More spelling & grammar errors these days?

[Mike OTDP]

Is anyone else noticing a lot more spelling and grammar errors these days? I certainly am. Homonyms especially, but it seems that more and more people have completely forgotten basic English grammar and spelling. It's at the point where I read something that is correct, and am surprised.

Which is a Very Bad Sign.

[Denis]

Which is a Very Bad Sign.

Indeed. I frequently notice errors in capitalisation

I am an inveterate corrector - I literally read newspapers with a red pen in hand, and I often find myself pencilling in corrections into novels as well. It comes from professional habit - many years of writing, reading and correcting legal briefs and documents.

I do notice more and more errors in newspapers. Often, as you say, homonyms, which cannot be caught by a spell checker, but which should be corrected by a decent copy-editor. Now that I have a Kindle, I am frequently appalled at the quality of copy-editing / proofreading in e-book texts. I find that a real distraction from the book, and completely avoidable.

Link: attack of the homonyms.

What is more worrying, is the level of proofreading I see in job applications. Considering that 'revising legal texts' is part of the job description, it is mind-boggling that applicants don't even proofread their applications and CVs. Errors = instant elimination - too bad! On this point - if it really, really, matters, ask - or pay - for proofreading help.

My professional advice is that there are several steps to ensuring a text is as perfect as humanly possible:

if working electronically, use the spelling and grammar checkers available to you. They are not perfect, by any means, but they do help avoid really idiotic mistakes;
print your best effort out and proofread it from real paper, not on-screen;
read it aloud once from beginning to end, using a ruler and/or sheet of paper to cover everything but the line actually being read;
read it aloud again from the end to the beginning, again hiding all but the text being read;
give it to someone else to proofread once more.

[MarkD]

I've been noticing that a lot of people can't do simple arithmetic, as in can't figure out change if the cash register doesn't tell them exactly what to give. A while back my wife and I went to a fast-food drive-thru. The [strike]Democrat[/strike] [strike]Obama voter[/strike] employee at the register hit the wrong button so it wouldn't tell her how much change (a number I'd arrived at three seconds after she told me how much it would be). She called the manager, who ALSO couldn't figure out how much change to give me, they sat there complaining about the register, so I finally told them what my change should be, they gave it to me, and off I went.

[Weetabix]

My friend's daughter got an internship at a publishing house because her letter and application were the only ones not full of mistakes. I dig the irony.

[Denis]

Did someone mention homonyms?

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Stupid should hurt...

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[Darrell]

Yes, and it drives me crazy. I read stuff written by "professionals", who couldn't proofread to save their lives.

[Aglifter]

I think it has something to do w. the excess of "self-esteem," and the death of craftsmanship.

At one time, a carpenter might insist on building things square, because he understood that doing so was part of being a carpenter.

Now, he's, "The Fabulous Mr. XYZ" and being a carpenter is just how be pays his bills, so "good enough" creeps in.

Similarly, in his correspondence, "close enough to be understood," becomes acceptable.

(That, and posting with a phone is a problem.)

[Yogimus]

It is because people can produce a product and have it seen without any external input.

[bubblewhip]

Is anyone else noticing a lot more spelling and grammar errors these days? I certainly am. Homonyms especially, but it seems that more and more people have completely forgotten basic English grammar and spelling. It's at the point where I read something that is correct, and am surprised.

Which is a Very Bad Sign.

Technical English writing is for worthless English teachers and professors, in the real world it doesn't really matter for shit when people understand your content and writing.

Well what do I mean by that?

If you look at Chris' writing there are many times where I have seen spelling mstakes and grammatical errors however I don't think anyone is really going to argue that he's not a great writer, and that someone writing something something about tacticool bullshit like Gecko45 or GunKid but with excellent technical writing skills is a "better writer."

In reality no one cares about active voice vs passive voice or bullshit about using never using conjunctions like replacing "they're" with "they are." Does anyone care about Mr. Deans writing? I bet you don't because he was my English school teacher, although is he a "better writer" when he hasn't written anything that anyone here cares about?

Of course there is a limit to this like "Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?"

[randy]

In reality no one cares about active voice vs passive voice

Actually I do. Probably because it was beaten into of me during Effective Writing courses during ROTC and Squadron Officer School.

Passive voice is often a rhetorical dodge used by those trying to evade responsibility for their actions, thoughts, or words. It's the language of scum bag gutless politicians and bureaucrats. It's part of our precious snowflake society where every answer is correct if we "feel" it is and no one ever has to take blame for anything because "they" (i.e. Somdood) did it.

In my perfect world any public servant using the formulation of "mistakes were made" would be strung up by their wrists and ride the lightning from a field telephone until they tell me What was the mistake, Who made the mistake, and What have you done to correct it (up to and including ending the career of the miscreant if justified).

For a first offense.

Anytime some one subordinate to me gives me a report, web page input, letter, etc. I will terminate with extreme prejudice any passively voiced phrases and have them re-do it until they get it right.