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Post by rdywenur on Aug 22, 2007 12:04:50 GMT -7
I have a question to ask anyone that visits other forums besides this one. There is one I visit and the poster there writes all her posts in shortcut words so bad that unless you are either real smart or Internet savy may not understand what she wrote. (picture a person new to the English language) Well this just irritates the heck out of me and I posted that I don' think she should be posting this way. What are your feeings in this regard. She replied that most people write on the internet this way and it is being taught in PC classes also. Hello...maybe if you are in a chat room or in an instant messaging with your friends but I don't feel it is appropriate in a forum to post this way. (and she tells me also she has written books) I think anyone that massacres the English language intentionally should be hung. I don't mind LOL or IMHO but those two examples are not the whole post. Here is an example:
And she was talking about spelling herself. She thinx its Gr8 and cute (was her response) No wonder no one knows how to spell anymore.
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Post by kaima on Aug 22, 2007 15:28:28 GMT -7
Rdy,
I must go back to the basics to comment on this one. A person must address the intended audience, not speaking above or below them. She evidently feels she is doing this or is satisfied with the group that she is addressing and from which she elicits responses.
When I have encountered irritating postings then I skip over them unless the author provides a 'hook' to show that the topic is interesting to me. I skip over long quotations when people just cut and paste long dissertations - we see some of that here. To the contrary, I sometimes take a bit of extra pain in writing to explain some Americanism in my posting for readers who possess English as a second language, the most recent example was the use of 'running on empty'.
Perhaps the woman feels in the techy avant-garde. Even if so, I would likely skip her posts and leave them for others to participate in. I see it as discourteous and even lazy, when you compare the trouble of consciously spelling 'bcuz' in place of the standard 'because'.
She evidently cares more about projecting an image than in projecting the idea.
Kai
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Post by bescheid on Aug 22, 2007 16:33:45 GMT -7
Chris
I must speak my mind with this lady. I think the lady is nuts. I suspect she has inhaled much to much of that tobac that is sold on the streets.
I really do detest people writing with odd mixed up English words. For it takes some brain readjustment to figure out what they are taking of, then some times not sure in end.
At least with old type English, my dictionary will carry it.
Charles
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Post by hollister on Aug 23, 2007 5:57:35 GMT -7
Chris, Have you ever seen LOL Cats? There is a WHOLE other language that has developed around that - and you know, sometimes I don't think it is all bad! We have discussed how English with all the screwy spelling rules and Silent letters is so very hard for non-English speakers to understand - and it make pronunciation a little tricky sometime. At least from what I have seen on the LOL Cats thing is stripping down a word to its essentials. The key here is that the word is always accompanied by a visual clue as to the meaning - so intention is not lost. That being said, from you description and example I don't think what you are dealing with is the same thing - to me it looks like the "Code" used in text messaging - and that is where is should be used in text messaging if the other party allows such a usage. In a written forum - I think it is important to remember that it is a WRITTEN forum and not a short little messaging service. You owe it to your audience to present your ideas in a fashion that the majority will understand and ENGAGE with - as an author of a post, I wouldn't presume to ask my audience to bring more to the table than I offer. If I don't think my post is important enough to write clearly and completely how can I ask anyone reading it to do more than I did? Make sense?
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Post by suzanne on Aug 23, 2007 6:16:52 GMT -7
Weird and/or cutesy and/or "time-saving" spelling really puts me off. I suppose it's OK if you're text messaging, as Holly said, if you really have to be brief (and I wouldn't know, I've never text-messaged) but when writing something real, it's silly and hard to read. I don't like to see languages get dumbed down. It's bad enough when teenagers use silly, abbreviated spelling, but it's really embarassing when an adult does... it really makes U look like U R N idiot
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Post by leslie on Aug 23, 2007 7:09:03 GMT -7
quote by Kai "Perhaps the woman feels in the techy avant-garde."
I would say that she is either or would like to be a teenager because given the opportunity that is how they would write in any medium. Most people of an older generation won't accept this from them all the time - the exception are text messages, but even then how much longer does it take to key in 'great' compared with gr8 (particularly if you have to go elsewhere to get the numeral as I have in the way I have my cell phone set up). My 22 year-old son says my text messages are like the essays I write - long and correct English ensured, but he daren't now write to me in the abbreviated form!! I just don't answer!
But the abbreviated, often unreadable unless you are a teenager, has no home in a forum where the English recognised is that spelt correctly (or near to it) particularly where the 'English' is their second, or even third, language.
4giv me 4 going on so much!!
Leslie
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Post by rdywenur on Aug 24, 2007 23:10:33 GMT -7
Thanks for your responses. I had to ask to see if I was maybe being a bit picky (but I didn't think so) So wanted to know how other's felt and their opinions. I am not saying I don't do this also but everything has it's place and time and I didn't feel it was right in a forum and I never go to the extent this woman did. (I use smiley's and LOL but that is usually the extent of my cutsy lingo). I looked up the lady's profile and she has a son so maybe she is trying to stay cool with her kid or trying to prove something. But then when she came back and said they were teaching this in school I almost fell off my chair. Maybe as a side but not real class. I hope not or we are in real trouble if that is what they are teaching our kids. (chat rooms okay and text messaging okay but please not in a forum or blog. Call me old fashioned...(I hate labels on Christmas cards too)
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jeanne
Cosmopolitan
Posts: 544
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Post by jeanne on Aug 25, 2007 3:41:40 GMT -7
As an English major/tutor, when I see such a massacre of the English language, I want to faint, which may be why I'm only an "on the fringe" computer person. My daughters chuckle when I refuse to use "cuz" or other such abbreviations when emailing or IMing them. I will not give in!!
