A "De-Barked" Dog??? - Page 4

I agree with you, Laris, to the point that a person is ABLE to write the English language, which is harder than speaking it. Some people use a translation program but a translation program isn't always going to give the correct word needed. I can flog through posts when I know that a person is not a native English speaker easier than I can try to read an English speaker's post, where it's just lousy spelling. We also need to remember that we have at least one generation that was taught to spell phonetically, and you never know what you're going to see, that way. I'm not talking about typos. Happens all the time, and sometimes they turn out really funny and bring laughter to the board! English grammar is a whole 'nother area, as is vernacular which can be tricky. I guess that's why they invented emoticons. :)

I had no problem reading or understanding zoe posts. I think the opinion on the subject was well exspressed. If others feel differently, do tell.

As a linguist I find Zoe’s posts fascinating. She is Swedish, isn’t she? I wonder how she learned the English language. She obviously can converse freely, her phrases are constructed correctly, she uses colloquial expressions, her vocabulary is extensive, but the spelling, pardon me :-), is atrocious. What gives? Zoe, did you learn the language by mostly listening and speaking? And not much reading? People who learn the language mainly by reading usually have better spelling, but less control of the language. Or are you just a bad typist?

Interesting observations, VOR.

Wrong button. Wasn't finished yet. VOR, As a linguist, what is your opinion about how poor spelling has an effect on some readers like fingernails on a blackboard, while others aren't affected this way?

I hear’ya, Kerry, LOL. Has the same effect on me... I can cut some slack for non-native speakers, but not too much, English being my 6th language... It may be just me, but when I read a post, no matter how insightful and informative it may be, if it’s garbled, I tend not to give it much credence. Sorry, it’s intuitive, can’t help it. I believe that people should have respect for the language and a little pride in themselves. This forum is a social gathering, or sorts. We don’t have a visual image of each other—we are what we write, and how we write--that’s how others perceive us. Would you go to a social gathering (a convention, whatever) dressed like a slob? Doubtful. So why would one want to present him/herself to the whole world in such a sloppy manner? Especially when you have such easily available tools at your fingertips as a spell-check? As far as other people not being bothered by this, well, maybe they are more tolerant than you and I, Kerry. Maybe we are the ones who need attitude adjustment, LOL. And I bet we gonna get it...

Thanks, VOR, I didn't mean to give myself away, but I've already gotten it from Brittany in the "link to wienrau" thread! Yes, I confess that I'm the former! Still, I contend that people should try their best, and others try to help out when necessary. If English wasn't my primary language, I wouldn't want to be afraid of criticism if I was trying my best to communicate, but I would spend hours on a single post, checking grammar and spelling. I think some of the spontaneity would be lost, though. I agree that it is easier to get one's point without the distraction of so many misspellings. Again, I'm not referring to the occasional typo. BTW, a nit to pick, but in keyboarding is it still correct to leave one space between words, and two spaces between the end of one sentence and the beginning of another as in traditional typing? :D

A nit to pick? Anytime :-) I believe that double-spacing between sentences fell by the wayside long time ago with the advent of word processing. What used to happen (and probably still happens, if the software is not programmed to skip the double-space) was when the raw text was “composed” by a computer and the end of a sentence fell at the end of a line, the next line would start with a space. At the beginning it was quite a problem to recondition professional typists into word-processors or typesetters--they were so used to double-spacing. Now it's your turn to "educate" me: I noticed that some threads, including this one, start with a name, but some of the replies have just letters or numbers in the "topic" line. What does it mean?

Hi VOR, Thanks. I'm still a two-space gal, after learning typing in highschool. I notice that some folks don't use any spaces, or just one, for everything. I don't know why this letter or numbering phenomenon occurs. This one started after Oli made some changes. I think that most of them occur when Oli is monkeying around with the system. If I recall, he changed servers recently. Sorry, but I don't know more than that. Newer ones are normal.

I would rather have spelling and typing errors than stop people from posting their opinions. I am willing to invest the energy to understand. I value the fact that the board is international and I don't expect everyone to speak my language(s). I also understand someone typing eithout proof reading everything - more interested in the idea than that English lesson. When I see typing like Zoe's I generally feel that it is from a person who is passionate about their ideas and worries more about the ideas than the English teacher's red pencil. (OK - I speak from my own experiences as I am guilty of the same). So lighten up folks, this is not the English 101 final - it is a means to share ideas. If you cannot read anything other than perfect American, then stick to a place that is not international in scope. And even then, typos will disturb you. Ruth