RAF's Grammar Rant Wiki (1 Viewer)

[Kevin Hewell]

Accents are different, though.

 

[drobbins]

Yes the accent is but the wording is also. For instance:

You guys need to talk correctly - NJ
You all need to talk correctly - Southern
Y'all need to talk correctly - Country

But don't look to me as anything near an expert when it comes to this.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by drobbins /forum/thread/293618/raf-s-grammar-rant-wiki#post_3614597

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'd contend that "y'all" is southern, while I'm not sure what "you all" would be considered.

 

[Cees Alons]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem


(...)
Having an agent whom is very responsive and critical (in a positive sense) is enjoyable.
(....)

So she wouldn't agree with that line, or would she?


Cees

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Cees Alons




So she wouldn't agree with that line, or would she?


Cees

Cees,

Why do you ask?

 

[Sam Posten]

But language is a treacherous thing, a most unsure vehicle, and it can seldom arrange descriptive words in such a way that they will not inflate the facts--by help of the reader's imagination, which is always ready to take a hand and work for nothing, and do the bulk of it at that.

--Mark Twain

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem /forum/thread/293618/raf-s-grammar-rant-wiki#post_3614857

 

[Ockeghem]

Mark Twain is my best friend's favorite author.

Mike,

Yes, I understand that now.

 

[Hugh Jackes]

I am a technical writer. My company's style guide has decried that we have a Web site (capital "W"). Bugs me.

The diference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.

-- Mark Twain

 

[Michael Reuben]

Originally Posted by Hugh Jackes /forum/thread/293618/raf-s-grammar-rant-wiki#post_3614985

 

[Mike Frezon]

This is a tough room!

 

[Bob McLaughlin]

You guys have to read this book if you haven't already:

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

If it is tough room, then that is a good thing in my opinion. Who would not want to improve one's writing?

No disrespect meant to the original poster above, but I also don't hold the opinion that one ought to write the same way that they talk. I think that these are two separate entities. I also think that tone and phrasing are usually different for speech and for writing (and ought to be). The goal is effective communication in both domains. There are some areas of overlap -- a delivered speech, for example. But I would rewrite a paper before I delivered it as a presentation. I would aim to please and persuade for the ear and the eye.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Ockeghem

No disrespect meant to the original poster above, but I also don't hold the opinion that one ought to write the same way that they talk. I think that these are two separate entities.

I'm with you on this...but I can agree in the sense that there is a certain ability that some writers have to deliver their work in an accessible, conversational manner that can serve to draw in the reader. It is quite a skill--one that some might interpret as "writing like they talk," but all you'd have to do is read a transcript (or the script of a play or film) to know that's the farthest thing from reality.

And, of course, the writers that some readers may feel are the best-at-that would be the writers that others may find to be utterly inaccessible. So goes subjectivity.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I am a technical writer. My company's style guide has decried that we have a Web site (capital "W"). Bugs me.

Well, if they don't like having a "Web" site, why don't they just take it down?

Recent verbal tics that grate on my ear: When did "sooner rather than later" become "sooner than later"? Did I miss a meeting. I've both read and heard a couple of business stories lately in which the reporter referred to an "upstart company" when he or she clearly meant "start-up company". Honestly, folks, there is a difference.

Later,

Joe

 

[GlennH]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon /forum/thread/293618/raf-s-grammar-rant-wiki#post_3614762

Yinz guys need to get outta tahn, an 'at. -- Pittsburghese

My recent pet peeve is the explosion of people who type "then" when they mean "than." It's rampant, at my work, on the net, etc.

"This thread is more interesting then the other ones."

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

A couple of points intrigue me. The first is his use of a capital "I" when describing the internet.


While this has become an interesting topic of discussion among grammarians, I fall on the side of the argument that even though the word has evolved into a noun which refers to a specific thing, the English language doesn't currently capitalize similar nouns such as radio and television. We wouldn't say: "Yes, Television can be a wonderful place..."

Well, the AP Stylebook capitalizes it, my definitive source for all formating that doesn't involve nontransmitting symbols, so I suppose I have to side with RAF on this one. That being said, I'm sure I leave Internet uncapitalized far more often than I capitalize it.

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

And that's one of the things I find most interesting about this discussion: the different levels of importance individuals place on how they are perceived by others through their written communications skills on the internet. I'm sure volumes have been written in academia on the subject.

For me (and I don't mean to propose that means I feel others should feel likewise) it is very important to me that I use proper spelling, capitalization, punctuation and grammar when composing posts on the HTF, e-mails, etc. I really care that people don't think I'm careless with the rules that guide the English language. But, then again, I'm in the field of communications.

If you're in communications, communicating properly is of paramount value. For the last year, I've been working more-or-less fulltime for a wholesale distributor. I was shocked how carelessly businessmen write e-mails pertaining to deals that they have a lot of money riding on. The e-mails we get from contractors, etc. are routinely devoid of punctuation and capitalization. Why? Because the nature of the communication is irrelevant to them, as long as the correct information is conveyed. Writing is a means to an end, they have nothing invested in it. On the other hand, when I was still in journalism, I almost never received an e-mail that wasn't properly spelled and grammatically correct. How one wrote was essential to how one was perceived.

Originally Posted by GlennH

My recent pet peeve is the explosion of people who type "then" when they mean "than." It's rampant, at my work, on the net, etc.

I was disgusted the other day when I caught "they're" used as a possessive in a New York Times article where "their" was the only appropriate option. Did the Gray Lady drop all of her copy editors? And how could any journalist who makes such obvious mistakes get there in the first place?

 

[Steve Christou]

Here's one I see a lot of and not just on the HTF -

"Who would of thought that would happen?"

- which for a second seems okay, it reads well, but it's wrong! The people typing that down don't see anything wrong with it, because thats the way they speak it. It's hilarious.

 

[Bill Buklis]

My recent pet peeve is the explosion of people who type "then" when they mean "than." It's rampant, at my work, on the net, etc.

I know I've been guilty of that on occasion. I understand the difference, at least, so when I do make this error it's merely a typo. If I bother to proofread (not always on quick posts/emails I confess) and catch it, then I will fix it straightaway.

Similarly I've caught myself typing "their" in place of "they're" on occasion. In my case, it's really just a case of fast typing getting in the way.