Why proper grammar is important.

[pucGG]

Don't get me started on your character's name...


*touché*


xD

And exactly that is not the point. It's not mistaking similar words, it's not forgetting apostrophes, it's deliberately mispelling words in a way that other people can hardly understand them.

I was replying to Styxz.

[Steavz]

Very interesting...what's the music?

It's an old piece from the 1930's called 'O Fortuna' composed by Carl Orff

[Gilgemesh]

Anonymity is the cause to both ends of the spectrum of internet assholes.
Both ends believe the other end is very wrong.
Both ends are right.

[pucGG]

Anonymity is the cause to both ends of the spectrum of internet assholes.
Both ends believe the other end is very wrong.
Both ends are right.

That is true of trolls, not of language barriers. And as a reply to Nathanyel; people don't deliberately misspell words to annoy you, they do so because it is faster when chatting.

[Deleted]

personally i find these threads r just another way to 1up urself over others, why do u even care if "they sound stupid"?
its not as if bad grammer is contagious and ur suddenly gonna become the thing that drives ppl to make threads like this

[Deleted]

I don't give a danm for a man that can only spell a word one way. - Mark Twain
Dont take this as an offence, it just comes to show that everyone is free to speak the way he likes, as long as it isn't an environment where formal language is compulsory. I'm not a fan of the L337 Speak too, but I'm not a grammer Nazi either, moreover english isn't my mother language, so Im kind of a medley. However, in forums, or when I contact a GM, or when I ask/offer something in general I'll try to use less abbreviations and also check my spelling, but In the middle of a fight when I don't have enough time or when I'm chit-chatting I dont see how choosing the faster way to express myself is wrong in any way.

[Phocket]

The problem isn't the spelling mistakes, it's the severe lack of knowing when and where to stop a sentance or use proper punctuation. The wrong you're, your really aggrivates me, as well as the their, there, they're. Each of these words convey a different meaning, many of which make no sense when a your is used instead of a you're.

Also, as far as the "This is a forum/game in a casual setting and it really doesn't matter if I use improper grammar or punctuation", in all reality, it does matter. Human beings are creatures of habit. How many people who smoke cigarettes say "I'm going to quit smoking"? How many actually do? Same goes for this. You get used to abbreviating words and phrases, sooner or later you're going to send an email or write out a resume with the same grammar or spelling mistakes that ultimately end in you looking like an uneducated fool.

[DiesMali]

It's an old piece from the 1930's called 'O Fortuna' composed by Carl Orff

"O Fortuna" is also the beginning and ending piece of a 25-piece cantata called the Carmina Burana. Orff chose 24 poems from the Medieval-era collection of poetry also known as the Carmina Burana, and he used them as the lyrics to the music which he composed. Several years ago, I had the great pleasure of performing the work in its entirety, and I personally regard it as one of the greatest works of music ever written.

On the subject of language, I fully agree with the OP. I don't mind the little typos and easily-made mistakes that plague nearly everyone. I have learned to live with the fact that most people don't use punctuation and capitalization when writing in an informal setting. What I do mind is when someone just doesn't care about what they are writing. If you care so little about what you are saying that you cannot even bother with basic grammar and intelligibility, then why would you expect the rest of us to pay attention to what you've just said?

I also feel the need to comment on the fact that language, like any skill, is one that needs to be practiced and honed. If you nearly always use poor language skills in your everyday life, those poorly-developed skills WILL translate over into your professional life. I cannot tell you how many job applications I have reviewed and thrown into the garbage because the applicant didn't even care enough to use punctuation or spell simple words correctly. When I help my professors with their grading, I am often absolutely appalled at the fact that most of my peers (upperclassmen) can barely read and write at a fifth-grade level.

I am not a "Grammar Nazi." I understand that language evolves. However, what is happening now is certainly not "evolution." wrtng lik dis maks mai brane hrt, cuz its harder too rite and its vry hard 2 undrstnd! OMG LYK HAI SEXXIIIIIIIIIIII, I DINT NO U WER CUMMING OVR 2NITE, I GOT JELLO SHOTZ N U CAN HAV SUM 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is NOT evolution of language. That is simply being lazy and willfully ignorant.

