This photo has nothing to do with the silly rant below.I just think they were two of the best looking people who ever walked this planet.Do you know the deference between imply and infer? Do you care? Should you care? . I'm no wordsmith, but greatly admire those who can sculpt a readable paragraph. To read a wonderfully crafted sentence is like viewing a Monet or listening to Sinatra sing a Johnny Mercer song. It stimulates your senses and jump starts your brain. There isn't a human experience that we can not describe in minute detail. Yet it seems that our spoken vocabulary gets smaller each day. It's not Orwell's "newspeak", I don't think there is a political agenda. It has more to do with people being lazy and having the attention span of a gerbil. It is much easier to say "I wanna" than "May I please have". Do they still diagram sentences in school? I would love to set in on an English class. I am no English professor. I dangle participles, split infinitives and end sentences with prepositions with the best of them. But at least I have heard about these things . Do they still teach these things? Or is it like so many rules we ignore today. Our texting youth and the limit on characters hasn't helped. "2b r not 2b?" Poor Will. My Cum Laude grad says just as we don't speak Shakespeare's English, our current form is changing. Our language is always evolving. May be, but I don't gotta like it!
Judging from the letters and presentations I've proofread for colleagues in the past, I do not think there has been an emphasis on English or grammar in schools for some time. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to explain the difference between where and were. Then and than I could forgive, but where and were! Shocking!
ReplyDeleteSorry James but I am RANTING as well!
ReplyDeleteI like good music, really a variety, but at times I am just as able to appreciate the silence... Yet, my silence is very often disturbed by the piercing sound of someone laughing out loud.. in my HEAD!
If I read 'LOL', I feel like 'SOL" (that would be 'screaming out loud'). Do we really need to laugh out loud when a simple smile or a grin would suffice? Yet some people need to LOL after every sentence. I blame this on texting too.
I fear that our use of at least some of the words in the dictionary have gone the same way as respect, and that dreaded 'properness' and 'formality'.
The question is: Will it all eventually return when we strike the bottom?
Aloha James,
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy my visits to your neck of the woods! I admire your posts and your take on our world in it's current state of "being"..good or bad!
I must say I am a bit nervous now, due to my poor attempt to use the English format correctly , but don't hold it against me, come by and visit again soon :)
Sending my warmest Aloha wishes
Brandi
I love Natalie Wood and my husband worships Steve McQueen. While I cannot claim to have a grasp on proper writing or speaking at all times my son's speech makes me cringe. I don't think they teach proper English in school anymore-at least not our schools. xoxo
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My wife was named after Natalie Wood. I couldn't agree more with you. I think we are headed towards "computerspeak" with all of the abbreviations that have become comon place. As for attending an English class at a grammar school, I believe it would be a scary experience.
ReplyDeleteJames, you are right, Natalie & Steve were beautiful, to look at anyhow. I diagrammed sentences in school and learned about all those terms you mentioned, but I don't remember much of it I'm afraid! They don't study that sort of thing over here in England at all and apparently never have, though most people my age seem to get it pretty right. I worry that I'm losing any writing or speaking skills I may have once had since leaving work. I proof and re-proof my blog posts and still go back and find incredible errors. Scary to watch yourself deteriorate that way. On a wider scale, I tend to think that most of the sloppy changes are just the present generation's attempt at being 'cool' and these things fade away. I hope.
ReplyDeleteAre you talking about speaking or writing or both? I'll be the first to admit that my vocabulary needs expanding. I have gotten to where I carry a thesaurus with me at all times so I can search for synonyms to the words I tend to overuse.
ReplyDeleteSome of it is my hillbilly background, however that's a cop-out. I was a broadcaster for almost 20 years so I do have a decent command of the English language. I suppose we tend to get lazy at times.
As for writing? I thank God every day for my editor, Jamie. I couldn't live without her.
Sara - don't forget their and there!
ReplyDeleteLize- I don't think it will. Are you still keeping to your smiling resolution ?
Queen B- I didn't mean to set myself up as the grammar expert. I am one of the worse writers in the world.I just was curious about what kids today are learning.
Beth- So your husband displays good taste in other areas besides picking his mate!
Brian- I think you're right.
Shelly- I hope so too.
Kathie- both I guess. But as I said I'm far from being an expert
Thank you! As a former English major and someone who writes for a living, I feel like I'm fighting a battle everyday against the lazy and indifferent. I wouldn't say our language is evolving, it's devolving. Texting, e-mail, etc. has lead to such a casual nature in our writing and people don't seem to care about spelling errors, inappropriate use of grammar or dropping the F-bomb in every other sentence (I really hate that). Cheers to those of us who still care - may we win the battle someday!
ReplyDeleteJMW- hear!hear!
ReplyDeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid that, due to modern technology, standards in the English language are dropping daily. When I text, I have to write the full word, and I can honestly say that I have never written LOL (apart from just then !!) in my life.
My children are grown up now so, I'm not sure of the grammar that is taught in schools now.
By the way, this has got nothing to do with my comment but, Steve McQueen was my idol. He definitely was the best looking person to walk on this planet !!
My ex-partner is a teacher and a few years back they were told that it was not right to correct children's grammar whether it was spoken or written. Since then standards have dropped and text speak has taken over.
ReplyDeleteAlso when text-ing first started you had to pay for every page of text you sent, so kids tried to keep it to one page only. So this was when they started to use abbreviations for every word. Therefore not running up bills that their parents had to pay for.
One of my lest favourite words is TEXTED, it's not even a word, but lots of people use it as if it is, drives me nuts.
Much love
Lia
xx
wha choo b talkin 'bout?
ReplyDeleteGood to know that some of us "ain't got no quit" when it comes to correcting poor grammar. true the whole system is changing.
ReplyDeleteWhat up with that? Long live good grammar.
pve
I thoroughly enjoy your posts. I could not agree more. I have really noticed the inability for young adults to write a sentence without a spelling error, let alone putting together a proper sentence. I particularly take notice when my 30'ish Scottish sister-in-law writes me a letter. Her words are so proper and her sentences so eloquent. My husbands exclaims it's the Queens English! Not only does the decline of well crafted sentences make me sad, but also the instruction & use of cursive writing in schools. My mother had the most beautiful handwriting, and now that she is gone, I feel like she & all individuals of her era will take that art with them. Steve & Natalie indeed where gorgeous people. Even though I loved that McQueen rode a Triumph such as I, I preferred the dark good looks of Mr. Gregory Peck.
ReplyDeleteWith you all the way, comme d'habitude! Am a complete grammar nazi, glad to hear you're doing your bit for standards over there!
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