I find the tendency of (mostly) youth to spell words incorrectly to make texting easier (I guess) very annoying
--it tends to bleed out into other writings. I recall a few years ago, when government children's prison "teachers" were telling kids that wrong answers were "all right" to avoid offending their students' tender sensibilities. Then, along comes texting, which becomes a perfect fit with bad spelling and poor grammar.I find texting suspect in its value anyway because all it's good for is "passing notes in class" and for causing auto collisions. Seems like a regular phone call would suffice--after safely parking the car, or finding a private corner in which to make the call.
In business, as well as in polite society, an inability to spell properly and use proper grammar brands an individual as semi-literate at best, and as a Victim of Government schools at worst, or just plain stupid.
Dumbing down the herd.
Warm regards,
Col. Hogan
Stalag California
16 comments:
What about dyslexics who cannot possibly spell correctly?
Oh, and BTW, texting isn't going away, ever.
Kids never call each other on the phone and they never will again, because phone conversations are as antiquated as land lines, cursive writing, or phone booths. For that matter, kids don't even email each other. Hard to even comprehend, but email is getting to be archaic, except as a way to send business communication.
These days you don't email Christmas pictures to Grandma you post them on Flickr and she logs on and looks at them, downloading the ones she thinks are cute.
And my heart specialist asks me to call her Julie. Or Julie Anne.
Brave New World my friend.
Party on dude...sorry, couldn't resist the opportunity to throw in one of my least favorite modern day exchanges.
I'm also dyslexic and have to fight myself all the time. If you can believe it, I was an accounting major and made it through two complete years, leaving my third when it became evident that most of my errors were divisible by 9.
Speaking of dyslexia, now I get to do the word verification thing...
Brave New World my friend.
Give it ten years or so and they'll be communicating by virtual telepathy, with chips and radio transmitters implanted in their brains. They won't need spelling and typing skills, maybe not even grammar skills. Hell, someday they probably won't need even language. They can just be "all One" with each other.
sasob
They can just be "all One" with each other.
'Course, if a computer virus gets started, some "One" will be up the creek. :-)
sasob
My son is dyslexic and can't spell his way out of a wet paper bag. It is so bad that even spellcheck can't help sometimes. Yet, his reading level (supported by reading comprehension tests) is 13.2 (he just began 8th grade). He has read two Harry Potter books and the Amityville Horror plus another book I don't recall in the last two weeks or so. I'm not sure how he manages it.
There was a time when TWC believed that anyone could learn to spell by using the phonetic method. I have revised my opinion.
And finally, texting suits his dyslexia because he can't spell anyway. :-)
You're right about the phone call. Folks I talk to don't want to wait three days for a message. That would be about how long it takes for me to text someone.
You nailed it Colonel. Today's younger generation (30's and under) can't construct a coherent paragraph. Of course there are exceptions. But, in general, their spelling and grammar are atrocious. They don't know the difference between there and their, to, too and two, your and you're, etc. It's painful to read.
You've been mighty quiet for about three weeks or more, Col. You okay over there in the stalag?
sasob
Golly! If you put an unlimited number of dyslexics on an unlimited number of word processors, one of them ought to get a word spelled right occasionally, eh?
....And texting will go away one day, I'd bet soon. Either He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named will make electricity illegal or we'll soon progress to something less utterly clumsy.
TF,
The greatest fear of any dyslexic: copying a misspelled word and geting it right!
sob,
Having a divil of a time with the evil Time Warner. I've been unable to get on the net for that long. Occasionally for a couple of minutes at work. Right now, I charmed my neighborhood barrista into letting me use the coffee shop computer for a little while.
Steve,
I never text. Never. And I never answer a text, because I never look for them on my phone. So there.
Occasionally I try to chat on the 'puter, but I too am quite slow.
TWC's son has quit trying to get me to chat on facebook, I assume out of frustration.
BC,
I liken my attempts to read the writing of an "under 30" to the old tech manuals from Japanese electronics from the early 1980's....except the Japanese could make themselves understood, after a fashion, if you stayed at it long enough.
Sob,
....And no, I'm not exactly ok, but the problems stem mostly from Mordor DC and Sanctimonious, Stalag California.
Shortening the words when texting is done so that you can used fewer letters to say something, also to save money.
But you are right, it does promote stupidity in actual writing and i have noticed that many people out there can't even write a sentence that makes sense.
It's very irritating when you have to look at a memo and try to figure out what the moron is trying to say.
It definitely is dumbing down the herd, it's an easier way to control them you see.
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