English Grammar and Spelling

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm increasingly reading (in printed matter where editors should know better) of people 'honing in on' something, which doesn't really make sense.

I've never heard nor seen someone use "hone" that way...not that I'm aware of, anyway.

Perhaps I just mentally corrected the misuse.

 

[freyar]

One word misuse that really irks me is "dilatate" for "dilate" (apparently dilatate is a real word, but it is an adjective). "Orientate" for "orient" also bothers me, but apparently some dictionaries consider it acceptable. Seems like it originated in the 1840s or 1850s, so it's somewhat recent. (Since it means precisely "to orient," I wonder if it possibly originated as an error of speech.)

PS. Can someone tell me what "pwn" means?

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

As someone who has watched my friend from Scotland attempt a conversation with my friend from Northern Louisanna.

While both were speaking what they called "English" they were lucky to understand 15% of what the other was saying.

English has some very regional (and technical) dialects.

I live in the Midwest, but the amount of Spanish that is now in everyday use has dramitically increased.

Pick up an English Grammer book form 1700, 1800, 1900, heck; 1950. And see how it resembles the "Correct" English of today (which can vary widely from Region to Region).

Look at my Grandmother born & raised entirely in the South & Texas, compared to my other Gradmother raised entirely in Rural Ohio. They really have very different vocabularies & grammer.

English is a very fluid language. Moan & groan all you want, it'c going to continue to change.

Personally, I agree about all the "Text Speak", and other things, but I realize that the language Adapts & changes.

I'm not doing the best job of changing with it (actually I'm pretty bad).

But, I'll Survive (Yes, I know I started a Sentance with But; And I'm betting the Semicolon is wrong too).

Don't like it, but I deal:

Adios.

PS. I often spellcheck. Unless this thing has a Spellcheck; I have to Copy All (Open Word Processor) Paste All- Run Spellcheck; Copy All-Paste All; then post. I don't always have the time for that (or am just lazy & tired at the moment; like now). Another Semicolon. Never was good with those.

If I concentrate I have excellent English skills (a good portion of my job is Technical Writing & SOP's),

I jus ain't takin any of that work thingy homes wiz me tonite.

 

[Kurashu]

I've said LOL outloud before. And XD. And OMG. Usually, I'm being a sarcastic butthole, but sometimes they slip out.


As for the debate at hand, it bothers me when people have really bad grammar and spelling. However, if it's alright, or if I like the person, I don't let it bug me. Txt spelling bothers me, and I make a point to use proper English whenever I text, unless it's urgent. But, why wouldn't I just call instead? That's a tangent, at any rate. Haha. I made a math joke, in a thread about English. Who knew Calculus could be so funny? Oh derivatives, what we do without you?

 

[Tewligan]

The one thing that really bugs me, but something I'm not sure is wrong, is people writing "should of" or "would of". It should be wrong, by my reckoning (since it is "should have" shortened to "should've") but I've seen it used in far too many books. So I dunno, maybe it's the right way to write it.

Your thought that it may be okay since a lot of people do it would upset Anatole France quite a bit.

 

[the_myth]

As someone who has watched my friend from Scotland attempt a conversation with my friend from Northern Louisanna.

While both were speaking what they called "English" they were lucky to understand 15% of what the other was saying.

English has some very regional (and technical) dialects.

I live in the Midwest, but the amount of Spanish that is now in everyday use has dramitically increased.

That's speaking, not writing. Virtually everyone is supposed to learn the same rules of writing [with a few variations...the most notable of which is the distinction between British spelling and punctuation vs. American spelling and punctuation].

Pick up an English Grammer book form 1700, 1800, 1900, heck; 1950. And see how it resembles the "Correct" English of today (which can vary widely from Region to Region).

Look at my Grandmother born & raised entirely in the South & Texas, compared to my other Gradmother raised entirely in Rural Ohio. They really have very different vocabularies & grammer.

Actually, no, they don't. Language rules in 1700, 1800, and perhaps even as late as 1900 were not as formalized as they became AFTER standardized public education and mass literacy (initiated in the mid-1800s, but still not at 100%...hence the impetus for this thread?). The intent was for everyone to be on the same page [so to speak] with certain rules.

While there are regional lexicons [groups of used words], your 2 grandmothers can speak to and understand each other perfectly. And they possess the same grammar, which is the order and location of words within sentences. For example, they both will say, "I went to the store yesterday" and understand one another because they possess the same grammar. One of them does not say, "To yesterday went the store I," which is not English grammar.

English is a very fluid language. Moan & groan all you want, it'c going to continue to change.

Again, not entirely accurate. While all languages shift, grow, and change, there are tons of mechanisms to slow this, like standardized education. Such changes do not happen overnight, and it's pretty clear that a few thousand people making the same mistakes will not necessarily generate changes. After all, it only takes more education reforms and we will have a generation that understands "could've" isn't "could of."

But, I'll Survive (Yes, I know I started a Sentance with But; And I'm betting the Semicolon is wrong too).

Don't like it, but I deal:

Actually, there are certain times when sentences can begin with "but," and you did so correctly. But, alas, you did misuse the semi-colon. A semi-colon replaces the need for "and" when splicing 2 sentences together.

The_Myth
Master of the Semi-colon!

 

[trancejeremy]

You are correct; "should of" is absolutely, positively wrong by any currently accepted rules of English grammar. The fact that people are doing it does not make it correct, at least not yet. Hopefully, it never will be.

But the thing is, people have been doing it since the 1930s at least. I've seen it in countless novels from fairly big name authors. I could swear I've seen in it Raymond Chandler's writings. I know I've seen it in works by H. Beam Piper and Louis L'amour.

 

[Mark Chance]

Leave the high-horse in the stable.

By the time the first post was done, this sound advice was already far too late.

 

[diaglo]

Jargon is appropriate in context.

IYKWIMAITYD.


diaglo "my hat of d02 know no limits" Ooi

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

*"pwned" is not a word. Niether is *"1337."

Emphasis mine.

Quick update, buddy. Niether isn't a word, either.