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Why do we never get 'male representation' queries?
Tis sexism I tells yer!
I've just been marking another essay from some student who doesn't know the difference between these two words: "How the punk movement was effected (sic) by the media".
There's at least one poster in this section already who's similarly confused.
Can I appeal to any others who are in any doubt to look it up please. Do it now. Few things (not even the godawful ungrammatical "bored of") gets the little veins throbbing in my forehead . . .
Why do we never get 'male representation' queries?
Tis sexism I tells yer!
So help to teach them - but don't get annoyed! We're all learning stuff and the english language is a nightmare..I've learned things from posting on a forum that I didn't learn in school. But I hated school with every fibre of my being and everyone else I knew did too - it was Thatchers reign..(I nearly put rein in to see your forehead throb!)
So, I'd say, point it out - but don't get annoyed..tis just stuff to learn..
The ones that really get me are 'uninterested' and 'disinterested'. Different meanings, but even used wrongly in the broadcast media nowadays.
The St. Philip's Boys' Choir produced a CD:
"ANGEL VOICES - THE ST. PHILIPS BOY'S CHOIR"
As the choir's reputation depends on an aura of perfection, those conspicuous mistakes were unfortunate.
There were two further CDs in the sequence:
ANGEL VOICES 2 and 3.
The same errors were repeated:
".....THE ST. PHILIPS BOY'S CHOIR"
Was Music Collection International (MCI) right to perpetuate inaccuracy, rather than apologise for the original "misprints"?
The correct name, on subsequent CDs, would have drawn more attention to errors on the first one.
The three CDs remain popular and the choir evolved into Libera. From that perspective, the use (or absence) of apostrophes has caused no long-term damage.
But, as with "affect" and "effect", there is the risk of setting a bad example.
Students would be seriously confused if they relied on various signs, in public places, for guidance in the correct use of apostrophes.
Another one is the use of "Of" instead of "Have" e.g. "You should of seen her, standing there naked"
I've seen that used hundreds of times, often by people that should of known better.
Seriously, I'm not a punctuation / spelling freak but at least try to get the basics....innit?
name='sippog']I've just been marking another essay from some student who doesn't know the difference between these two words: "How the punk movement was effected (sic) by the media".
Maybe it was all effected by the media
Steve
How about the use of more than three dots in an ellipsis? ;-)
For the picky amongst us there's the Apostrophe Protection Society, based in Boston - the real Boston.
Apostrophe Protection Society
Nick
Pet Hate 1
Obama referred to the "enormity" of his task! Perhaps we should be scared? Death Camps? World Wars? Untold horrors?
No.
He just meant "enormousness" - it's going to be a big job.
Pet Hate 2
Even Jonathon Miller (in his excellent Atheism series) misused "begging the question". When erudite types like him start doing it - the game is over!
name='MB']So help to teach them - but don't get annoyed! We're all learning stuff and the english language is a nightmare ...
Believe me, MB, I'm usually the soul of forebearance and patience - I need to be - but just occasionally it gets to me. My own spelling and punctuation is far from perfect but I do try to get it right and I don't mind being corrected.
What depresses me is when students transparently don't bother; typically the kind of writing that's half text-speak - lower case i's and lazy spelling. It's depressing because it's symptomatic of an education where nobody has tried to get the writer to correct these faults. Sloppy writing means sloppy thinking; all my experience has proved that to be true.
is this thread in the write place ? shouldnt "of topic " be better ?
name='sippog']
What depresses me is when students transparently don't bother.
That's the bottom line I'm afraid. I have a son who is statemented dyslexic. He got his English degree from UEA by sheer hard work and the help MS Word Spellcheck. There really is no excuse these days.
name='davidb']is this thread in the write place ? shouldnt "of topic " be better ?
Anywhere you can read it will do
Count the errors in your message
Steve
Sign of the times! "All passes must be shewn." featuring in a black and white WWII film, possibly Millions Like Us or The Gentle Sex and is hanging up next to a kiosk of some sort.
name='sippog']I've just been marking another essay from some student who doesn't know the difference between these two words: "How the punk movement was effected (sic) by the media".
There's at least one poster in this section already who's similarly confused.
Can I appeal to any others who are in any doubt to look it up please. Do it now. Few things (not even the godawful ungrammatical "bored of") gets the little veins throbbing in my forehead . . .
Oh I see that a lot on the Internet, all kinds of grammatical errors, versus typos.
Not to mention a few others:
Sequence for sequins (the little metallic decorative bead used in sewing and crafts), there/their, who's/whose, and more.
Oh, and one I frequently see on ebay:
bowels instead of bowls
name='sippog']Believe me, MB, I'm usually the soul of forebearance and patience - I need to be - but just occasionally it gets to me. My own spelling and punctuation is far from perfect but I do try to get it right and I don't mind being corrected.
What depresses me is when students transparently don't bother; typically the kind of writing that's half text-speak - lower case i's and lazy spelling. It's depressing because it's symptomatic of an education where nobody has tried to get the writer to correct these faults. Sloppy writing means sloppy thinking; all my experience has proved that to be true.
Ok, I just think when people become over worried about language usage on forums it can inhibit people from posting if they feel unsure of their use of English -
As long as we can understand it, I think it should be Ok.
I think a thread for common usage problems is fine enough.
I am more interested in what people have to say than the odd mistake here and there and I think most people just don't have the time to always check carefully.
name='MB']As long as we can understand it, I think it should be Ok.
Exactly, as long as we can understand it. But that's why punctuation is often important. There was one read out on The News Quiz which shows the importance of punctuation. A court report in a local paper was printed as:
The accused said his lawyer was drunk and didn't know what he was doing.
The next week they issued a correction and said that it should have read
The accused, said his lawyer, was drunk and didn't know what he was doing.
I'll leave this as an exercise for the reader. Punctuate the following sentence correctly:
A woman without her man is nothing
Steve
A woman without her man is nothing
I suspect you know, Mr Crook, what I'd like to punctuate that with.
name='MB']A woman without her man is nothing
I suspect you know, Mr Crook, what I'd like to punctuate that with.
*snicker*
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