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Why Americans can't speak (or write in) English properly.
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Post by
pelf
I'm such a huge sucker for memes. They might be the kryptonite to my linguistic superman suit.
Post by
Hyperspacerebel
kryptonite
There's another great word to come out of literature.
Post by
moonstrike
i know my English suck bigtime.
But am pritty sure you Swedish does aswell.. So why not just face the facts that some people cant spell and respect that people are diffrent ?
And to be honest. Atleased what i think its the biggest problem in the world now. That we dont accept diffrence. Just look back in time. Most war`s start becouse of it.
Post by
LookOut
moonstrike, look at the title. It says "Why
Americans
can't speak (or write in) English properly". It doesn't mention foreigners (would be odd if it did, you can't expect everyone to have 100% mastery of the english language).
@ topic: the british are just as bad tbh. And so are the french with french. And the dutch with dutch. I don't really think it's laziness (although it could be partially!), I'd rather think that the creation of texting is the cause pretty much. You only have a limited amount of characters, and if you want to write more then additional messages are charged.
Of course spelling errors are another matter entirely. That IS laziness :p
Post by
mindthegap5
It's just the evolution of language.
we don't still "goe to the olde inne for a leg of mutton and a tankard of ale" do we?
Post by
LookOut
we don't still "goe to the olde inne for a leg of mutton and a tankard of ale" do we?
Good times
Post by
mindthegap5
I always thought it would be cool to be from 100 or more years ago for a day
obviously not a poor guy i'd want to be a mill owner but it would still be pretty cool.
Post by
gnomerdon
It's a culture thing. We Americans just don't care enough to put that much emphasis into a written word or saying a word, unless it is required from a "English" teacher.
We still don't have any American teachers yet, thank god.
Post by
Hyperspacerebel
i know my English suck bigtime.
But am pritty sure you Swedish does aswell.. So why not just face the facts that some people cant spell and respect that people are diffrent ?
And to be honest. Atleased what i think its the biggest problem in the world now. That we dont accept diffrence. Just look back in time. Most war`s start becouse of it.
I think that sucking at English (or any other language that you're trying to communicate in)
is
a problem. With someone who has only begun learning the language, or is only studying it on their own, I will be more understanding, but that doesn't mean that it's okay to suck at the language. If you aim to communicate in it, then you should put effort into mastering it, not just "facing the facts that you can't spell."
Post by
xaratherus
I think that sucking at English (or any other language that you're trying to communicate in)
is
a problem. With someone who has only begun learning the language, or is only studying it on their own, I will be more understanding, but that doesn't mean that it's okay to suck at the language. If you aim to communicate in it, then you should put effort into mastering it, not just "facing the facts that you can't spell."
Absolutely. Language is first and foremost a means of communication. If you're going to bother to communicate, you should do so in such a fashion that your audience will be able to determine your meaning; a proficient communicator ensures that the audience has to work as little as possible to reach that point, which means that he (or she) uses proper spelling and grammar to ensure no possible miscommunication.
Post by
Pwntiff
Yeah, I've blocked one of my cousins from showing up on my Facebook feed entirely for two reasons: one is Twitter-like nature of her posts, but the other is her posts are honestly all of this quality (straight copy-paste): "bout ta go n get my hair did at <friend>'s house."
I don't have anything against using ebonics, when it's used by the demographic that created it. My cousin is as white as I am (well, she's more orange now, but that's a different sub-culture that isn't a part of this discussion), and as best as I can remember, she doesn't actually talk like that. Or at least she didn't six years ago, and a lot can change from age 18.
I try my damnedest to speak near enough proper English, but I do have problems with some of the minor mistakes like "fewer" and "less" and the "disadvantage" of growing up in Appalachia. I conjugate properly, and have mostly broken myself of "Y'all" and other "hillbilly" phrases, but some still slip out.
I do tend to drop g's from "ing" though.
Post by
xaratherus
My cousin is as white as I am (well, she's more orange now, but that's a different sub-culture that isn't a part of this discussion), and as best as I can remember, she doesn't actually talk like that.
Is it a Jersey thing?
Post by
Pwntiff
She lives in Knoxville, TN...so, yes, but not really.
Post by
Patty
It's just the evolution of language.
we don't still "goe to the olde inne for a leg of mutton and a tankard of ale" do we?
I think that's one of the worst bastardisations of Old/Middle English I've ever seen. :P
Post by
Pwntiff
http://www.xkcd.com/771/
Post by
238331
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
120504
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
gnomerdon
80% of my college essays were constructed from the internet. I do believe that lack of reading is a big factor for writing. But I do not believe that reading is a factor for talking. Ever heard those english kids from 5-14 speak? They speak perfect English.
My little brother, who is a 9th grader in high school writes better than me because he's been reading his entire life. In my life, I've managed to finish reading 3 books over 200 pages long. My writing did take a huge toll. Do I regret not reading during my younger days? HELL NO
Post by
Hyperspacerebel
80% of my college essays were constructed from the internet. I do believe that lack of reading is a big factor for writing. But I do not believe that reading is a factor for talking. Ever heard those english kids from 5-14 speak? They speak perfect English.
My little brother, who is a 9th grader in high school writes better than me because he's been reading his entire life. In my life, I've managed to finish reading 3 books over 200 pages long. My writing did take a huge toll. Do I regret not reading during my younger days? HELL NO
I find that reading very much has had an impact on how I speak. A big chunk of my spoken vocabulary comes from reading. I remember just using a word just this morning that I actually stumbled over because I don't think I've ever heard it spoken aloud: "serendipitous." Another example is "queue." My first encounter with that word was in Harry Potter, but ever since then I've started using it all the time (as a verb..."line" works just fine for the noun, but "queuing" just seems to run better than "lining up").
Post by
gnomerdon
Thanks for your insight. My speaking came from Fox television.
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