They're, there, and their
#76
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Word use changes over time. Look at how the word "decimate" has changed meaning. Not too long ago it meant losing 10% of something after the practice of punishing a group of soldiers by killing every 10th one. Now, it means just about anything the speaker/writer utters.
.
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#77
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#79
Senior Member
I really like Camelopardalis's nom de net. To the best of my recollection, I first was aware of the name when reading Mungo Park's seminal Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa, published in 1799. No, I didn't read it when it came out. I've read Park's work, along with many other adventure novels available on Gutenberg.org If you want some really interesting reading, download the books from Gutenberg that can be found on this list: National Geographic Adventure Mag.: 100 Greatest Adventure Books (1-19)
Many, many books become available on Gutenberg after expiration of their copyright, which is 70 years after the death of the author.
Many, many books become available on Gutenberg after expiration of their copyright, which is 70 years after the death of the author.
#80
Senior Member
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
(not original!)
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
(not original!)
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Momento mori, amor fati.
Momento mori, amor fati.
#81
Beicwyr Hapus
#82
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FB4K - Every October we wrench on donated bikes. Every December, a few thousand kids get bikes for Christmas. For many, it is their first bike, ever. Every bike, new and used, was donated, built, cleaned and repaired. Check us out on FaceBook: FB4K.
Disclaimer: 99% of what I know about cycling I learned on BF. That would make, ummm, 1% experience. And a lot of posts.
FB4K - Every October we wrench on donated bikes. Every December, a few thousand kids get bikes for Christmas. For many, it is their first bike, ever. Every bike, new and used, was donated, built, cleaned and repaired. Check us out on FaceBook: FB4K.
Disclaimer: 99% of what I know about cycling I learned on BF. That would make, ummm, 1% experience. And a lot of posts.
#83
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But spelling / grammar is context-sensitive. For instance, a box turtle on the road has a doomed shell.
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FB4K - Every October we wrench on donated bikes. Every December, a few thousand kids get bikes for Christmas. For many, it is their first bike, ever. Every bike, new and used, was donated, built, cleaned and repaired. Check us out on FaceBook: FB4K.
Disclaimer: 99% of what I know about cycling I learned on BF. That would make, ummm, 1% experience. And a lot of posts.
FB4K - Every October we wrench on donated bikes. Every December, a few thousand kids get bikes for Christmas. For many, it is their first bike, ever. Every bike, new and used, was donated, built, cleaned and repaired. Check us out on FaceBook: FB4K.
Disclaimer: 99% of what I know about cycling I learned on BF. That would make, ummm, 1% experience. And a lot of posts.
#84
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This thread is a laff riot.
#85
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Who cares, and why do you care? The only question is-------------does the person get his or her point across.
#86
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#87
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I think my writing skills are good, but I am always interested in improvement. When my niece was 7 or 8, I went with her to school and sat in her classroom. She was asked to write a tory. She did... I started to help her with her grammar and the teacher scolded me by saying "we don't correct grammar; it stiffles the creative process. As long as the point is made, all is acceptable..." Explains why today most young professionals can't put reasonable sentences together.
The point that is generally made is that the person is a doofus and doesn't care to appear professional... just saying.
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Private docent led mountain bike rides through Limestone Canyon. Go to letsgooutside.org and register today! Also available: hikes, equestrian rides and family events as well as trail maintenance and science study.
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Private docent led mountain bike rides through Limestone Canyon. Go to letsgooutside.org and register today! Also available: hikes, equestrian rides and family events as well as trail maintenance and science study.
#88
Senior Member
As a professional who reads alot of contracts and professional letters, I do care...
I think my writing skills are good, but I am always interested in improvement. When my niece was 7 or 8, I went with her to school and sat in her classroom. She was asked to write a tory. She did... I started to help her with her grammar and the teacher scolded me by saying "we don't correct grammar; it stiffles the creative process. As long as the point is made, all is acceptable..." Explains why today most young professionals can't put reasonable sentences together.
The point that is generally made is that the person is a doofus and doesn't care to appear professional... just saying.
I think my writing skills are good, but I am always interested in improvement. When my niece was 7 or 8, I went with her to school and sat in her classroom. She was asked to write a tory. She did... I started to help her with her grammar and the teacher scolded me by saying "we don't correct grammar; it stiffles the creative process. As long as the point is made, all is acceptable..." Explains why today most young professionals can't put reasonable sentences together.
