Found this today
- Thread starter granfire
- Start date
ROFL - aye, so true 
.
I dread to think how our written language skills will have devolved in another couple of generations.
. I dread to think how our written language skills will have devolved in another couple of generations.
Nomad
Master Black Belt
That is a brilliant use of context through punctuation. Love it.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
Honestly, if you look at how bad they were just a few hundred years ago, when in the same document a word might be spelled arbitrarily in any number of different ways, I think it's much ado about nothing.ROFL - aye, so true
I dread to think how our written language skills will have devolved in another couple of generations.
By all means, we need to teach our kids proper grammar and diction, but let's keep things in perspective.
Very funny OP, though.
You have to bear in mind that, to me, improvements in literacy and consistent accuracy in matters of the written word were one of the keys that enabled the working class, previously shackled by ignorance, to escape from the depths of poverty in which we were mired for far too long. Numeracy holds a similar place in my esteem.
It was certainly my 'escape route' from the life that my background would otherwise have mapped out for me.
So it is a sadness and a matter of concern to me when, from my perspective, I see the standards of literacy collapsing once more amongst the very people who need it's aid the most.
If a joke such as the one in the OP can make just a few people latch on to the importance of language and it's skillful use, that really is a reason to smile and have hope for the future.
It was certainly my 'escape route' from the life that my background would otherwise have mapped out for me.
So it is a sadness and a matter of concern to me when, from my perspective, I see the standards of literacy collapsing once more amongst the very people who need it's aid the most.
If a joke such as the one in the OP can make just a few people latch on to the importance of language and it's skillful use, that really is a reason to smile and have hope for the future.
Steve
Mostly Harmless
If it's important to you, it's important to me.
When I see things like this, though, I think of some of our most revered literary figures who managed to communicate works that have endured in spite of a, let's say, fluid approach to grammar and spelling. Shakespeare, for an example on your side of the world, is credited with inventing literally thousands of words, and his spelling was pretty arbitrary.A slightly more contemporary American example is Steinbeck, a notoriously poor speller who managed to write what some consider works of genius in their portrayal of the impoverished Americans during the Great Depression.
Don't get me wrong. I agree with you guys that we need to teach our kids to write well and understand grammar, but casual communication is by definition casual. I don't pay much attention to my posts here, for example. I rarely proof read my posts and I've found some pretty fundamental grammatical errors.
lol. That reminds me of this oldy...
You have two employees, Jack and John. Your company is downsizing and you must let one go. Jack puts forth a lot of effort and works really hard and does his job well, but he has an attitude problem and doesn't get along with your or the other departments. John, on the other hand, gets along great with everyone and is a real team player, but his work doesn't quite stand up to what Jack's. Would you lay John or Jack off?
You have two employees, Jack and John. Your company is downsizing and you must let one go. Jack puts forth a lot of effort and works really hard and does his job well, but he has an attitude problem and doesn't get along with your or the other departments. John, on the other hand, gets along great with everyone and is a real team player, but his work doesn't quite stand up to what Jack's. Would you lay John or Jack off?
Both *nods* :lol2:
