Literate

[ThisEmptySoul]

TheHellDevil

P.S. Notice how I wrote "a language in which I'm already fluent"? I'm sure a lot of you guys usually say "a language I'm already fluent in" instead, especially if you're speaking instead of writing. Isn't that part of the evolution?

Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.  

[charamath]

LOL! Anyone ever read 'Eats, shoots, and leaves?' I think I made it obviouse that a small amount of text talk is agreeable to me when it comes to chatting online. I'm never going to say 'LOL' in person. That just makes me want to slap the person. There seems to be a fair amount of literate typers on here, but there's still a few whose posts I have to read several times because they're just so oddly written. You can tell alot about a person by the way they type online, I think.  

[TheHellDevil]

ThisEmptySoul

TheHellDevil

P.S. Notice how I wrote "a language in which I'm already fluent"? I'm sure a lot of you guys usually say "a language I'm already fluent in" instead, especially if you're speaking instead of writing. Isn't that part of the evolution?

Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I shall not put.

lol It does look a bit clunky though.  

[Lady_Niqui]

n00bspeak or L33tspeak is like the shorthand butchering of the english language commonly used by online gamers and people who hang out in chatrooms alot. It really helps when you need to type fast.

example: omgwtfpwned ~ one of the most common I could think of
what that means is basically you lose.
L33t = elite

I'm not really surprised by the literacy in the forum. But then again, this is really the only forum I hang out in.  

[Vaidurya]

Actually, I'm quite the chatter, if I do say so myself. Honestly, I've never stopped to spell "a lot" as one word, or fallen to many of the lingual grievances spoken of in here. Of course, each community I frequent has its own lexicon, and I am known to adapt and use certain phrases from those areas. An interesting note on that, however, is that most of these words do not involve using fewer letters than the "proper" spelling, and generally deal with a simple mixing-of-letters or substitution.

A few simple rules that I try to suggest to any and all who insist on speaking with me on a fairly frequent basis would be:
1. You're and your. If you're (you are!) not going to use them right, that's your problem.
2. Their, they're, and there: If it's not here, it's there. If they're (they are!) playing with it, it's theirs.
3. A lot. There's no such word as "Alittle", though "allot" is a word, it refers to rations.
4. I. If you capitalize nothing else, at least capitalize the pronoun "I."
5. Then and than. <,>, are both use than. Then refers to time. Time doesn't have an "a" in it, so neither does the word that correlates to it.
6. Accept and except. It is not acceptable to make exceptions for poor grammar on a thread. There is an edit button, and you can make full use of it. (accept is generally pronounced as "ak-sept" while "except" should be pronounced as "ik-sept." Sound out your words, because an 'i' sound is never made by the letter 'a.')

I find these are good rules to follow anywhere, and people who can't take the time to educate themselves on these words (they were 4th grade words when I learned them, but my niece just started 3rd grade, is 8-years-old, and ALREADY knows them and their differences) then you shouldn't attempt to affect a higher stance than others who are more willing to learn than you.  

[ladyrose2]

I dont like all the abbreviations; sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out what it means.. I dont mind . I guess in school teachers are having problems with students writing text in their essays and reports.I think they need to be taught their is a time and place for text or abbreviations.You certainly cant expect to go to college and expect to write papers in text..  

[pretty hate machine]

While I do think being literate is important, I also try to keep in mind that not all people who own a computer and can use the internet have a degree in English. For some, English may be their second, third or even fourth language, and for some people it's a difficult language to grasp. Other times, these are kids who haven't even graduated high school yet, or might not even be in high school. I just try to take things with a grain of salt. So long as I understand the gist of what they're trying to get across, I really don't care if they use proper grammar or spelling.

And if we're going to turn this into a discussion about proper English, then most people should remember that when writing formally, you should never use contractions. ^_~  

[Seanne]

TheHellDevil

I'm going to have to somewhat disagree here.... Well, I mean that the literacy here doesn't surprise me. But the opinion that literacy is a sort of virtue is a bit hard for me to swallow.

I guess it's because of how English and other languages have evolved over centuries. I have a hard time believing that the language we're using and calling "literacy" is really the "right" way to write and speak, seeing the history of language and actually experiencing its evolution in the form of internet leetspeak, ebonics, etc.

Regardless, I'm going to have to admit that I prefer reading and writing in the language that everyone here agrees is "literacy". It's just easier for me to understand a language in which I'm already fluent instead of learning a new ones, obviously. I can still type fairly quickly in alternate caps and leetspeak though. Sometimes, they're a good way of lightening a stuffy situation in chats.


P.S. Notice how I wrote "a language in which I'm already fluent"? I'm sure a lot of you guys usually say "a language I'm already fluent in" instead, especially if you're speaking instead of writing. Isn't that part of the evolution?

I completely understand what you mean by the evolution of language.... We don't speak today like we did even 100 years ago, but these changes that happen to speech are subtle and take time. The issue is, I think, the fact that you have in one or two short decades (or however the hell long it's been) that have spawned a subculture of... well... linguistic idiocy. I can understand abbreviations and such in text messages and the like, but other than that, there really is no reason to not put up the effort to spell things out or use decent grammar. Yes, spelling and grammar mistakes happen, but too often the sorts of things I see are violations of the most basic rules of the language, things that any grade school child should know better than to do.

More to the point, there's a vast difference between putting a preposition at the end of a sentence and typing down a string of near-incomprehensible letters and numbers.  