[strossus001]

I think I can point out a grammatical, spelling, or punctual mistake on every post in this thread.

[pucGG]

The problem isn't the spelling mistakes, it's the severe lack of knowing when and where to stop a sentance or use proper punctuation. The wrong you're, your really aggrivates me, as well as the their, there, they're. Each of these words convey a different meaning, many of which make no sense when a your is used instead of a you're.

Also, as far as the "This is a forum/game in a casual setting and it really doesn't matter if I use improper grammar or punctuation", in all reality, it does matter. Human beings are creatures of habit. How many people who smoke cigarettes say "I'm going to quit smoking"? How many actually do? Same goes for this. You get used to abbreviating words and phrases, sooner or later you're going to send an email or write out a resume with the same grammar or spelling mistakes that ultimately end in you looking like an uneducated fool.

That's not true of me. I speak like this on forums. But I almost only use abbreviations when chatting in-game, and I don't bother with punctuation either. But when I'm writing an essay or an email, I use proper grammar and punctuation. I'm not at all afraid or turning into either entirely, which is why I think the subject is irrelevant, and as 3tch said, just a cheap way to 1up yourself.

[Azranas]

If grammar and spelling are so important... why is there US english?

[pucGG]

If grammar and spelling are so important... why is there US english?

I guess their dialect evolved over time and left its impression on the written langua-- what does this have to do with it?

[Phocket]

That's not true of me. I speak like this on forums. But I almost only use abbreviations when chatting in-game, and I don't bother with punctuation either. But when I'm writing an essay or an email, I use proper grammar and punctuation. I'm not at all afraid or turning into either entirely, which is why I think the subject is irrelevant, and as 3tch said, just a cheap way to 1up yourself.

I'm not saying everyone will devolve into using bad grammar, but it can become a real possibility.

Also, this subject is relevant. Although it's not completely accurate, I would hate to see the world turn into something like the movie Idiocracy (if you haven't seen this movie, watch it and you'll understand what I mean)

[Deleted]

i do not in any way mean to come off more acrimonious than thou but wtb is an acronym and pst is an onomatopoeic contraction


capitalisation no
punctuation no
legible yes

get over yourselves

WTB is an initialism and PST is an acronym for Please Send Tell, it has nothing to do with the sound you make when trying to get someone's attention.

Lets eat, grandma.
Lets eat grandma.

Basic English skills are important, yet, sadly, the "internet lingo" is clearly too much for people to shake off. I've actually seen people use emoticons during a formal essay, and wonder why they failed.

Yet again, someone fails at apostrophe usage while trying to make a point about how English skillz on an internet forum are serious.

[BIG ROB]

i think propper grammer and spelling is important! im not the best person at spelling, but i like to think i have good grammer. in game grammer is not that important, beacuse alot of the words used in game for most people i would consider it a type of shorthand. expecially since alot of times you hay have to type something quickly. however in real life, on important things, you should use the best grammer that you know. most employers are not going to hire somone for a good job if on their resume they use things like: aint, yeah to answer yes, i do "insert verb here" good, let me ax you sumpin.


i do like to make fun of the english language though, i like to actually sound out words and not folow the rules that go along with how this crazy language is setup.
im not going to give any examples because they escape me at the moment but i do it enough to drive my wife nuts!

[Deleted]

that guys voice is epic,i almost wet myself laughing

[maxtor]

Proper grammar is important when writing something formal.

On a forum or in a game you are just being ignorant if you don't manage to read or don't want to read something with bad grammar.

The example of "helping uncle jack off a horse" and "helping uncle Jack, off a horse" is a good example, but how often do you use that anyway?