Jeanne
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Post by rdywenur on Aug 25, 2007 5:11:31 GMT -7
Holly I went to LOLcats.com (is that what you were talking about) The kitties are funny but their owners are bad spellers). Thanks for pointing me to that site. It is funny ;D. Though language is a throw back to ebonics. I can see a caption maybe written that way as it shows the creative side to the foto for more effect but not when they are actually posting in forum.
Jeanne as an English/major and tutor have you heard of schools giving courses in text messaging and chat room talk. (and why would they) Maybe the kids learn it in school from their peers but not take an actual class. I hate when someone starts a converstion with Whaz up.....that turns me right off. I also hate when black people use ax for ask in a sentence. It's like nails on a chalkboard.
I bet Kai might know this lady as she has said she does Polish geneology research in her posts.
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jeanne
Cosmopolitan
Posts: 544
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Post by jeanne on Aug 26, 2007 3:45:01 GMT -7
rdy,
I have definitely NOT heard of any such courses/classes and shudder to think they might exist. Kids are constantly on their computers at home and this type of writing/language has become their own culture (I use the word "culture" loosely!). I wish they would pick up the things we teach in school as quickly and completely as they do the "computerese".
Jeanne
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joyce
Full Pole
Posts: 394
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Post by joyce on Jan 14, 2008 4:02:29 GMT -7
It's the old school versus the new school.I fit into the old school where, writing is a form of self expression-an art, so to speak-a lost art these days. There are some forums that do not allow excessive words to be used. The moderators of these forums will edit out words to shorten the posts. When one deletes words from a post, the message can be misconstrued.
This forum here is one of the few forums that allow one to use the whole quote. Alot of forums just want you to use a small snippet of a quote-so that posting space is conserved. I find that using the whole quote is important, especially when one is trying to get a point across or if one has not followed a thread from the start.
As far as spelling, it is terrible when languages are butchered. There are people who do not take the time to spell correctly. My spelling is not always perfect. At least I make an attempt to spell a word and then use Spell Check as an aide. And when Spell Check doesn't know either-UT OH! Time to break out the dictionary. If I can't find the word in the dictionary, I will use a totally different word with a similar meaning using a thesaurus.
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Pawian
European
Have you seen my frog?
Posts: 3,266
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Post by Pawian on Jan 14, 2008 5:21:36 GMT -7
It's the old school versus the new school.I fit into the old school where, writing is a form of self expression-an art, so to speak-a lost art these days. There are some forums that do not allow excessive words to be used. The moderators of these forums will edit out words to shorten the posts. When one deletes words from a post, the message can be misconstrued. I am from the old school too. I prefer lengthy sentences which fully transmit the idea. Then I am sure that everybody has had a chance to know what I mean. However, that`s for computer writing. It is a bit different in cell phoning where messages must be short. I always omit the Polish diacritic marks, e.g., Ja mogê byæ groŸny is written Ja moge byc grozny. For an educated Pole such spelliong looks horrible or even illegible, but it works in cell phone messages. That`s funny, I didn`t know there are such limitations. Can you give examples of words which are the most difficult, not only for you to write but for an average American too??
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Post by leslie on Jan 14, 2008 7:00:25 GMT -7
Pawian
Much as it hurts me to say this, but I completely agree with you. On this forum there are several nationalities and I think it is an insult to them to use your national/regional/age or whatever. I am 'with it' however, and when texting to my family or friends on my mobile (cell phone) I use the short cuts, e.g. cu, gr8 and so on. But I would never think of using them on the forum.
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Post by hollister on Jan 14, 2008 7:02:00 GMT -7
Pawian Much as it hurts me to say this, but I completely agree with you. Oh my god! Hell just froze over! ;D
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joyce
Full Pole
Posts: 394
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Post by joyce on Jan 15, 2008 3:46:47 GMT -7
""It is a bit different in cell phoning where messages must be short. I always omit the Polish diacritic marks, e.g., Ja mogê byæ groŸny is written Ja moge byc grozny. For an educated Pole such spelliong looks horrible or even illegible, but it works in cell phone messages."" go ahead and laugh...I am still living in the dark ages...I do not own or want a cell phone. I have never really found a need to have one. We have a phone at home and if people want to call me at home, so be it. I don't have to be connected 24/7. Cell phones are a necessity & important to some people, but I can do without them. Besides I wouldn't want to be tempted to drive and talk at the same time. Do you know how many wrecks are caused by people talking on cells and not paying attention to the road conditions? "But officer-I had to talk to Mary Jane about the color of her prom dress...and WHEN she described HER shoes!!! OMG...what a horror story that is...I just had to tell her that there was a sale at...blah blah blah..."
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