[Vaidurya]

Since everyone else is quoting you, I guess I might as well join in on the fun.

TheHellDevil

I'm going to have to somewhat disagree here.... Well, I mean that the literacy here doesn't surprise me. But the opinion that literacy is a sort of virtue is a bit hard for me to swallow.

I can understand why literacy being a virtue is a hard pill to take, but keep in mind that most of the mistakes seen in boards are things known to most fourth graders--that is, if they paid any attention whilst in school.

TheHellDevil

I guess it's because of how English and other languages have evolved over centuries. I have a hard time believing that the language we're using and calling "literacy" is really the "right" way to write and speak, seeing the history of language and actually experiencing its evolution in the form of internet leetspeak, ebonics, etc.

I have to point to Seanne here, for her apt response to this statement. Might I add, though, that the underlined word above is not in its proper form? You should use "literate" instead.

TheHellDevil

Regardless, I'm going to have to admit that I prefer reading and writing in the language that everyone here agrees is "literacy". It's just easier for me to understand a language in which I'm already fluent instead of learning a new ones, obviously. I can still type fairly quickly in alternate caps and leetspeak though. Sometimes, they're a good way of lightening a stuffy situation in chats.

Again with the literacy/literate mix-up. Blah blah blah.. Language in which.. blah blah blah.. instead of learning a new ones... Wait, what? A new ones? ... The new ones? A new one? Hmm... an ambiguous statement, for where does the true typo lie? Well, back to reading. Typing quick in alternating caps and leetspeak. Not exactly things I'd be proud of, but then again, I recognized leetspeak for the idiocy it was when it first reared its ugly head. Yeah, I'm that old.

TheHellDevil

P.S. Notice how I wrote "a language in which I'm already fluent"? I'm sure a lot of you guys usually say "a language I'm already fluent in" instead, especially if you're speaking instead of writing. Isn't that part of the evolution?

I prefer to say, "I'm fairly fluent in [that language]," in which case, I may say either English, American Sign Language, or Spanish. I'm still learning German, Russian, French, Italian, and Japanese, so I claim no mastery or even base skill in speaking these latter languages, although I'm developing a fairly good Japanese accent. It is nice to see that you aren't ending sentences with prepositions, but what good is that grammar rule if you forget so many others?  

[Lady_Threnody]

Cheshirecatqee

No because we are oldies who have grown up without mobiles and the internet.

Actually, I grew up with a PC in my house, the internet, and lots of gadgets lol. That doesn't mean that I can't write correctly or hold a long, serious discussion with people on/off line.

"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent."
~Anonymous
[ No, you can't use my tribal images.

 

[Momma Mira]

I'm actually quite pleased with the level of literacy in the geezer threads. As I said to a young whipper-snapper a while back, if I want to decipher cryptic writing, I'll look at what my almost two-year old drew me.

I think it was a doggie.

The point is, you have time to think out an answer and type legibly. You should. That way everyone is clear of what you're saying.

ninja  

[opheliaswims]

I have to admit, I was really hoping that joining this guild would free me for all the typos and abbreviations that I don't understand. But sadly, it's only marginally better. I'm kin of a grammar/spelling whore, though, so it probably just bothers me more than normal people. ^_^;;  

[Veddhartha]

I enjoy the literacy. Just because that its easier for me to see and know the moods and meanings. I'm again looking this matter as foreigner.

Being clear with writing gives better impression of the person. Typos and misspellings doesn't bother me when its not 13375p34k or otherwise mindless gibberish. I too use dictionary regularly and word check too (that doesn't work on this small laptop). For most parts I know what words are hard for me to type, even if I could say those out loud and I'll check those. I need almost copypaste word "foreign" each time. XP Edit-button is a friend.

I don't either expect people being perfect with grammar. Hell, I can only see if sentence looks a bit weird but I might not have a clue why.

I feel strange to write this, but. Internet is used by people all ages, even surprisingly young, almost all around the world. Even adult can be bad at English but still s/he has a need to use it. In Finland these days, kids age 14-15 speak and write much better English than their parents. Damn, they get even better linguistic teaching that I got just ten years ago. biggrin  

[Divash]

Kyreie

What is n00bspeak, and l33tsp34k?

n00bspeak and l33tsp34k ARE (not IS):

newb-speak, the modern version of l33tsp34k.

l33tsp34k, a wannabe-cool way to type out "elite-speak," which is to say, in the late 80s and early 90s, it was considered the cool way to communicate through text.

They're the early versions of chatspeak and "txt." Both are bloody well annoying.

pretty hate machine

While I do think being literate is important, I also try to keep in mind that not all people who own a computer and can use the internet have a degree in English. For some, English may be their second, third or even fourth language, and for some people it's a difficult language to grasp.

Right. For the sake of the ESL community (that's English as a Second Language), shouldn't the native speakers try to be as clear as possible, so as not to obfuscate their intentions and meanings? If someone has to consult a dictionary when reading what you write, at least write in the clearest way possible.  

[Venuslady]

LOL I guess that's the main reason why I love heart the geezer guild. Everyone here IS literate, and has a GOOD command of the English language. Granted, I use "noobspeak" and "L8r" once in a while, but I don't do it on a regular basis. Also, I was able to read even before I started school. Granted that English is changing, but if you want to be understood, spell clearly! mrgreen