakes and simple errors I have made when reading back my own posts before I click the "submit" button. I often have to have several goes at editing before it is completely right. Imagine my horror when I reread the post 3 days later and realise that, quite apart from grammar and spelling, my original post seems to have been constructed randomly from one of those fridge-magnet poetry kits, and makes just about as much sense. "That's not what I meant to say at all!"

Slightly off topic, but following on from what some others have written here….

I have been listening to old men complain about standards of education, literacy and, indeed, just about everything else for the last 50 years. And I'm sick of it. The fact is that life as we know it has improved almost immeasurably over the last half-century. We are better fed, longer-living, wealthier, safer and happier (!) than we have ever been. The advances made in technology (and pretty much every other discipline) during my lifetime are astonishing. This has mostly been accomplished by the ill-educated, ignorant, illiterate, slovenly, lazy, disinterested, feckless ignoramuses who have left school since 1965. Let's give them some credit.

Pete

[steveteeParticipant @stevetee]

As someone whose Great Grandfather was the licensee at the Commericial Hotel in Slaithwaite and therefore possibly qualified to comment on these matters, I would agree that the name of the town can be pronounced Slaweet, or Slathwitt, but never Slaith-wait. I can confirm that Bradford can be pronounced Bratfudd and that Huddersfield can also be spoken Huthersfield. As someone who was born in Cheshire however I can definitely confirm that the dialect in Stockport can be completely different from that spoken in Hyde, they are all of 5 miles apart.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Over the last few days there has be an international conference in Dunedin (NZ) on this subject, and the English language in general. I think it maybe an annual event, held in different parts of the world each year.

Ian S C

[John McNamaraParticipant @johnmcnamara74883]

It Is Christmas, A time for good cheer getting together with friends and family.

Can't this thread be allowed to disappear into the abyss that lessor value posts descend to in this case preferably at a very low level?

Education and literacy do not necessarily travel hand in hand with being smart. Education is no guarantee that a person is a compassionate and caring citizen or a good craftsman. History has recorded numerous illiterate but great men and women. Anyway this forum is about Engineering it is not about English literature criticism.

I am making a new year resolution. I will not post in this thread again. Let it pass across the Styx to the place where it belongs.

Regards
John

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Michael Gilligan on 18/12/2015 13:58:38:

P.S. … For comparison, you may [or, apparently, may not] be interested to know that in the Midlands 'Black Country' dialect the use of we'm [i.e we am] is the dialect version of 'we are'.

Owroight? Yam know what, Black Country dialect is supposed to be the closest to mediaeval English, so that's how Shakespeare ought to be performed (he was a Midlander, after all) and perhaps how all language conservationists should speak?

http://www.sedgleymanor.com/dictionaries/dialect.html

Neil

P.S. Reasonably qualified to opine on the topic being married to a Brummy and with twenty year's of working with Black Country folk under his belt).

P.P.S. yes I know Brummy is very different from Black Country, just as Dudley isn't Walsall!

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

MichaelG.

[Family from Worcestershire & Warwickshire & born in Winson Green Hospital]

… escaped in 1966

[steveteeParticipant @stevetee]

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I blame the BBC letting oiks and plebs onto the airwaves instead of proper RP accents.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

It's easier to nit pick whilst welded to an armchair than actually do anything, old bean.

The Boys from the Black stuff and Auf Weidersein Pet were about an era, it was thinly disguised as comedy but it was true.

Whether you care to encompass it or not doesn't mean to say it didn't happen. Not everyone was on a diet of sandwiches with the crust cut off and Horlicks.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

“The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”

— Socrates, circa 450 BC

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I'm slowly typing up (its to fain for reliable OCR ) my some of my grandfather's reminiscences, written in a broad Bicester dialect (some of the characters in lark Rise to Candleford are thinly disguised relatives). Apparently he tried to get it published in the 40s or 50s, but they didn't like it being in non-standard English. At least that was the excuse, it's mostly about rural toilets…

Neil

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Wh nds vwls. Myb th bst plc t pt ths thrd s dwn a tltt. Crsly mst ppl wll dd th mssng vwls tmtclly bt nt f t strts wth n.

John

–

[mark costello 1Participant @markcostello1]

From across the pond, it is very obvious that Someone could be cussed at royally in Your Country and never have a clue, then there are the names of the food. Listening to DoubleBoost is an education that helps sort things out.

Edited By mark costello 1 on 20/12/2015 14:24:40

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Meaningful title.

Stay on topic.

Avoid hobby-horses, politics, racism, sexism, religion, stereotypes, bad-language, propaganda, provocations and jargon.

Think about your message. Make sure what you typed makes sense and actually says what you meant it to say.

Try to be polite and in good humour..

Check your facts.

Use the spell-checker.

Treat everyone with respect and don't demean people even if you are a world-class smarty pants.,

Tolerate mistakes, misunderstandings, ignorance and the other guy's circumstances and objectives.

Apologise when you get it wrong.

Provide evidence and references if you can.

Say thank you and recognise good work.

Don't be put off by criticism. Nobody is perfect.

You're all wonderful!

Cheers,

Dave

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Thanks Dave,

Especially for the last bit

I'd add 'if it was easy, would it be worth the effort?'

Neil

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

Many years ago, in a former life, I worked for a company that had some very active forums (fora?). Every now and again a post would appear with some grammatical, punctuation or spelling errors, sometimes severe enough to obscure the meaning.Such posts were subsequently attacked.

Somebody decided to create a forum called "Nit Pickers", where people were invited to post anything they liked and watch to see it torn apart as a result of various errors. The objective was to post something that nobody could criticise. Creating such posts was amazingly difficult.

Anyone interested?

[AjohnwParticipant @ajohnw51620]

Nit pickers – Not me 2 reasons.

Only so much time is available for posting a reply,

Some people who have posted in this thread would receive rather strong criticism if they ever went on an effective communications course as showing just how good they can be at joining up words, even sentences plus the effective use of punctuation is counter productive in that area.

I'd get 1/10 for that last paragraph at the most,

John

–

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Just read the post before hitting the "add posting " button especially on an IPad that thinks it can spell but can't.

[KWILParticipant @kwil]

Spell checker on here is hardly……..

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Talking of spelling can't someone correct the ru**y title?

Please.

edit: I mean the line under the title before the title police have a go at me.

Edited By Bazyle on 04/01/2016 22:51:24

[DMBParticipant @dmb]

Cant resist chucking in my 2 pennorth.
How many times have I seen postings on here where a reference has been made, to “arbour” when the correct spelling should be “arbor”?Also,a spell checker is unlikely to know which of the words “there” or “their” is appropriate in a particular circumstance, (for e.g.)

Edited By DMB on 04/01/2016 23:32:33

[David ColwillParticipant @davidcolwill19261]

I have been thinking of making an arbour or some time. I think it should have some nuts but don't know whether they should be walnuts or chestnuts.

Regards.

David.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by Bazyle on 04/01/2016 22:49:51:

Talking of spelling can't someone correct the ru**y title?

Please.

edit: I mean the line under the title before the title police have a go at me.

Edited By Bazyle on 04/01/2016 22:51:24

.

Bazyle,

Don't you think that would rather spoil it

One of the few joys in this thread is that little reminder that none of us is perfect.

MichaelG.

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