The point that is generally made is that the person is a doofus and doesn't care to appear professional... just saying.
Explains nothing except that you don't understand education. If the point of the exercise was to put thoughts down and be coherent, then it's likely grammar checking would have been an impediment. A 2nd or 3rd grader (i.e. 7 or 8 y.o.) is not going to put down a perfect essay in terms of organization, content, grammar, spelling and syntax right out of the gate. That's what they are learning how to do in 2nd or 3rd grade and will be for many years thereafter. They are at the very start of the process of learning how to write.
And, as the parent of two "young professionals" (or will be in a year when they graduate from engineering school), this is kind of offensive. They do know how to write as do most of their peers. And, they do know how to write a story and spell it properly. Apparently, you were paying more attention to the grammar than to spelling (just saying). Maybe attention to spelling got in the way of the creative process?
J.
#90
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Yes, it is a riot, but a very sad riot.
The very first Bike Forums post I read after making my own contribution here yesterday mentioned a bike with bad breaks. I hope the frame was still under warranty. Arrgh!
BTW, I occasionally read compositions submitted by Boy Scouts as part of merit badge requirements. It makes me wonder if spelling isn't a lost art. I figure that by the time a middle class kid reaches the 8th grade he ought to know how to spell common words. The funniest one was the high school age kid who, knowing my feelings, submitted an essay with every possible misspelling he could imagine (on purpose).
The very first Bike Forums post I read after making my own contribution here yesterday mentioned a bike with bad breaks. I hope the frame was still under warranty. Arrgh!
BTW, I occasionally read compositions submitted by Boy Scouts as part of merit badge requirements. It makes me wonder if spelling isn't a lost art. I figure that by the time a middle class kid reaches the 8th grade he ought to know how to spell common words. The funniest one was the high school age kid who, knowing my feelings, submitted an essay with every possible misspelling he could imagine (on purpose).
#91
Senior Member
This is a good one. I teach at the local community college in the evenings and during the introductory lecture, which is in PowerPoint format, I show a slide with this "poem" on it. Always gets a few chuckles, especially from the older students, but doesn't seem to make much of a difference in work that is submitted for a grade.
#92
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My hypothesis is that when enough members in a society begin to think this way, it signals its eventual demise. Literacy levels have been proved to correlate with economic prosperity, which itself has been used to evaluate the success of civilizations. Why is this? I'm no scholar on the subject, but I would surmise that of all the codes that allow people to successfully live together in a society, language is probably one of the most powerful. When people no longer see the benefits of learning the code, it risks loosing its purpose. The same carelessness can eventually disrupt other codes like the sense of citizenship and participation in the democratic process (in democracies, of course), the rules of the road or the law. Let the codes and their use decay and society also ends up decaying.
Language is a code. If, because of ignorance or negligence I write "cod" instead of "code", most readers will understand what I mean if the context is rich enough. But if someone points out the proper spelling for the word and I don't find it important enough to correct my use of the word and this attitude becomes prevalent, then what we eventually get is failure to communicate. If enough people use the "people still understand me" argument for long enough, at some point people will no longer understand each other. Spelling and grammar are thus important because they allow the code of language -- probably the best system to understand each other -- to endure. I think that's why I've always been instinctively weary of bad spelling.
#93
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I'm pretty forgiving of errors, particularly on a forum or some other form of informal communication. But for some reason using 'they're' instead of 'their' drives me nuts. For one thing, it's rare to see people use 'they're'
There is a hand written sign at work that says, "door open's inwards" Thought about sending that one to the apostrophe catastrophe web site.
There is a hand written sign at work that says, "door open's inwards" Thought about sending that one to the apostrophe catastrophe web site.
#94
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This train of thought is interesting. I've often found the same kind of reasoning here and there and, while it always made me uncomfortable, I couldn't find a satisfying answer as to why -- until today.
My hypothesis is that when enough members in a society begin to think this way, it signals its eventual demise. Literacy levels have been proved to correlate with economic prosperity, which itself has been used to evaluate the success of civilizations. Why is this? I'm no scholar on the subject, but I would surmise that of all the codes that allow people to successfully live together in a society, language is probably one of the most powerful. When people no longer see the benefits of learning the code, it risks loosing its purpose. The same carelessness can eventually disrupt other codes like the sense of citizenship and participation in the democratic process (in democracies, of course), the rules of the road or the law. Let the codes and their use decay and society also ends up decaying.
