[Erwin_Br]

Those are not 'errors'. They're written on purpose. That talk is often used in messengers, chatrooms or SMS cell phone messages. Probably because it's faster and easier to type 'u' instead of 'you'. Heh, lazy youth these days.

--Erwin

[BoyToy]

Typos tend to annoy me only mildly. I am trying to focus on the meaning of things people write. That however, can be really annoying at times.

Anyhow: The longer I am used to the internet, the harder I find it to take texts serious that are written without capitalization or proper punctuation. (It's probably an implicit learning process, which I am subjected to, that I can't avoid.)

[Jackal]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

Some people claim I form if-sentences the wrong way - they claim sentences like "If I hadn't seen you, I wouldn't have missed the bus" are grammatically incorrect. Are they?

I'm assuming they're saying you haven't properly finished your conditional statement with a "then". But it's implied, so no worries. Stop talking to programmers, deadworm.

Originally Posted by Emily

It bugs me too when people write "loose" instead of "lose" - like "I'm loosing my mind."

This is probably the biggest one for me, because it's pronounced differently, and if the context isn't clear yet, it completely throws off how I read the sentence. Most other mistakes I can easily translate, because mentally I hear the word they were looking for.

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

Those are not 'errors'. They're written on purpose. That talk is often used in messengers, chatrooms or SMS cell phone messages. Probably because it's faster and easier to type 'u' instead of 'you'. Heh, lazy youth these days.

--Erwin

Yes, but if they are used in international tests, where everybody knows that they are writing a test which will be graded, then those things are errors - or stupidity.


-

[Swordmaster]

At one point I thought I was spelling 'definitely' wrong, since everywhere I looked it was spelled 'definately'. Another one is spelling 'dependant' instead of 'dependent' (of course, 'dependant' is also a word but not as commonly used).

As for PIN numbers [sic], it's the same with HIV: some people call it "the HIV virus", disregarding the meaning of the acronym (human immunodeficiency virus).

Oh, and I agree about your/you're, they're/their and it's/its. I sometimes make these mistakes when I'm typing fast and sort of "speaking" the text in my head and then just writing what I "hear". If that makes any sense.

[Kirk]

Hello, all--

Maybe I should send my students to this thread. Of course, assuming the people here are writing for an audience that desires Standard English, there is one grammatical rule that always strikes me most.

The split infinitive. This is when a "to _____" phrase is split apart by another word. EX: I am going to quickly run home.

This sentence, of course, should be structured something more like this: I am going to run home quickly.

Yet, this rule--by quite a few scholars--is actually seen as archaic. Originally, this rule was kept in place because in most other languages (especially ones from which English and other Germanic languages are derived) the infinitive is a single word. Yet, in English it is two words. Therefore, scholars (and formalists) have, in the past, proclaimed that the English infinitive phrase must be kept together--as if it were a single word.

There have been many people who have argued against this rule, since so many people split infinitives and still communicate quite clearly in writing and in speech. Even Ben Franklin broke the rule from time to time. On purpose, of course.

So, I can say that while this is not a mistake I most despise, it is one that tends to draw my attention...most.

I say then… TO BE or TO NOT BE, that is the ultimate question.

Best,
Kirk

[Josho]

Originally Posted by Elton28

However, I personally feel there are more concerning issues to worry about in the world today than how somebody spells a word, or what context it is put in. I think its a wee bit pedantic to start whining about how people spell and pronounce - a lot of us here left school years ago. Who really cares how a word is spelt on the forum if you understand what the person is trying to say??

Elton,

No offense taken, believe me. I merely asked which such mistakes people find particularly irksome, not whether or not they ought to be irksome at all (a different debate, which you've started now!).

There are certainly more critical and worrisome things in the world than proper use of language. The whole topic of "Adventure games" also falls into the category of things about which we shouldn't bother worrying because there are more important matters in the world. Would you suggest that the entire site be closed down for its irrelevance to weighty global issues? Doesn't the section title "Chit Chat" permit us to talk about frivolous topics without being judged negatively for doing so?

Your point that "Who really cares how a word is spelt on the forum if you understand what the person is trying to say??" is an interesting one. Let me pose a hypothetical question. Let's say that it's your birthday (okay, first let's say that you CARE about birthdays!) and you receive two birthday cards. One is from a 3-year-old niece. Despite its obvious childishness, it was clearly a labor of love, something the niece labored over, complete with pictures of you and her and hearts and flowers and the painstakingly drawn letters "Happy Birthday!" The other card is merely a cocktail napkin upon which a friend dashed off the words "happy birthday," wrote their name at the bottom, then folded it up and tossed it in your mailbox.

