Blogging is a word world as well as a visual world so when people post a picture the picture usually has a meaning and when people use words those words, obviously, have meaning too, and I am the first one on the double entendre bandwagon so I am quite lenient, but what do you think when you read something and the writer seems to not care about the obvious mistakes? Typos are one thing and if you cant spell that's another and even punctuation can be lax but what about blatantly getting it wrong? I recently was sent a letter by a friend and rather than paraphrase it for you I will post it:
Hello, everyone
Next week, Wednesday the 18th the Education Committee will be hosting a Thank You event for all of you that helped out with the Community Survey. This was a month long project and we are very grateful and happy with the effort.
So please come and help us celebrate the completion of the surveying at the Sawmill Lofts on Bellamah and 19th St at 6:00pm. The committee members will bring the main on trays and the theme will be Our Favorite Family Recipes (should be interesting)!
Hope to see you all soon,
--
Mxxxx Rxxxxxz
Committee Chair
Education Committee
Office: (5x5)9x4-xxxx
Cell: (5x5)2x5-xxxx
Did you pick up on the 'main on trays' ? This is a winner.
The other day I was reading a blog and the writer used the term "little own" instead of the correct "let alone" as in "I dont want to go out in the cold little own play in the snow" now this isnt the exact sentence but it is similar to how the phrase was used -this stopped me dead in my tracks. Typically this is the same type of person that isnt sure when to use 'effect' versus 'affect' and I know because I have seen them do it. Colloquialisms are one thing like using y'all instead of you all or youse guys but to outright get the phrase wrong? Thoughts? Come on, I just want you to write gooder thats all!
I had to almost memorize this when I was in college, do people still use it?
48 comments:
You go Doggy! Hopefully all mine are typos.....
Oh wow, the 'little own' thing was honestly very funny. Not sure if we were supposed to laugh so hard, but we did.
I liked the 'little own' thing too :)
spin: I get peevish but I am harmless, really.
duo: I did -just- stop- dead...
5 star: probably the tip of the iceberg - or is that romaine?
OY. That letter from the — and I pause for dramatic EFFECT — education committee chair . . . Well, that's quite embarrassing.
Being a journalist and a grammar freak, I might just be the biggest proponent of properly using the English language. Words should be treated with respect, and I could go on and on and on and on . . .
When it comes to blogging (and I've actually had this debate with other, less grammatically correct bloggers), I'm still all about punctuation, grammar and the likes: It's still a reflection of YOU, even if it is "just a blog." I get so angry when people use that as an excuse to be lazy abusers of the English language.
There, I've had it out for now about grammar.
oh our little dawg is a tad OCD now isn't he? I am starting the think that you might be Dana's twin..I'm ducking :)
melissa: thank you so much for this comment - yes blogs, post its, all of it reflects back on the writer and if your schtick is one of carelessness then that should be obvious as well..
snugs: nothing wrong with a little OCD now and again...
ben: and language barriers should have been mentioned also as forgivable - I have mispronounced things when trying to say it in another language and sometimes I have suffered the consequences but not usually...(depends on which bad word I said - accidently)
We still use Stunk here at my college!!
Tavo also gets annoyed--I accidentally wrote "peaked" instead of "piqued" and I thought I'd never hear the end of it!
Strunk ;)
I hate to admit that I am an abuser of the English language. I often try to just fit in a post, instead of setting time aside for it. Usually my fingers take off before full thought is achieved, causing posts to be error filled and ridiculous looking. I usually find most of the mistakes a day later, when I am able to check it over and make corrections. Even though I know I should spend more time to detail after finishing a post, something makes me hit that publish button as soon as I am finished typing. Every.single.time. So sorry to disappoint...I will work on my laziness.
Sigh. I once stopped reading a certain blog because the author "deluded" her coffee with milk. Heaven knows my own writing is full of typos and such ... but gross misuse stops me cold too.
tavolini: you picked my interest - I thought you were being funny with 'stunk' LOL
harmony: but at least you go back and make corrections - I tweak sentences after the fact very often
diva: that is absolutely hilarious that made her coffee delusional - I have been accused of that...LOL
I no what u mean I hay ate that two!
LOL! great post!
Ya know, Delusional Coffee would make a great blog title. Maybe she's onto something. :)
Reeni ... LOL!
reeni: now I feel like the blunt of the joke...
mo: true stories are usually the best
diva: I am not sure what you are illuding to
Bwah!
I should really step away and get to work on dinner ... but I can't, this whole thing has got me in stitches.
illuding ... !
Nothing about the screaming lunatic? I am so disappointed...jeje;)
diva: alluding - illuding - you must live in a two storage house full of chester drawers....
michelle: screaming lunatics are par for the course - or should I say coarse?
Oh, you ought to hear me go to it with letters to the newspaper, things in the newspaper, errors in emails, etc. I have actually sent emails back, telling the senders they were uneducated louts who shouldn't darken my electronic doorstep again without the benefit of a third grade education. And I'm sure you've seen crap from student teachers for your son, where you wonder who should be teaching whom.
Did you guess you've hit a nerve here?
Likewise, I agree. Things like that really stick in my crotch!--I mean, craw.
ohhhhh a big 'ugh' from me. A 'little one"? Oh my gosh, that is bad.