Language is a code. If, because of ignorance or negligence I write "cod" instead of "code", most readers will understand what I mean if the context is rich enough. But if someone points out the proper spelling for the word and I don't find it important enough to correct my use of the word and this attitude becomes prevalent, then what we eventually get is failure to communicate. If enough people use the "people still understand me" argument for long enough, at some point people will no longer understand each other. Spelling and grammar are thus important because they allow the code of language -- probably the best system to understand each other -- to endure. I think that's why I've always been instinctively weary of bad spelling.
My hypothesis is that when enough members in a society begin to think this way, it signals its eventual demise. Literacy levels have been proved to correlate with economic prosperity, which itself has been used to evaluate the success of civilizations. Why is this? I'm no scholar on the subject, but I would surmise that of all the codes that allow people to successfully live together in a society, language is probably one of the most powerful. When people no longer see the benefits of learning the code, it risks loosing its purpose. The same carelessness can eventually disrupt other codes like the sense of citizenship and participation in the democratic process (in democracies, of course), the rules of the road or the law. Let the codes and their use decay and society also ends up decaying.
Language is a code. If, because of ignorance or negligence I write "cod" instead of "code", most readers will understand what I mean if the context is rich enough. But if someone points out the proper spelling for the word and I don't find it important enough to correct my use of the word and this attitude becomes prevalent, then what we eventually get is failure to communicate. If enough people use the "people still understand me" argument for long enough, at some point people will no longer understand each other. Spelling and grammar are thus important because they allow the code of language -- probably the best system to understand each other -- to endure. I think that's why I've always been instinctively weary of bad spelling.
#95
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The sign that always bugs me is "Ten[or another number] items or less." I always mutter to myself, "Ten items or fewer."
#96
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#98
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Let's all just be honest with ourselves. The reason we are so annoyed by poor grammar and misspellings is that we were incessantly drilled by parents, grandparents, teachers, or WHOMEVER to get it right and at all times be perfect with our usage of the English language.
We were told that proper English is what set us apart from the lower classes. A person who could communicate effectively and properly would have a leg up on the rest of the world in social status and earning power. Those who failed to grasp proper verb tenses and pronouns were likely doomed to a blue collar job and possibly even welfare. We have discovered the painful reality that this is simply not true.
We paid attention and did our best not to disappoint our elders. Several of us whizzed through two years of college-level English at the state university level, stunned at how easy it was and how many people we encountered with high school diplomas who could not perform at the same level we had attained in fifth grade. We were so certain that our lives were going to be so much easier just because we didn't split our infinitives or dangle our participles, or--perish the thought--end sentences with prepositions. Where are you at?
Then we entered the workforce of the real world, and spent our first six years working for an immediate supervisor who was so dyslexic we wondered how he found his way to work every morning. But the fact is, he did it every day for twenty years before we came along, and that's how he got to be mid-level management--just by showing up. By the way, he kept showing up for another twelve years after we were promoted above him. He retired at 55, is the shuffleboard champion of his unit in The Villages and drives a tricked-out golf cart everywhere he goes. Life is good.
As we climbed the ladder we encountered and competed with numerous people who couldn't communicate in writing if their lives depended on it. That's why they had secretaries--to cover for them. It never made sense how their secretaries always got things right, but we found ourselves spending an extra half-hour at the end of every day proofreading our own secretaries and correcting their mistakes, because we believed that their work was a reflection of us.
Voicemail systems came along, and soon no one was required to use written communication anymore. We learned the art of phone tag, paging and leaving cryptic five-second messages that went back and forth as many as a dozen times for a week before a problem that should've only taken an hour to tackle was finally resolved. No paper trail, no dialogue, no human contact. We just sat in our cubicles and tapped the DO NOT DISTURB button on our phones every time they rang.
Finally, the internet came along. E-mail required that we brush up on our typing and written communications skills. Forums gave us an outlet to express opinions and share knowledge. Soon we became badasses again! We could verbally joust with the best, and cut down ignorance in its tracks whenever we felt the urge. Finally, our superiority would be appreciated and we would be given the respect we deserved!
