Good spelling still matters

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Rob Lister

r u coming 2nite

no way am I going there.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by orlok

r u coming 2nite - NO!


Are you coming tonight? Maybe, handsome...

That settles it! No shorthand texts for me... (looking for hair-combing, toothbrushing or flower-buying smileys)

[ClairePMR]

In my spare time, I volunteer as a "validator" for a website which publishes Harry Potter fanfiction, and the level of errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation was so heinous that I resorted to writing a "Weekly Tips" column to try to encourage some of these (very) young writers to pay attention to important details such as homonym/homophone errors, appropriate use of commas and semicolons, dialogue punctuation, etc. The response has been stunning; a large part of the fic-writing population has apparently had only the most minimal exposure to learning that we old folks used to consider essential. Now, if they'd only actually apply the lessons I so diligently write! (Fat chance.)

[dwig]

Originally Posted by Rob Lister

I think there are unstated social contracts pertaining to different forms of messaging and their players.

Should a text message to my good buddy Bubba about our shrimp barbeque tonight really be meticulously typed and proofed?

We're very verbose here compared to many forums. Many here take at least some pride in making a message not only comprehensible, but often eloquent. Compare with your average gaming forum.

One point to consider: while sloppy typing and spelling along with "code" shorthand is fine on messages that aren't archived or ever referred back to, misspelling in forums like this is a serious issue. You can't reliably search for words and phrases when they are not spelled correctly.

Such errors make finding information all but impossible. Poor spellers should not be given any slack in forums like this. Helpful replies to a poster's mangled query should always include the key words and/or phrases spelled correctly so that there is something for a new searcher to find later.

[hidari]

For all those who are Anal retentive about spelling...perhaps you have a point...but some who complain about spelling in the forums come across as arrogant and rude in the manner in which they complain about said misspellings.......

[tarzanphan60]

While I am very anal retentive about spelling and have been known to harrass friends for unintentionally funny spelling errors, in one of my full-time jobs, 95% of the employees I work with do not speak English as their native tongue and I am very careful to understand their meanings and overlook errors.

However, in my other full-time job, everyone is a native English speaker and I find it very irritating when a mid-level manager is totally unprofesional and can't bother with capitalization, punctuation or correct spelling.

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by Rob Lister

I think there are unstated social contracts pertaining to different forms of messaging and their players.

Should a text message to my good buddy Bubba about our shrimp barbeque tonight really be meticulously typed and proofed?

We're very verbose here compared to many forums. Many here take at least some pride in making a message not only comprehensible, but often eloquent. Compare with your average gaming forum.

Forrest Gump? Is that really you?

But yes, you have a point. Language, even written, is in essence about communication. Text speech is really just another language, and as long as it don't replace the more verbose ones, I can live with it.

I wonder what some famous authors, now passed on, would text each other about the afternoon BBQ (<--See what I did there?) . Shakespeare to Dante, or Conrad to Jules Verne.

[Joshua.P]

I'd be interested to know the ages of people who can't understand:

"r u coming 2nite"

I mean, anyone under 20 could read that and get the message. Probably even quicker than if it was written out fully.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Joshua.P

I'd be interested to know the ages of people who can't understand:

"r u coming 2nite"

I mean, anyone under 20 could read that and get the message. Probably even quicker than if it was written out fully.

It's a matter of context. I don't think anyone would say that such spelling is inappropriate for personal messaging between friends, but when you're writing for a wider audience, it seems to me to be a matter of simple courtesy to at least attempt to write in a reasonably standard form of English (or whatever language it is you're writing in).

[applesauce]

Originally Posted by Joshua.P

I'd be interested to know the ages of people who can't understand:

"r u coming 2nite"

I mean, anyone under 20 could read that and get the message. Probably even quicker than if it was written out fully.

I am in my 40s and have 18 year old twins. I understand it. They think people who text like that as tards. Neither of them or their friends use it.

I would not say anything if a teen sent me a text like that , but if an adult did I would think about how well I know them. It would be creepy.

I find it even worse when used on irc.

applesauce

[Rob Lister]

Originally Posted by VaporPunk

Forrest Gump? Is that really you?

It was almost unintentional.

[QuantumIguana]

Text speech isn't another language, what it is is a code. Pig Latin is another example of something people might call a language, but is really a code. You don't translate it, you decode it. The purpose of Pig Latin is just to have some fun with it, or some minor obscuration of the text. The point of text speech is brevity of sending. The time savings is on the sending end. It does take more time to comprehend than normal use of language, but since these are short, throw-away communications, it doesn't matter much.

If it took less time to understand text speech than normal speech, then imagine if this whole forum were in text speech. Communication would be slowed. I have no big problem with text messaged like "r u coming 2nite?" for throw-away communications. It is when text speech starts bleeding over into other communications that I have a problem with it. I doubt very much that books will be written in text speech. Oh, I am sure that someone has written one, but it would never make up a significant percentage of books.

[Rob Lister]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Text speech isn't another language, what it is is a code. Pig Latin is another example of something people might call a language, but is really a code. You don't translate it, you decode it. The purpose of Pig Latin is just to have some fun with it, or some minor obscuration of the text. The point of text speech is brevity of sending. The time savings is on the sending end. It does take more time to comprehend than normal use of language, but since these are short, throw-away communications, it doesn't matter much.

If it took less time to understand text speech than normal speech, then imagine if this whole forum were in text speech. Communication would be slowed. I have no big problem with text messaged like "r u coming 2nite?" for throw-away communications. It is when text speech starts bleeding over into other communications that I have a problem with it. I doubt very much that books will be written in text speech. Oh, I am sure that someone has written one, but it would never make up a significant percentage of books.

I agree mostly but with a quibble: some folks (young teens?) appear to use this form of writing intentionally, even when it would be easier to just 'spell it out'. So, more like Pig Latin for some. "fOR TEh LULZ" crowd. I know you've met them.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Rob Lister

I agree mostly but with a quibble: some folks (young teens?) appear to use this form of writing intentionally, even when it would be easier to just 'spell it out'. So, more like Pig Latin for some. "fOR TEh LULZ" crowd. I know you've met them.

They also wear their hats crooked and their underwear showing.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by Rob Lister

I agree mostly but with a quibble: some folks (young teens?) appear to use this form of writing intentionally, even when it would be easier to just 'spell it out'. So, more like Pig Latin for some. "fOR TEh LULZ" crowd. I know you've met them.

True, but that's not really text speech. It's not a compacted form made to be faster to type, as you note, it actually is more complicated. Rather than being fast to type in, it marks the user as one of the "cool kids". Of course, this depends on a very particular definition of cool. Back in the days of BBSes, this was called "leet speak", for the so-called "elites" those whose claim to fame was how fast they could get their "warez".