This will be the death of the English language...

Siegy · #1 08-08-2008, 01:35 AM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080807/...pelling_odd_dc

The article basically states that there's an English teacher (somewhere in Britain I think) that got fed up with how often his students were misspelling words, so now he's proposing we accept some misspelled words as correct.

Here's an idea: How about you stop sucking at your job and teach your damn students how to spell?

I'm kind of a spelling Nazi so this is really @#$%ing me off. I had to vent.

moomoocajoo · #2 08-08-2008, 02:02 AM

What a nub. I agree, he should just teach them ffs.

AlphaMale · #3 08-08-2008, 02:05 AM

I feel for both sides.

But we can't change the rules just cause people are too wuss.

FL Knifemaker · #4 08-08-2008, 02:06 AM

Yes, but this will cause the poor spellers to feel inadequate and put more stress on them. It could even lead to low self esteem. We are creating a competitive environment instead of a nurturing one for our children.

Oric · #5 08-08-2008, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Siegy

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080807/...pelling_odd_dc

The article basically states that there's an English teacher (somewhere in Britain I think) that got fed up with how often his students were misspelling words, so now he's proposing we accept some misspelled words as correct.

Hey! Just like Daniel Webster did when he proposed Webster's Dictionary!

Toasted · #6 08-08-2008, 02:07 AM

He's a University Lecturer, he's from Buckingham University - which is one of those Universities that used to be a Public Swimming Pool or some such.

He also has a good point. Truely / Truly - it does't really matter. As a communication vehicle the language is succeeding.

FrizzleFry · #7 08-08-2008, 02:07 AM

He's obviously not doing a good job.

Toasted · #8 08-08-2008, 02:10 AM

Did you even read the story? He's not a teacher!

Oric · #9 08-08-2008, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toasted

He's a University Lecturer, he's from Buckingham University - which is one of those Universities that used to be a Public Swimming Pool or some such.

He also has a good point. Truely / Truly - it does't really matter. As a communication vehicle the language is succeeding.

You would make a good linguist- you have summed up the basic idea of descriptivism (what the science of linguistics is based on) very well.

Spelling differently would not kill the language- people still speak it the same, and speaking is what is necessary for a language to be alive. Shakespeare (I know this is the Godwin's law of discussing language/literature, but I'm doing it anyway) was known for his mastery of the English language, but he spelled his name differently practically every time he wrote it!

Also, Andrew Jackson, as controversial of a president he was, did say "It is a damn poor mind indeed which can't think of at least two ways to spell any word."

Toasted · #10 08-08-2008, 02:15 AM

I'm already a cunning linguist. Well, I have a Master's Degree (from a real University

) reading English Language and Literature.

Oric · #11 08-08-2008, 02:16 AM

Aha, there you go. English students have to take linguistics classes, don't they? (they do over here. I'm a linguistics major currently, but I'm switching to music soon)

Toasted · #12 08-08-2008, 02:22 AM

I took alot of linguistic optional modules when I was there

.

bmc · #13 08-08-2008, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FL Knifemaker

Yes, but this will cause the poor spellers to feel inadequate and put more stress on them. It could even lead to low self esteem. We are creating a competitive environment instead of a nurturing one for our children.

Bravo. Standing ovation.

For some reason this story reminds me of 350lb nephew who's head's in fridge, eats pizza at 4pm and a full finner at 6pm and claims he has a disability.

Let's lower the bar folks. Dumb is in and celebrated.

Toasted · #14 08-08-2008, 02:28 AM

So the consensus then is that we should fix our language and not let it evolve? We should all be speaking exactly as we are now in 1,000 years?

I'm really glad my ancestors didn't think like that.

EDIT: Actually, no communication before the vowel shift was brilliant.

**Vorago** · #15 08-08-2008, 02:43 AM

Ah, another thread that equals language to spelling.

Excellent!

lemur821 · #16 08-08-2008, 02:50 AM

I'm no prescriptivist... but we need to use one spelling at a time, and keep hammering on our friends in the dense community. Typos and misspellings we are stuck with, but at least a person has a fairly good chance of not frequently needing to think about which word was intended. The alternative is to let people who resist spelling make it up as they go along—and do you expect getting at the content to be worth deciphering their ad-hoc spelling?

Robert B · #17 08-08-2008, 02:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vorago

Ah, another thread that equals language to spelling.

Excellent!

Good observation!

**Vorago** · #18 08-08-2008, 04:09 AM

I was being sarcastic...

dlloyd · #19 08-08-2008, 04:38 AM

The trouble with advocating phonetic spelling is that pronunciation has regional differences.

If I spelt words as I pronounce them, half of you wouldn't understand a thing I typed. And my accent is mild.

Ehll hae twa pehs - a plehn ehn an an ingyin ain an a. An ehll tak a tullee tae.

Relic · #20 08-08-2008, 05:09 AM

Having phonetic variations in spelling is absolutely nothing new. It was common and accepted practice even as late as the 1700 & 1800's and English is still alive and kicking. If you want to get nitpicky, both the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence have "misspelled" words.