It's not cricket

[Steve Maskery]

Look all, I'm not trying to pick a fight here, really I'm not.

But.

I've just spent five minutes trying to make head or tail of what someone is trying to say. I'm not mentioning any names, and there are actually several offenders here. But can we all learn to speak something resembling the same language, which here is English, and our overseas friends are very welcome indeed.

Please get a keyboard with all the keys on it. Then use them. A sentence begins with a Capital Letter (use the Shift key to achieve this) and ends with a full stop or period (you will find this between the comma and the slash on a UK keyboard). You will be astonished at the increase in the number of people who bother to read what you have to say, because it becomes a pleasure and not a chore to decipher the incessant stream of characters that pour forth.

If you want to communicate to us, make it easy, eh? I don't want to have to work at it. If it is difficult I shall just ignore it, which is a great pity, because I suspect you actually have something to say which is worth listening to.

And yes, I know I've just finished that last sentence with a preposition. I'm not infallible, even I realise that. Sometimes.

Come on guys, make an effort to write legibly, won't you?

Don't get me started on spelling.

Frustrated Steve

 

[matt]

...and breeeath. :wink:

I agree and believe that everyone should aspire to be able to communicate in a clear, concise, and elegant fashion. However, I also accept that for some the written word is not a significant part of their daily life and nor is typing.

I aspire to be able to create out of wood, however, it is not part of my daily life but I may learn something from a skilled but illiterate person.

We can't all be good at everything - sigh...

 

[Steve Maskery]

...and breeeath. :wink:

I know, I know, but I feel quite strongly about the abuse of the English language.

I agree about being able to learn from someone who is challenged by their literary skills, but I'm not talking here about being able to use the subjunctive! It's just that 300 words in lower case and without a punctuation mark in sight is more than I want to cope with. Yes, it may be my loss.

BTW on Friday I was forced to point out to an otherwise delightful young waitress that there is no apostrophe in Courses. You can imagine my popularity.....

 

[PowerTool]

Quite agree,Steve - but it's part of the general decline in the correct use of English;there is too much "text-speak" used in society (why? - you don't get charged by the letter here!) and reliance on "spellchecker" (which will tell you if the word is spelt correctly,but not if it is the correct word)

That doesn't mean I expect every word to be spelt correctly by everyone,but would expect to be able to work out what the odd word is.

And yes,I know English is not the first language for all the forum users.
(Who I find generally do exceptionally well with a second language)

Andrew (who despairs at the U.K. education system )

 

[Losos]

Steve, thanks for starting this thread. My pet hate is people who use a lower case when refering to themselves, i.e. "i" insted of "I"

Interesting to note that all respondants, so far, have used this correctly

 

[Aragorn]

idontreallyseewhattheproblemis.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I'm with Steve. I even use punctuation in text messages 8) 8) 8)

Paul

 

[martyn2]

what about the guys and girls that have problems, say with being ... dyslexic ?

martyn

 

[gwaithcoed]

Thank you Steve, I agree with everything that you have said.

Alan.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Martin,

You are right, of course, that some people do not write well through no fault of their own.

However, I think we should all be encouraging each other to write well, because in this ultra-competitive world in which we live, good written work can be such a powerful tool. Whether it be a job application, where one might be up against 200 others who have applied for the same job, or battling with the tax man, the ability to express oneself clearly and concisely is so important.

A by-product of forums (should that be fora? :wink: ) such as this is that it gives us plenty of practice in writing - let's be as encouraging about developing writing skills as we are with woodworking skills

Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Martyn,

Apologies - just noticed that I couldn't even spell your name correctly #-o #-o #-o

Paul

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thank you all for your support, I shall wear it always
I'm not having a go at people who genuinely have difficulty, not at all, but as I say, some basic puctuation makes it so much easier to understand, and FWIW, I think it is propbably just laziness in most cases. If I'm wrong I'm prepared to eat humble pie.

It's the writer's loss, as I simply give up trying, especially if it is a page full.

Enough said, I think. Let's get back to woodwork.
S

 

[SammyQ]

Wot, an' givus teachers no chance to bellyache abaht all thos spellins that wee get evry dey?

example: "incest" instead of "insects"

example -specially for Gill and Alf: "pelvic gurgle"

Want to know THE most badly spelt word in Biology teaching? "ORGANISM" - just think about it.

None of these kids were SEN, dyslexic, or plain daft. I agree fully with that man Maskery, "Long live the three R's" and the sooner the "Revised Curriculum" re-introduces them, the better.

 

[Gill]

Today is the 53rd anniversary of Parliament considering a proposal to simplify English spelling. One MP described the English language as "half-way between the alphabetic system of Spanish and the picture-writing of Chinese".

The bill was eventually dropped, but not before it afforded the media the opportunity of using the glorious headline, "Spelling bill passes second reading".

Gill

 

[Woodythepecker]

martyn2 wrote:

what about the guys and girls that have problems, say with being ... dyslexic?

Some of the worlds greatest singers, tv personalities, sportsmen and brains, were/are dyslexic:
Robbie Williams
Noel Gallagher
Michael Barrymore
Muhammad Ali
Tom Cruise
Anthea Turner
Guy Ritchie
Richard Branson
Steve Redgrave
Albert Einstein (Yes the brainbox himself, little old Albert Einstein)

and this handicap never stopped them from being one of the best in their particular field.

Regards

Woody

 

[martyn2]

I Know, you forgot to add me to the list ! Not to sure what kind of artist I would be :?:

Martyn

 

[frank]

I am not as well educated as some on this forum ,but it seems to me that if you try to answer someones question and it is not in proper english then you should not post at all ,untill you go and learn how to .
If this offends some of the group just think how many wont post and just lurk ,in case they to get told they are doing it all wrong .
I like to work with a bit of wood i am not a craftsman ,just a part time woodworker ,if i can do someone a favour i will but i wont do them a disfavour .

Mr maskery and Sammieq
If you want to go through this post and under line any mistakes please feel free to do so .

frank

 

[Steve Maskery]

No need to, Frank, it's quite clear what you are saying. Each sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. There are other errors, yes, but it is quite readable.

My gripe is about posts which are not readable.

Thank you for your contribution.

Cheers
Steve

 

[SammyQ]

Hear, hear!!

Vote Maskery!!

 

[Devils Advocate]

Hey sorry, and I'll echo what was said at the very beginning of this thread that I don't want to start a fight...

I'm with Steve Maskery on this, but I can't agree with his last comment about it being quite clear what Frank is saying. I'm not referring to the spelling, punctuation or grammar or any such thing, only that Frank seems to contradict himself in the first two sentences!
In the first he says that people shouldn't post unless they can do it in proper English, then in the second that people shouldn't be put off from posting in case they get it wrong.
These are the sort of vaguaries that should be avoided, which are often caused by not reading what has been typed before submitting or typing in a temper - and I'm talking from personal experience here, not pointing a finger at anyone.