I must use that book once a week in for my writings.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way! Trying to be funny. I guess it's not funny, it's kind of sad. Especially coming from the education committee.
marjie: I am glad I have this peeve in common with so many
ap: stuck in your where?
dawn: yup...
reeni: I was joking too - didnt you notice I said 'blunt' not 'brunt'...but it is a little on the sad side
Ha! Sometimes you and I are far more alike than people might think!
I've given up on blogs that are constant and consistent abusers.
I liked the main on trays and wonder what that will look like served!
I enjoy a more casual spoken language style that reflects the personality of the writer and don't get too caught up in the grading of the grammar so.... I guess I belong in the "Woof" category! Not because I'm lazy but because I'm not in school anymore and can do anything I want to! Woo Hoo! Rebel without a cause!
Crap, I must be right there at the top of your list for getting it all screwed up. Hell, I only went to a trade school, and Engish was the first class of the morning and the first class just after lunch, for all three years[every other week]. So figure it out, what were all of the "cool" kids doing in their spare time before and after school and at lunch during High School? Burnt Out!
haha..yeaaa. That typo was awesome. Sometimes I find myself doing stuff like that. It usually happens when I'm on aim and I'm not even paying attention to what I'm typing until after I hit enter.
I still don't understand affect and effect.
o.m.g. I work with someone who is notorious for this. I got an email the other day where they referred to something several times as "bull shot." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
starr: grammar isnt the problem its the misuse of words and phrases...
micky-t: who cares, you must've learned something look how you handle that wood...
nila: what about accept and except?
healthy: I worked on a visual project with a guy that was color blind - you can imagine the frustration
Argh!! The chair of the EDUCATION committee made mistakes in grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and usage! I can't stand it!
"Little own" is a new one! I've wondered where people get, "I did that on accident" instead of "by accident." Maybe they think it's the opposite of "on purpose" and went from there.
I spent almost 40 years teaching English. I don't grade papers for a living now but do notice and appreciate bloggers who have the knowledge and take the time to be literate. Writing in a conversational tone can still be grammatically correct and punctuated correctly.
I like this post, Doggy! Rant away and make all the puns you can! :-)
Just wanted to add that we all make some careless proofreading mistakes now and then. That's expected in emails and blogging and different from what you posted.
I have a grasp on where to use accept and except. :)
dana: you are probably right....(I dont know how I skipped you) the main on trays is priceless...
joy: its worse when the writer claims to be a writer... typos and what nots are not the issue - it is the all out wrong use of words and piss poor grammar coupled with syntax....
nila: I was only pulling your leg....
Since I am the one who forwarded the letter & the author is an unpaid, full-time volunteer who works tirelessly for this grassroots advocacy program, I feel I must offer at least one defense. It's possible she spell-checked the document and 'main on trays' is what was suggested and she quickly accepted it since she may lack the saavy and confidence that we have with the English language. At least she didn't use 'mane on trays'!
I have nightmares over that stupid book from editing junior year of college. Ugh! I need some pie now to feel better...
ap: a very kind assessment .....
TBD: I used to think that there were things in it I was missing since it is such a small manual to begin with...the quantum theory of writing perhaps
This kind of stuff used to drive me crazy (and still irks me sometimes), but when I was finishing my (long-delayed) bachelor's degree I took a class on the history of the English language. From that thousand-year perspective, I came to see all this as language evolving.
What would be really cool is if we could "unstick" spelling and let it morph into something consistent and logical. The printing press was a great invention, but it couldn't have come at a worse time for spelling.
When I post I use spell check, when I comment- not so much...
sophie: I am not talking about people for whom English is a second language - you do a great job.
jeanne: spelling is not the problem, in fact the - main on trays - is a perfect example of good use of phonetics - I am talking about words and phrases that are misused or mis quoted -"a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" kind of example
buff: its not a spelling issue unless you only spell phonetically...
I am GONNA be more careful as to what I write on/in my blog from now on! I use spell check, but as far as content and correct grammar, not sure, I guess the spelling police will have to lock me up!
Very funny and a good post , enjoyed greatly cheers!!
The two best students in the English Composition 102 (writing about literature) class that I taught at a college in Nashville were from France and Finland. Their writing was better in all ways - syntax, grammar, mechanics, and analytic and critical thinking. They learned formal English in school and used it correctly.
I can only think of one example, and it was an example on someone else's blog. A girl said, "Let's get it right from the gecko" instead of "get go". I thought that was really funny.
There are times when I don't concentrate and I'm sure I spell wrong or use the wrong word. Sometimes I care and sometimes I don't. Is that wrong? LOL
It's lazy writing, plain and simple. Reading back over what you've just written is a part of the writing process.
I also blame this phenomenon on children building their vocabulary from television instead of reading, because most of the mistakes sound correct to the ear, but stick out to the eye. This means that the colloquialisms being butchered were learned verbally by the writer.
It would have been funnier if "entrees" was changed to "in trees", because then you would have know that the writer had heard someone mispronounce it and had integrated it into his vocabulary that way.
I hate it when I don't spell things right..I usually have a dictionary around. The reason being back in when I was in elementary school I had a teacher who was teaching us to spell wrong. My mom caught it when she went to an open house. Its hard when you memorize something wrong. It locks in. So now till this day I question myself one their..or thier? Stupid huh?
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