If I understand your point about the message being more important than the manner in which it's communicated, one could certainly argue that both cards were equally meaningful because, on the face of it, they carry the exact same sentiment.

If I were the recipient, I would be touched by the child's card because clearly the child took the time and effort to carefully create a real message communicating how she feels about me. The friend's crumpled napkin in the mailbox tells me something as well, something that would lead me to wonder whether they were trying to be funny, or just discharging a social obligation...because certainly the effort expended to create the message was about as minimal as humanly possible.

And so it is with punctuation, grammar, and other elements of written communication. The thought and care a person puts into their messages -- not just in the words themselves, but in the way they're crafted -- tells a great deal not just about the person, but in how that person feels about both the subject matter and the audience.

If a person who knows English only as a second language (or has a handicap that makes typing and/or reading difficult, or is very young, or has some other such understandable circumstance), does even a halfway creditable job composing a message, I'm honored because I *know* it couldn't have been easy...I *know* they were making a special effort to be understood. How can one respond to that except by giving that person's words careful attention?

On the flip side, if a person who has no such extenuating circumstance writes in a manner that conveys that he couldn't be bothered to read over his own words before posting them, I find myself wondering: if the author himself couldn't be bothered to consider his words carefully, why is he expecting ME to do so?

And if I make mistakes because I'm in a hurry, then I have to also allow that people will read my message in the same way (hurriedly), and increase the likelihood that the message will be misunderstood. The basic fault would be mine, and I'd have wasted other people's time as well as my own.

Whew!

--Josh

[Josho]

Originally Posted by Swordmaster

As for PIN numbers [sic], it's the same with HIV: some people call it "the HIV virus", disregarding the meaning of the acronym (human immunodeficiency virus).

Oh, and let's not forget people who insist on stopping at the "ATM machine" (Automatic Teller Machine machine").

--Josh

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by Swordmaster

At one point I thought I was spelling 'definitely' wrong, since everywhere I looked it was spelled 'definately'. Another one is spelling 'dependant' instead of 'dependent' (of course, 'dependant' is also a word but not as commonly used).

Same here.

I'm also bothered by people who use three dots constantly and don't form precise paragraps but instead leave them...
.....hanging like....

this....

[Wormsie]

...But it is correct to say "the HI virus", isn't it?

[BoyToy]

That's a good point, Josh! There can be a meaning in messages, that goes beyond the words itself. A meaning which is implied by the presentation and the context.
Thanks for making me more aware to that.

[Elton28]

I wholeheartedly agree with what you were saying Josh and yes I understand the point with the birthday cards.

It's like sometimes you can tell how a person feels about you in say, an e-mail, just because of how it is written; I can often tell how a person feels about me just by reading their e-mail and the style is written in.

I am glad you took the time to explain though Josh, thankyou

[gillyruless]

I was all set to agree with ArseFerret Elton then Josh had to go and make his post. Darn it.



Josh definitely does have a point. Whenever I end up making mistakes on my posts, it's because I was too lazy to proofread them before hitting the submit button. I'm a lousy typist and end up misspelling words all the time like "becasue" and "recieve" . I usually try to review my posts before posting but not always. Given the quality of the contribution made by others on the forum, I need to try to do better. I'm a bit ashamed.

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by Josho

Oh, and let's not forget people who insist on stopping at the "ATM machine" (Automatic Teller Machine machine").

--Josh

Reminds me a bit of Crocodile Crocodile "Dongo", the barman from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel "The Last Continent"


-

[Wormsie]

I type with piano technique. It looks dramatic.

[BoyToy]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

Reminds me a bit of Crocodile Crocodile "Dongo", the barman from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel "The Last Continent"

Nothing can beat the SAT.1 "Film Film", can it?!

[Fairygdmther]

Josh, very eloquently stated and with an appropriate analogy to illuminate your thoughts. I'm looking forward to more posts from you.

FGM

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by BoyToy

Nothing can beat the SAT.1 "Film Film", can it?!

Nope, nothing can.


But I love those flying women who act as movie rolls, and the music. It always makes me feel nostalgic. PRO7's Helicopter has no chance against that.

Or were the flying women on RTL?


-

[Josho]

Oh, and come to think of it -- though it's not a typo, but another bizarre bit of English that seems to creep into speech -- where does "nother" fit into the scheme of things? Is it spelled "nother" or "nuther"? Where did it come from? Is it the equivalent of "fan-frickin'-tastic," used with the word "another" ("that's a-whole-nother thing")?

--Josh

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by deadworm222

I type with piano technique. It looks dramatic.

I type with two(+)-finger-KNOW-system.

It's with two fingers and sometimes more. But instead of searching the keys, I know where they are by heart, and hit them exactly. I was typing this whole message without looking at my keyboard.


-