Language

[ChuckMajik]

I've recently noticed that the language in these forums has been slowly degrading.
What has caused this, and can it be fixed?

:-/

[Rifleman]

I think I just addressed this in the Cafe in two threads.....I find it funny (co-incidence ) that we think alike..........check "HEY OZZY" and 1000th post to see where my comments are..........not bashin though, hope everyone understands where this comes from.......I learned English in England.........

[Scorpiоn]

I think it's just the plain and simple fact that we're starting to get younger members.  Only for examples, look at the contrasts between Katana and Fozzer.

[Rifleman]

I don't even associate age with it....I see it as "too much trouble" to insert punctuation and not enough attention span to learn proper grammar when the lessons were upon some..............to, too, and two are very common errors on here........

[Rifleman]

You do realize that once these notes get read, we are gonna get bashed .....big time........from all the other users on here......after all, we are a minority.......

[ChuckMajik]

Maybe I should have elaberated.
I do agree that the grammar of many members is getting harder and harder to read each day,
but
I was referring to the vocabulary of a lot of recent threads in particular.

Words that are rather foul that may offend other members.

[pacnorwest_sim]

For some people, it's part of their daily vocabulary. Not myself personally, but being a high school student, I am pretty numb to it.  ;)

I believe Yabb has an option to edit out the particularly naughty words. But, words like crap, hell, etc. aren't considered "bad" in my book.  :)

[ozzy72]

I haven't noticed any difference Steve-O.

I occasionally insert the odd word which may be considered rude or foul, but being Australian, there are some words which are just ordinary words for us and I may not realise, for example, I'm told that "arse" can be considered a bit naughty but it's perfectly OK in "mixed company" where I am, anyway we spell it differently from the rest of you.

However, as for F's and C's and Sh** I don't use them here at all, at least don't recall. I use "crap" often, but I'm told by my American friends on the Forum that it's OK.

[ozzy72]

Speaking as an English teacher I think there are two major reasons.
Number one we are attracting a lot of new members for whom English is NOT their mother language, and they should be applauded for having a go in a different language (believe me I know how hard it is!), and you have different levels of expertise within that language, for example ATI is v.good at English, and he is German, whereas some of our other foreign members are still just beginning to learn English.
Also the education system (please note that word, do NOT suppliment for teachers!) is failing. All students seem to care about these days is their rights, not their education. When I first started teaching in Hungary I was treated v.differently by the students than I am now, nowadays they know I can't even give them a detention, so they swear at me, or wonder into the class half way through the lesson, and don't apologise! It really comes down to the hippy brigade (no disrespect to ex-hippies), and their free will attitude and lack of discipline. In Japan things are v.different, and they still have exceptional discipline, and it shows!
Alas we cannot turn back the clock and fix these things, and alas the American sueing culture is catching on everywhere these days. There was a good thread about this a while back, and a lot of the American members here were saying 'why can't people accept responsibility for their actions?', and they were right.

Ozzy

[Hagar]

I actually disagree. I've sometimes noticed a marked improvement after members have been here a while. The general standards of spelling, punctuation & grammar are surprisingly good, particularly for an international forum. Some of the blame must lie with the popular texting & internet shorthand culture but age has nothing to do with it. IMHO  ;)

The ability to spell has no bearing on intelligence. It comes easily for some people while others will always have problems. I'm particularly fussy about spelling which is why my posts are often edited. I'm a rotten typist & often make typos so I take the trouble to go back & correct them. Most people wouldn't bother. Silly little things that often annoy me are the errant apostrophe in plurals & posessive pronouns (it's instead of its) & the misuse of the word "to" for too, meaning also. The word "lose" often seems to gain an extra O for some reason. Loose has an entirely different meaning.  ???

In my experience, the people who complain the loudest about the quality of spelling & grammar are not always as good as they think. I expect you will all go through this reply with a fine toothcomb for mistakes.  ;D

[Mr. Bones]

my mother language is Dutch. in these forums i learn much english. of course i still make lots of mistakes, but without them, you can't learn anything... by the way, it 's much more fun to learn a language this way, than in a classroom.

[Professor Brensec]

Hagar, my man.

I take it you don't mind ampersands.  ;D

[ATI_7500]

okay,i'll try to avoid using "bad" words. promised.

[Fly2e]

I always proof read" my posts! I think people sometimes make assumptions about you when you are constantly spelling words wrong and using foul language. It says something about your charactar. Then again, I need to be aware that alot of people speak different languages and are doing the best they can. I refrain from any foul language here and in my personal life. I know that alot of todays youth speak horribly and every other word is a curse or just plain dis-respectful! The words that come out of their mouth and the things some guys say to girls,  I can't believe. Believe me, when I was young, yeah, I definatley said ALOT!!!! But I always respected my peers and women! It is in their up-bringing. Unfortunatley they are products of thier enviroment. Poor parenting breeds poor offspring!

See I just  "previewed this and found 3 mistakes!"  lol

Dave

[Hagar]

[quote]Hagar, my man.

I take it you don't mind ampersands.