More spelling & grammar errors these days?

[Netpackrat]

Precise writing really is something that matters, in direct proportion to the amount of damage that can be caused through failure to understand what is written.

Had a bit of a minor disagreement at work recently, wherein my supervisor and his supervisor (manager) were trying to claim that one of our safety related procedures said one thing, when in fact it was written to specify something very different. It wasn't the greatest example of writing precision, but its meaning should have been clear to anyone, who hadn't already decided it should mean something else. It was like arguing about the result of adding 2+2 with people who wanted it to equal five.

Because I'm one of the guys who often gets tasked with going through the maintenance manuals ahead of planned maintenance to double check that we have everything needed, and that the planned procedure is allowed by the manual, etc, the manager must have realized that there was SOME problem with the text of the policy to cause the disagreement. Finally, he asked me to re-write it in a manner that "made more sense." So, I dutifully re-wrote it so that it said exactly what they wanted it to, spelled out in a way that could not possibly be mistaken for meaning anything else. I received some small amount of praise for this effort; evidently it was exactly what was wanted.

I am anticipating much hilarity once the manager gets around to submitting it as a change to our policy manual, and our safety people get hold of it. It really is a fundamental change from the policy that was adopted, because of previous costly incidents.

[Cybrludite]

I've noticed my own proof-reading abilities have slipped because of having to read through typos online.

[Denis]

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."

I certainly do care. When I see that someone is sloppy in their use of language, it makes me wonder what else they are sloppy about. That's not the same as nitpicking about errors in casual writing like posts here, or blog posts, which is pointless.

[PawPaw]

more and more people have completely forgotten basic English grammar and spelling.

No, the simple fact is that fewer and fewer people have ever learned basic English grammar and spelling. It's not being taught in the schools, except in very specific areas. I had a chemistry teacher who would take points off a test for incomplete sentences or bad grammar. I had a history teacher who would take points off for incomplete sentences and poor punctuation. Basic English grammar was once taught "across the board". That is no longer the case.

[Erik]

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."

I certainly do care. When I see that someone is sloppy in their use of language, it makes me wonder what else they are sloppy about. That's not the same as nitpicking about errors in casual writing like posts here, or blog posts, which is pointless.

+1
My written English is not up to the standard I'd like it to be, but even in English I do try to write as well as I possibly can. Any mistakes I make is not because I'm sloppy and don't care enough to even try. If you write sloppy and don't bother with correct spelling, it sends a message about what type of person you are, and the impression is not in your favor.

[Erik]

And yeah, there's more spelling and grammatical errors these days around here as well.

When I last was involved in selecting people to interview from job applications it was unusual to receive a well written application. It was unusual enough that I helped several people rewrite their applications, and they usually landed a job fairly quick after that. I didn't have to change the content, just rearrange it and write it with correct grammar and spelling.

I used to be admin for a website that had results for a nationwide competition. Some of the mail I got asking for corrections, status, etc was barely readable, and had to be deciphered just to understand what the sender meant. They could send a mail with the text something like "yo, bobie did 1.21, need fix". From this I would then investigate the matter and finally deduce that the friend of the sender, a certain Robert ("Bobby") Anderson, had in fact a last score of 1.21, and that the shown score of 1.23 was incorrect.

Because of the legal situation here, you cant get a handgun without taking a beginners class at a gun club, and the club will then vouch for you when you apply for a license. Since I'm an instructor I get to see a few of the applications people send to sign up for the class. Some of them are barely readable, and looks like something they sent to a friend on Twitter while drunk. Since there's a limited number of people we can take each class, those are the applications that go to the bottom of the pile.

[Yogimus]

And yeah, there's more spelling and grammatical errors these days around here as well.

When I last was involved in selecting people to interview from job applications it was unusual to receive a well written application. It was unusual enough that I helped several people rewrite their applications, and they usually landed a job fairly quick after that. I didn't have to change the content, just rearrange it and write it with correct grammar and spelling.

I used to be admin for a website that had results for a nationwide competition. Some of the mail I got asking for corrections, status, etc was barely readable, and had to be deciphered just to understand what the sender meant. They could send a mail with the text something like "yo, bobie did 1.21, need fix". From this I would then investigate the matter and finally deduce that the friend of the sender, a certain Robert ("Bobby") Anderson, had in fact a last score of 1.21, and that the shown score of 1.23 was incorrect.

Because of the legal situation here, you cant get a handgun without taking a beginners class at a gun club, and the club will then vouch for you when you apply for a license. Since I'm an instructor I get to see a few of the applications people send to sign up for the class. Some of them are barely readable, and looks like something they sent to a friend on Twitter while drunk. Since there's a limited number of people we can take each class, those are the applications that go to the bottom of the pile.

Why you gotta be racist, yo?

[Erik]

Why you gotta be racist, yo?

Sorry about that if that was the impression I gave. The original message wasn't in English, but that was the closest I could get to what it said. Maybe "Oy" or "Heeyy" would have been better than "yo" in that quote. (The original message said "Öh..")
And no, the guys sending messages like that was (as far as I know) not of any other ethnicity or race. As far as I know, none of them go around talking like that, they just write it.

[Denis]

My written English is not up to the standard I'd like it to be...

Are you joking? You write better than most of the 'Muricans

Board ate my long post... meh.

[Termite]

more and more people have completely forgotten basic English grammar and spelling.

No, the simple fact is that fewer and fewer people have ever learned basic English grammar and spelling. It's not being taught in the schools, except in very specific areas. I had a chemistry teacher who would take points off a test for incomplete sentences or bad grammar. I had a history teacher who would take points off for incomplete sentences and poor punctuation. Basic English grammar was once taught "across the board". That is no longer the case.

This.

I am told that English or Lit. teachers no longer make students take turns reading portions of a story to the classroom; something about hurting feelings or some such blather.
This is a shame, because it teaches students to use inflection and tone.

Poe's The Tell-tale Heart, read aloud by a good orator, can send a shiver down your spine.

I think Classic Western Education & Literature is dying from neglect.
How many high school students have read the Leather Stocking Tales? Know of Edgar Rice Boroughs? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Homer?
Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are BANNED in some schools, fer gawd's sake.

It is sad.......