I feel as tho people who need to correct grammar always need to feel as they are better than everyone else. If it is understandable what is the problem?

win win win! u grammarnazis really need to listen to these guys

[Deleted]

Try to (re)present yourself well. I guess that's the message the OP wants to get across. If people don't don't attempt to use correct spelling (the odd typo is understandable) and grammar it leaves the reader not knowing if the person he is reading is:

*Too lazy to do so

*Incapable due to insufficient mental development (bad education or home standards)

*Incapable due to something like Dyslexia

*Still learning the language

Some posters state "Sorry for mistakes - English isn't my first language" if they are trying to learn English and that is really something to commend. They are trying. Learning a foreign language is not always easy due to some of the unusual rules a particular language may employ. I'd like to see more native English speakers learn a different language as well as mastering English to the best of their abilities.

It seems that the people that are left after we set aside non-native English speakers are either, lazy, not too smart in this department (willfully or due to poor education), or have a condition which makes it more difficult for them to use letters and words.

I'd like to ask, how many of those feeling defensive about your substandard spelling suffer from Dyslexia? I do understand that this seems to be more and more commonly diagnosed. Two of my uncles are dyslexic but when they were at school (in the 50s and 60s) they were just considered "too stupid to learn". I'd imagine even today, people with Dyslexia can get understandably frustrated and angry at times as they have standards to reach in order to be taken seriously.

This leaves the "Lazy and Stupid" - who's fault is that? Well I blame education myself.

Such a great video about it here: http://www.videobash.com/video_show/...paradigms-5943

When I first started school my reading age dropped by a year and really struggled to find lessons interesting. I found that I've become more educated since leaving school, with regards to finding subjects that interest me and learning about them. I'm better at maths than I ever was at school. I hated it then.

I know that if I made a distinction between how I behave to people online, and how I act in the "real world" (online is merely and extension of that as we are all still addressing humans) I wouldn't feel like a genuine person. This matters to me for some reason. If I decided that while online I'd spell badly but save "the proper spelling" for "when it mattered" when it came to writing a formal letter / email or creating a C.V I would less confident about doing a good job of it.

Communication's first priority is to make yourself understood. The second is that the person hearing you has to be open to what you are saying and interpret it correctly. What is really happening is people are interpreting each other. What and how is being said is just the vehicle.

This is why some people get annoyed with bad spelling a grammar: They commit to their social activity by trying to communicate in a way that shows respect for the reader and themselves. If this enthusiasm isn't met they are left feeling that they cannot learn from this person. Learning from others is crucial in human life and social structures.

TL;DR - I went on a bit. Sorry :P

[commanderbeatdown]

When I taught high school, I also played WoW with some of my students. The ones who never followed grammar rules in-game also never followed them in in their important assignments at school.

You may say that grammar is unimportant on a game or a forum, but what we do in our free time defines who we really are, because that is what we are doing when fewer influences are compelling us.

People who fail at grammar in their free time generally fail at it in real life where it really counts.


Edit: There is a difference between learning a language, and speaking your native one. I am not complaining about those who are still in the process of learning and are actually trying.

You can spot the difference between a lazy, stupid native speaker and a non-native who is actually trying.

I wish MMO-Champion would adjust their rules on grammar. As it currently stands, they reward laziness by defending sloppiness, when they should be encouraging those who actually try, regardless of their grasp on the English language.

[Suggs]

haha question i want to ask is... how many of you read through your posts a few times before you clicked submit to makes sure you didnt make any grammar mistakes for fear of being pointed out and ridiculed? i bet 99% of you did and i say 99 because i didnt and never will.
Grammar police are mongoloids , its a pathetic excuse to try and undermine someone to make yourself look good. Sad sad people indeed.

---------- Post added 2011-01-15 at 05:58 PM ----------

When I taught high school, I also played WoW with some of my students. The ones who never followed grammar rules in-game also never followed them in in their important assignments at school.

You may say that grammar is unimportant on a game or a forum, but what we do in our free time defines who we really are, because that is what we are doing when fewer influences are compelling us.

People who fail at grammar in their free time generally fail at it in real life where it really counts.

Im not surprised they didnt when there taught by teachers like you.... "When i taught high school"?!? "followed them in in"?!?
eheheh