Nice thread, I do get annoyed by incorrect spelling and grammar, even when it concerns English language, which isn't my mother tongue at all... (therefore I probably make mistakes myself, from time to time). I tend to take someone who uses correct language more serious than someone who makes mistakes all the time...

Someone stated English is one of the hardest languages to use correctly, whether written or spoken... I wonder where you got that idea from? I might agree when it concerns written English, but when it comes to spoken English most people find it one of the easiest languages to learn.

Anyway, we keep on learning: until about 15 minutes ago I thought all of you were misspelling the word 'dyslectic' as 'dyslexic', but I just found out both are correct

Originally posted by Movhisattva
Nice thread, I do get annoyed by incorrect spelling and grammar, even when it concerns English language, which isn't my mother tongue at all... (therefore I probably make mistakes myself, from time to time). I tend to take someone who uses correct language more serious than someone who makes mistakes all the time...

Someone stated English is one of the hardest languages to use correctly, whether written or spoken... I wonder where you got that idea from? I might agree when it concerns written English, but when it comes to spoken English most people find it one of the easiest languages to learn.

My thoughts exactly.

English isn't my mother (or father ) tongue either. And I think this is precisely the reason why we (meaning non-native speakers, especially those who know more than one or two foreign languages) are so finicky about it: we were not only taught to write, read and speak it as correctly as possible; because it was not our natural, "inborn" mode of expression, I think we were/are more acutely aware of its structure (both spoken and written) - of its status of natural construct developed through history. (And of its beauty, too. )

That, of course, is true of any language when seen through the eyes of an outside observer. A person who does not live in a building is much more aware of the aspect and the structure of the building than its regular inhabitants.


(No wonder Professor Higgins says about Eliza that her English is much too good for her to be English. )







[edit on 27-10-2009 by Vanitas]

English is a difficult language to use "properly". The grammar is a beast.

Have you ever tried learning another language? English grammar is much simpler than that of most languages. There is no concept of grammatical gender or case, and the verb endings are mostly very straightforward.

Try learning German or Russian if you want to know how difficult grammar can be!

Spelling is even worse.

That is true, and most foreigners report it as the single most difficult thing about English.

Still, on balance English is NOT a particularly difficult language. Moreover, the problems some people have with basic grammar or punctuation are not limited to English. A colon, a semicolon, a full stop and a question mark mean exactly the same in French and German as they do in English.

Originally posted by Republican08
Just so I can finally go ahead and make a notice.

Weather= Conditions outside.
Whether= Well the link can explain this better.

You left out this one:

Wether = A male sheep especially a castrated one

It's nothing to laugh at, but English is a funny language!!!

Originally posted by Franz

Try learning German or Russian if you want to know how difficult grammar can be!

German is (relatively) very easy, I think.
(I did say relatively, didn't I? )

But Russian... I would say, ANY of the Slavic languages could easily qualify as the "most difficult" for any English native speaker.
There is simply no comparison.
(No wonder they can master other European languages with such - again, relative - ease.)

Then again, French doesn't come easy to many, either...

Oh, and let's not forget the Semitic languages...
I could write a poetic dissertation on the benefits (and not just cultural/intellectual) of learning either Arabic or Hebrew - or both...
(Don't tempt, or I will! )

Even trying to learn languages from a totally different culture has lasting benefits.
But that's off topic, so I'll give it a rest.










[edit on 27-10-2009 by Vanitas]

I posted my pet-peeves earlier, but am back to add that the only thing worse than seeing these common 4th grade errors in a post, is to see them on a thread TITLE. That really, really makes me cringe.

Surely one might check the Title to ensure that spelling and grammar are correct in that field, at least. Double check the Title. Please. If there is some uncertainly, look it up. At least for the title.

I know most of these are probably nothing more than typographical errors, but take a moment to double check.

In cast this ticks anyone off: I'm not talking about you.

Well I have to agree that bad grammar drives me nuts on here and other forums I frequent. I know I make mistakes sometimes when typing esp with my computer having a key missing

I was always corrected while growing up when I used improper grammar and to this day I do it to people around me. Yes, it drives my friends and family nuts but if you are 30 years old and are still unable to figure out how to use words such as: you're and your or their, there and they're then you might want to have a refresher course. I know not everyone won the spelling bee every year like me (sorry I was very proud of that and the word astronaut is one that won me the title in 1st grade ) but some of the basic grammar skills are being completely thrown out the window by many people on various boards I read. You didnt forget what 1+1 is now did you? Sometimes when someone doesnt use the proper wording or spelling it makes it hard to understand what is being said, it can also change the meaning of the post. Another set of words people always seem to mess up are TO and TOO. For whatever reason that drives me bonkers the most.

I know not everyone on here has English as a first language, but for those who do IMO you have no excuse.

Originally posted by Tallsorts

It's nothing to laugh at, but English is a funny language!!!

Especially - and this is admittedly totally off topic - when in the haste of rabid writing, or simply as a consequence of a faulty keyboard, some characters are omitted that really, really should not have been...
(Like the time I was very busy writing something about "countless women" - and it turned out the O key on the keyboard didn't work properly every time... Worst of all: that message board did not have the "edit" option.
Oh yeah. That was one post to remember... )


Back to topic (somewhat): I am constantly baffled by the use of "except" instead of accept.







[edit on 27-10-2009 by Vanitas]