We're pissed because our parents sold us all a load of crap. Those 4th, 5th, and 6th grade spelling bee trophies I won are worthless. Being the best sentence diagrammer in 7th grade has earned me nothing but aggravation. The most painful reality is that we must refrain from expressing our indignation, or risk being ostracized and ridiculed as the grammar police.
Ignorance, in this case, truly would be bliss.
Somewhere along the way, text messages and tweets replaced formal e-mails as the preferred method of communicating. Numbers are used to replace groups of letters, single letters are substituted for entire words.
How R U?
I M Gr8!
C U L8R!
Our adeptness at injecting emoticons may be the difference between getting a date through an on-line service or spending the rest of our lives alone.
We are so screwed.
We were told that proper English is what set us apart from the lower classes. A person who could communicate effectively and properly would have a leg up on the rest of the world in social status and earning power. Those who failed to grasp proper verb tenses and pronouns were likely doomed to a blue collar job and possibly even welfare. We have discovered the painful reality that this is simply not true.
We paid attention and did our best not to disappoint our elders. Several of us whizzed through two years of college-level English at the state university level, stunned at how easy it was and how many people we encountered with high school diplomas who could not perform at the same level we had attained in fifth grade. We were so certain that our lives were going to be so much easier just because we didn't split our infinitives or dangle our participles, or--perish the thought--end sentences with prepositions. Where are you at?
Then we entered the workforce of the real world, and spent our first six years working for an immediate supervisor who was so dyslexic we wondered how he found his way to work every morning. But the fact is, he did it every day for twenty years before we came along, and that's how he got to be mid-level management--just by showing up. By the way, he kept showing up for another twelve years after we were promoted above him. He retired at 55, is the shuffleboard champion of his unit in The Villages and drives a tricked-out golf cart everywhere he goes. Life is good.
As we climbed the ladder we encountered and competed with numerous people who couldn't communicate in writing if their lives depended on it. That's why they had secretaries--to cover for them. It never made sense how their secretaries always got things right, but we found ourselves spending an extra half-hour at the end of every day proofreading our own secretaries and correcting their mistakes, because we believed that their work was a reflection of us.
Voicemail systems came along, and soon no one was required to use written communication anymore. We learned the art of phone tag, paging and leaving cryptic five-second messages that went back and forth as many as a dozen times for a week before a problem that should've only taken an hour to tackle was finally resolved. No paper trail, no dialogue, no human contact. We just sat in our cubicles and tapped the DO NOT DISTURB button on our phones every time they rang.
Finally, the internet came along. E-mail required that we brush up on our typing and written communications skills. Forums gave us an outlet to express opinions and share knowledge. Soon we became badasses again! We could verbally joust with the best, and cut down ignorance in its tracks whenever we felt the urge. Finally, our superiority would be appreciated and we would be given the respect we deserved!
We're pissed because our parents sold us all a load of crap. Those 4th, 5th, and 6th grade spelling bee trophies I won are worthless. Being the best sentence diagrammer in 7th grade has earned me nothing but aggravation. The most painful reality is that we must refrain from expressing our indignation, or risk being ostracized and ridiculed as the grammar police.
Ignorance, in this case, truly would be bliss.
Somewhere along the way, text messages and tweets replaced formal e-mails as the preferred method of communicating. Numbers are used to replace groups of letters, single letters are substituted for entire words.
How R U?
I M Gr8!
C U L8R!
Our adeptness at injecting emoticons may be the difference between getting a date through an on-line service or spending the rest of our lives alone.
We are so screwed.
#100
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I agree with the complainers.
their, there, they're
were, where
loose, lose
road, rode
your, you're
pedal, petal, peddle
to, too
And don't be in such a hurry to post something that you use little or no punctuation.
The list probably goes on but I'm having a senior moment and those are the only examples I can think of right now.
If everyone would use the correct terms and proper punctuation it would make reading a post so much easier.
Thank you.
Now back to our regular programming.
their, there, they're
were, where
loose, lose
road, rode
your, you're
pedal, petal, peddle
to, too
And don't be in such a hurry to post something that you use little or no punctuation.
The list probably goes on but I'm having a senior moment and those are the only examples I can think of right now.
If everyone would use the correct terms and proper punctuation it would make reading a post so much easier.
Thank you.
Now back to our regular programming.
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The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.