Is spelling and punctuation a thing of the past?

[Westwindmike]

I'm on another local site trying to sell a gun and it is amazing the replies I'm getting from all these people. It's like they either don't know how to spell(or use spellcheck), or they just don't care anymore. I think texting is the problem. They send these cryptic messages by texting and I'm expected to translate them?

 

Maybe I'm just getting old. And the fact that I don't text. Well, I might send 5 a year from the deer stand. Even in those, I spell out every word.

 

Any other non-texters see what I'm talking about?

 

Glad to get this off my chest. Now I'm off to check my inbox for more "gems".

[Steelharp]

Spilling an punkshun rool @ my howze!!

[TMF]

I'm on another local site trying to sell a gun and it is amazing the replies I'm getting from all these people. It's like they either don't know how to spell(or use spellcheck), or they just don't care anymore. I think texting is the problem. They send these cryptic messages by texting and I'm expected to translate them?
 
Maybe I'm just getting old. And the fact that I don't text. Well, I might send 5 a year from the deer stand. Even in those, I spell out every word.
 
Any other non-texters see what I'm talking about?
 
Glad to get this off my chest. Now I'm off to check my inbox for more "gems".

It's not so much that spelling and punctuation is a thing of the past; more like stupid and lazy is at thing of the future.

[56FordGuy]

I hate 'text speak'. I also don't reply to text messages for stuff I have for sale, unless I specifically give someone my number and tell them they can text me. 

 

In all the time I've been selling things, I can not remember one text message response I've received where the buyer has actually followed through. Now, I just ignore them. If you're actually interested, once you type my number into your phone push the little telephone shaped button and talk into it, instead of tapping away at 50 other keys.

[xjsnake]

It's not so much that spelling and punctuation is a thing of the past; more like stupid and lazy is at thing of the future.

This. I see it every day at work (I teach)

[peejman]

Lack of punctuation and understanding of the concept of paragraphs annoys the crap out of me. And yes, I think it's got as much to do with lazy as it does stupid.

[tnhawk]

Lazy or stupid?  The resulting impression is the same.

[Randall53]

Gone the way of cursive writing I suppose.

[vontar]

If they can't spell and use passable grammar, consider that are part of your personal background check.  I have a feeling those are not people you would like to be shooting beside you out at the range.  Might be a reason to not sell.

[kieefer]

Lack of punctuation and understanding of the concept of paragraphs annoys the crap out of me. And yes, I think it's got as much to do with lazy as it does stupid.

I think it has more to do more with public education and the lack of discipline administered in schools these days. Add to that broken families, lack of a father figure in some cases and again the education system that pushes kids through regardless of what they learned.

 

Same goes for proper manners and basic math. We could go on and on....

 

 

 

 

.

Edited December 16, 2013 by kieefer

[Patton]

For me spelling has always been a challenge, it even runs in the family. General Patton was even known to be a terrible speller. I have the most trouble with common words and refuse to look up every single word to ensure it is correct. Having lived in Hawaii where speaking Pidgen is considered an art made me more comfortable with writing and typing. I do not feel so judged. I was once scalded for my misuse of a word but had to turn around and interpret Japanese for that person. While I have noticed the extreme difficulties in writing the English language lately it is not an isolated incident. The art of reading and writing Japanes characters will completely be gone in 20 years. Languages change, they evolve, and they adapt. In the fast moving society of the future they will laugh at our vacabulary and spelling, other societies already do. Interesting is that there really is not a misuse of a word in Japanese, nor is their profanity. You may use the wrong pronounciation of the word but if you can read or write it the word is correct.

[56FordGuy]

Gone the way of cursive writing I suppose.

 

Funny you say that. I do a lot of paperwork, and fill almost all of it out in cursive. I didn't realize that was unusual until a customer commented on it a few weeks ago.  

[Raoul]

Also the schools are pushing computers and Ipads onto students at an ever earlier age.

Computers make you stupid.

If you want to see how badly American english has degraded, read some Poe sometime.

[Randall53]

Yep....it's going to be a dying art. It seems

http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/08/20388506-technology-may-script-an-end-to-the-art-of-cursive-writing

[GuitaRx]

It's not so much that spelling and punctuation is a thing of the past; more like stupid and lazy is at thing of the future.

 

Nail on the HEAD!

[Pat]

I always try to go for the best spelling and punctuation possible... to me, it gives the best impression. Now, on the other hand, some people are just not that good at typing, so I don't mind it from them... if you can only type a dozen words per minute, worrying about punctuation and stuff bogs you down to about half that, hah.

[Patton]

Not to mention we have devices made in China that autocorrect or typing.

[TripleDigitRide]

[quote name="Patton" post="1079598" timestamp="1387162277"]Not to mention we have devices made in China that autocorrect or typing.[/quote] Our typing, too. :p

[Guest TankerHC]

I don't know about everyone else, but Tapatalk always seems to require several revisions (Edits on here) as do reading, retyping, reading, retyping texts. Nearly every time I send a text or Tapatalk message after I look at it and see what the autocorrect has done I cringe.

 

Don't even get me started on that auto-fill and swipe thing. 

[10-Ring]

I'm probably the only person that I can think of who is within 10 years of my age that does not text.  I used to have the smart phone and texted regularly but I gave it up for an $80 a year TracFone that meets my needs.  I loathe the way that it has become acceptable and even fashionable to talk and write like a 2nd grade drop out.  For those that struggle with spelling use Mozilla Firefox, it has a built in spell checker and will suggest "correct" words.  Like Pat, I like to do my best and at least pretend like I'm one of those educated folks.

[Woody]

"Text talk" annoys the hell out of me.  Cursive writing will not be missed by me.

[hipower]

Point 1

10-Ring, I don't know your age; but I do not text. I am 61. I fight it every day. I do not wish to text. I can see there is a number of situations where it may be advisable and even beneficial. But I choose not to. My phone is not enabled to text, but by some fluke of the texting world and Verizon; it does receive them. And I get charged for them.

 

Point 2

I agree with most of the comments above concerning the lack of education, or at least it seems so, of the younger kids today.

 

Point 3

TMF and Raoul are dead-on right.

 

JMO

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I do a lot of email but don't text.

I think cursive is more efficient and less tiring if you have a lot of writing to do and you don't have a word processor handy. But seems on the way out.

Back in the day, cursive was how you could tell if a person had passed third grade, because they taught printing beginning in first grade, and taught cursive beginning third grade. So if a person would primarily print and he wasn't an engineer or draftsman, he probably didn't go very far along in school.

When I took (manual) drafting in college, learning to print tiny precise lettering was hard for me. I used to look at blueprints or pro electronic schematics and I was amazed that some folks could print so good. But lately I've looked at some of the old "amazingly tidy" hand drafted circuits, and they look so ragged and sloppy compared to cad printouts we've become accustomed to seeing. Edited December 16, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[TripleDigitRide]

I'm pretty certain my 14-year-old daughter hasn't been taught how to write in cursive by anyone other than myself. She claims they no longer teach them at school.

[Spots]

It is laziness. I text alot, and I make sure to spell out every word as accurately as I can and to use the best punctuation possible. It kills me when people do the text speak thing, where they shorten and abbreviate every word, to the point that it is almost unreadable. Its just laziness not to read through the message before sending to see if it makes sense. Tapatalk ate my spelling.