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What's bad around here that I see is, and I don't know how to say it without it maybe seeming racist, but it's not Ebonics, but maybe 'gangsta' writing, which is a black thing here in the USA for those not around, but what I remember is 'ya', pronounced as 'yuh' replacing 'you' or even 'your' and a few other slang words where the blacks wirte that way (like it sounds) when texting or emailing or on Facebook, which I don't go to but have friends tell me, but unfortunately I've seen it in poorly written (to begin with) letters, on paper, essentially asking about jobs at 'ya _______ '(business, fill in the blank).

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I think that's the point. Sloppiness in an informal setting carries over to sloppiness in more formal communications. Is it really that much trouble to make the effort to communicate with the proper words, spelling and punctuation? Yes, everyone makes the occasional typo, but much of what is discussed in this tread goes WAY beyond a typo now and again.

Joe, there are many here on ARC who are very articulate when writing replies or new threads, and some who at times deliberately misspell in an effort to be humorous or just poking fun. Your point is well said and taken, lazy at home carries over to lazy elsewhere. However one can blame chatrooms [remember those], and web speak. Those two gave and are giving folks who are lazy or just having a big case of goitis an easy way out. Phrases like u r welcome, it's nu 2 me. Remember some years back when the right Rev. Jesse Jackson wanted the schools to teach E-bonics; OMG what a disaster that would have been. This is just another form of that, maybe we should call this webonics. It is just as hazardous to the English language as e-bonics, if not worse as this is a total cross section of the English speaking world. I've seen people who didn't care enough or just didn't/couldn't get it while attending grade/high school and this is a result of that. With spell check being readily available I'm of the thought that typo's are a thing of the past; perhaps I'm wrong. If something is worth taking the time to write it, it should be worth taking the time to write it correctly. It seems to carry into the spoken word...how many times have you watched an interview with a professional athlete and heard the phrase "do you know what I'm saying" or "ya feel me". Yes I know what they are saying..it seems they are not sure of themselves if they have to keep asking if you know what they are saying. I'd hate to see them write what they wish to convey.

Edited by #1 Greywolf
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It seems to carry into the spoken word...how many times have you watched an interview with a professional athlete and heard the phrase "do you know what I'm saying" or "ya feel me". Yes I know what they are saying..it seems they are not sure of themselves if they have to keep asking if you know what they are saying.

I always love responding,"Actually, no. I don't understand. Would you please explain?" just to see where they'll go with it.

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What's bad around here that I see is, and I don't know how to say it without it maybe seeming racist, but it's not Ebonics, but maybe 'gangsta' writing, which is a black thing here in the USA for those not around, but what I remember is 'ya', pronounced as 'yuh' replacing 'you' or even 'your' and a few other slang words where the blacks wirte that way (like it sounds) when texting or emailing or on Facebook, which I don't go to but have friends tell me, but unfortunately I've seen it in poorly written (to begin with) letters, on paper, essentially asking about jobs at 'ya _______ '(business, fill in the blank).

Ima bee down with 'dat, y'all...

Exactly. My 18 year-old daughter has sprained her eye muscles from rolling them every time I go on a rant about how rappers can't use proper English words and grammar. Nothing rubs me more wrong in language than a total misuse like "Ima bee" or something similar.

As I mentioned in my first post in this thread, it's not limited to English. Here in Quebec, native French-speakers have twisted their own language into bizarre forms.

Example: Instead of the correct "Je vais te le dire" (I will tell you), they often say "Ma va te dire", which is full of gibberish, poorly pronounced, yet widely accepted as being the way the "real" people speak.

Go figure.

Rant off.

ALF

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And yet many on this forum are willing to crucify a manufacturer for misplacing a rivet on a kit by a few microns. How ironic to demand perfection in models and not in language.

We have to PAY for the kits! The language just gets chucked at us for nothing.

Mind you, I tried join the local Pedantry Society, but was declined when I mentioned that it should be 'Pedant's Society'... :evil-laughter:

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We have to PAY for the kits! The language just gets chucked at us for nothing.

Mind you, I tried join the local Pedantry Society, but was declined when I mentioned that it should be 'Pedant's Society'... :evil-laughter:

Surely, unless it only has one member, that should be 'Pedants' Society'? :whistle: :)

Edited by MikeC
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Actually it does. "I'd" can mean either "I would" or "I had". Both are now acceptable according to my style source. English is a living organism, and it changes every hour of every day. So it's just as proper to say "I'd buy that for a nickel (I would by that for a nickel)." as it is to say "I'd had just about enough (I had had just about enough)." Everyone knows what you mean in either case, which is the point of spoken language.

I know all this. I wasn't talking about whether "I'd" only means one or the other. I was trying to explain that "I wish I would have done that" is wrong because it confuses one meaning with the other.

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Another peeve of mine and I was only reminded a minute ago is I heard a FIX anchor say it. People mixing plural and singular. "Here is some pictures". "These kind of pics." Just a few weeks ago I somehow stumbled upon an eBay auction selling stickers saying "The contents of this helmet is under pressure." I emailed the seller asking what 2nd grader wrote that for them. I got this big ranting email decribing in detail how it meant what the contents of the helmet were (was?) and pressure, etc., but not a single word about the incorrect grammar! :)

Edited by famvburg
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Time for me to wear the pedantic hat as I must agree with the observations of many regarding the horrible and incorrect use of grammar and punctuation. For those who do not speak or write English as a first language, I cut them a lot of slack. I am guilty of using the occasional shortcut and 'LOL' or 'c u later' but I am utterly dismayed at the butchering of the English language. I'm not sure if it is apathy, ignorance or laziness but it is very frustrating to read a document or message rife with poor sentence structure and glaring spelling errors. We also cannot say that this is a generational issue either. Many of my contemporaries couldn't spell their way out of a wet paper bag. I rue the demise of proper grammar. Oh the humanity...

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