Whatever happened to English?

Author Topic: Whatever happened to English?  (Read 3121 times)

Offline priderocks

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Whatever happened to English?
« on: March 18, 2009 - 11:05:43 PM »
I just read the posts about Penstar. Now, I send and receive a reasonable number of commiques electronically, so I am curious about something. Does there exist some kind of unwritten forum/PM/email rules that encourage totally trashing the English language and its grammar in electronic media? Had I received some of these posts in a handwritten letter, I would have judged the sender a complete moron. Is the rule that any alphabetic slop constitutes a viable communication? I don't mean anything personal to anyone on that post- I am just curious.

I have three teenagers, so I am used to surf lingo, texting shorthand and acronyms and all kinds of trendy talk. That's why I'm asking- always open to broaden my linguistic horizons. So my homies gimme the low low. Straight up.





Offline 71bigblock

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2009 - 11:08:04 PM »
I cant stand when people cant use english.  I'm no saint, either, but some people need their brains checked.  Heck, even when I text message, I still type out every word like I am now.  Acronyms are not my friends.   :roflsmiley:

Offline lemming303

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2009 - 11:13:20 PM »
Acronyms just make it easier to write longer messages without taking up too much space and time, especially when you have to hit the same button 3 times to get the letter F.
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Alaskan_TA

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2009 - 11:14:14 PM »
I cant stand when people cant use english.


Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2009 - 11:16:48 PM »
I am not really picky if you can communicate & I can understand you it`s all good maybe just because I have spent soem time in other countries where I struggle to speak their language  :dunno:

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Offline 71bigblock

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2009 - 11:24:39 PM »
Acronyms just make it easier to write longer messages without taking up too much space and time, especially when you have to hit the same button 3 times to get the letter F.

Unless you have a really old or crappy phone, you dont have to.  The phone is pretty smart when it comes to thinking of the word you want.

I guess I should rephrase my original post.  I cant stand it when people cant use english where it is a necessity. 

Offline bb71challenger

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2009 - 12:15:16 AM »
Kinda off topic but I saw my local phone book today and it has a Mexican yellow pages. I get so tired of having to put up with bunch of people who are obviously too lazy to learn English. We have people from almost every country in the world as citizens in this great U.S.A. but why is it that the Mexicans have to be catered to? If I go to Germany no one is going to spoon feed me on the language, I have to put forth the effort to learn it. Same goes with most any other country. WTF then do we have to have a Mexican version of everything? I say if you cannot learn the language in 5 years then you should have to leave.
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Offline priderocks

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2009 - 12:37:24 AM »
I'm not talking about English vs. another language. I think sloppy writing and sloppy thinking are linked. It's certainly each persons choice if they want to come across like an Appalachian hick married to their sister. It takes very little effort, and certainly helps one make their point, to throw in a few periods and capitals where they belong.

Offline Pistol Gripper

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2009 - 07:57:08 AM »
I don't have a problem with poor grammer or spelling if the person isn't from an english speaking country, like Germany, Japan or New Zealand ( hehehe, take that Carlwalski ).  But for the rest of us, take a little pride huh ?

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Offline 360 'CUDA

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2009 - 09:59:54 AM »
 :iagree:  :iagree:   

BTW u r a noob...................... j/k  :2thumbs:

Offline moparmaniac59

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2009 - 12:29:50 PM »
What gets me is I often hear some of the most educated people misuse the english language. I wonder how they ever got a PHD when they can't properly address a group of people without hacking up the english language!!
Matt

Offline 426HEMI

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2009 - 02:09:56 PM »
What gets me is I often hear some of the most educated people misuse the english language. I wonder how they ever got a PHD when they can't properly address a group of people without hacking up the english language!!

I dont have a PHD but I do have a MSED and just because you have an education does not mean you will always use the english language correctly.  Seems it takes me forever at time to figure out what some are saying when they use letters.  When I send a text message I always type it out. 
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Offline Chryco Psycho

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2009 - 02:14:04 PM »
I basically bombed english in school , I just couldn`t care less what a noun verb etc was , I am sure I am far from perfect but I do OK but if that makes me a backwoods hick so be it  :crazy:

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Offline burnt orange

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2009 - 02:46:28 PM »
How far do we take this?  The purpose of a language is communication.  If the communication is clear and concise does it really matter if we follow the rules of grammar and spelling to the extreme?  Languages change.  Any language which does not change dies.  The English language has changed and adapted to new forms throughout its history, should we not encourage this evolution?

As for other people who do not speak English, isn't that what made America the great country it is?  Peolple from all over the world were welcomed and they brought with them their culture, traditions and language, and over time learned the ways of the earlier immigrants who were now considered Americans.  If fully assimilating into the English-speaking American culture is necessary for their success and survival, they will.  If they do not need to, they won't. 

Lots of other countries in the world have populations who speak many of different languages, and they get along just fine!  Even multiple official languages are common. Belgium has three official languages and about 10 others, India 23, Switzerland 4, Canada 2, the list goes on.

As an aside, even some of the posts in this thread have grammatical and spelling errors, but the meanings are perfectly clear.  Isn't that enough?

BTW, the word "English" starts with an upper case "e".   :roflsmiley:
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Offline moparmaniac59

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Re: Whatever happened to English?
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2009 - 02:57:12 PM »
That's the problem. Not with someone trying to speak, but with street talk so chopped up that you can't understand what's being said. Ever listen to Snoop Dog (Fajizzle Akazizzle). Ever watch the orignal version of the movie "Airplane" where the old lady had to interpret "Jive" because no one else could understand the two men sitting in the seat next to her. Then the school systems wanting to make "Ebonics" a language!! Give me a break. I don't want my child speaking "ebonics". I don't think if she went for a job interview at a major firm and spoke "ebonics" during the interview that she would get a job. Has slang changed? Yes. Has the english language changed. I don't think so. We don't speak King James english, but the english language is basically the same it was 400 years ago.
Matt