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Plummeting writing standards in advertisements

#21
JimmyM said:
Um...sorry, but this is such a target I can't help it...

grammer = grammAr
apalled = apPalled
decypherable = decIpherable

"Things that wouldn't have gotten past my second grade teacher. Spelling, run on sentences, incomplete or badly fractured sentence."

You have two fractured sentences with a missing plural on "sentence" at the end of the second fractured sentence.

Otherwise, I totally agree with you...good gramer iz ded.

EDIT: I just noticed you used the word "fractured" when you meant "fragmented." Not a biggie...I got the meaning, but if we're calling out grammar problems, let's be complete ;)

BTW, I am not a grammar nazi and I'm pretty forgiving of spelling and grammatical errors on forum posts. But I totally agree that professional writing should be held to a much higher standard.
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Yeah, I missed those. My braile reader doesn't run spell checker very swiftly. But then again, I didn't get paid for this post and I would assume that the news reporters do get paid.:eek:
 
#24
TheDarkReaver said:
What I don't get is why people leave out the name of companies in these types of posts. If there's a problem going on with their publications then it's hardly unfair to name them.
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I just thought it would distract from the point of the thread, which is: Poor writing skills are becoming ubiquitous in advertisements from many companies and I don't understand why it should be so.

Many competent writers can be found on any college campus and for a company to pay some English student a few bucks to spend an hour proofreading their catalog seems like money well spent.
 
#25
FreaqyFrequency said:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Yes way.

Personally, I can't wait to see how the correction is spelled.
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Well the probability that the persons responsible for the painting/miss-spelling do not even SPEAK English, is high. But yet they have a job, a government job at that,with excellent benefits. If they were NOT hired for said job, irregardless of qualifications, that would obviously be racially motivated.
 
#26
xgator4u said:
Well the probability that the persons responsible for the painting/miss-spelling do not even SPEAK English, is high. But yet they have a job, a government job at that,with excellent benefits. If they were NOT hired for said job, irregardless of qualifications, that would obviously be racially motivated.
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I agree with what you're saying however... :p

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless
 
#28
xgator4u said:
Well the probability that the persons responsible for the painting/miss-spelling do not even SPEAK English, is high. But yet they have a job, a government job at that,with excellent benefits. If they were NOT hired for said job, irregardless of qualifications, that would obviously be racially motivated.
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miss-spelling? irregardless?

:bawl:

also, would you please tell us what is this post about?

:rolleyes:

I know you're not being paid to write this post, but still...

:rollno:
 
#29
Standalone said:
miss-spelling? irregardless?

:bawl:

also, would you please tell us what is this post about?

:rolleyes:

I know you're not being paid to write this post, but still...

:rollno:
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I was quoting the post about the painters that painted "SOCHOL" on the road down here in Miami/Dade co.
As far as my spelling , I am on a puter at work, with out spell check, But that is still no excuse. And I have always said regardless and/or irregardless. I guess it's a southern thing?
 
#30
I think the internet has a large role in this. Kids misspell stuff, and it used to be teachers would correct them. With the internet, it's pretty easy to unlearn the stuff. Kids just spell stuff out however they think it's spelled/however they want to, and the only people there to correct them are grammar Nazis. They have no respect for these people, so don't bother correcting anything.

I've been using forums for about 6 years, but I know of plenty of people that have been doing so and also using chat rooms since about 2000. These people are now working age, and likely are the new kids on the block when it comes to professions requiring some kind of English studies. They don't care about the stuff.

Also, the "big" demographic that companies seem to want are not the ones with money, but 18 to 34 year olds. I've seen shows cancelled that had good ratings, but those ratings came from people in their 30's to 50's. When you consider how many people in the target demographic no longer care about spelling and grammar, who wins? The cheap guy who also doesn't care, or the guy who take the time to get stuff right?

I've had people tell me that there used to be high school classes on penmanship and spelling. No such thing exists any more.
 
#34
Oh, wow, I feel really, really stupid. Oh well, I JUST SAW GHOST MICE!!!!!! and Heathers and two other bands whos names I can't recall at the moment. One was a lesbian from Wisconsin and the other was a local Anarcho Folk Puck band. They were both really good.
 
#35
Whilst piloting my automobile through the state of Mississippi, I happened upon a placard displayed outside a Subway Sandwich restaurant. The aforementioned sign stated boldly that the establishment was now "excepting" applications. I guffawed at the notion before exuding a boisterous "Harrumph" and indulging myself with a fine chunk of peanut brittle.
 
#37
High-school kids today don't learn spelling because they're too busy texting during class.

Spend some time looking at your kids' text messages (if you dare) because that is going to be "conventional" written English in the next 5-10 years.

My favorite pet peeve is the use of apostrophes to denote plural. We have a computer store here in town called "Bit's N Byte's". They have that damn name everywhere, on pens, on their front sign, on their truck... drives me friggin nuts. (Nut's).

What I'm waiting for is the day some proofreader for a high-profile publication doesn't catch a missing "L" in "PUBLIC". I.e., "Pubic Education". That will be good humor, right there.
 
#39
T-Bird said:
Hi.

You mean like:

"Prices to low to print"

OR

"A USB Interface"

I might be wrong, but those sentences are incorrect grammatically.

Now where on earth I saw those ads... ;).

Regards
Sam
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Use of the indefinite articles "a" and "an" depends on the sound (of the first syllable of the) following word and not necessarily what letter the next word starts with (i.e. vowel or consonant).

The following are correct...

A USB interface.
An MTD 5 string.
 
#40
Another one of my adspeak favorites: "Savings up to 50% off or more".

Notwithstanding the redundancy of the word "off" (you already told me I'm saving money), what exactly is the amount I'm saving? "Up to" implies 50% is the limit... but it may be more than that. Huh? Whatever...
 

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