Why can't some people on PH spell definitely?

[spud989]

dibbly dobbler said:

spud989 said:

but prescriptivism died out decades ago

Good God man what are you talking about? This is a Pistonheads grammar wk-fest thread!

spud989 said:

Nowadays it's fairly acceptable to use an adjective in the slot of an adverb

No it fking isn't, may I suggest you are in the wrong job?!

In that situation, I'm afraid it is. Obviously it doesn't apply to all adjectives/adverbs - I should have made that clearer originally. The rules of language follow the trends of those who use it - think of rules as a fishing net that guide us, if you will; they give it a general shape, but if everything inside the net swims off at a tangent then the net must follow.

And no, you fking may not.

[Pigeon]

Strangely Brown said:

This, "It's only a forum, so it doesn't matter" attitude really pisses me off. So what if it's only a forum? It takes no more time to type properly and spell and punctuate correctly than it does to make yourself look like an illiterate mong.

The only reasons to get it wrong are (1) you are ill-educated; (2) you are thick; or (3) you are just too bloody lazy to take a little pride in how you present yourself to the world. Whichever it is, the end result is the same. You can hide behind the, "it doesn't matter" defence as much as you like but the only person you are fooling is yourself; if you use the language like an illiterate, then people will see you as an illiterate.

[supra legend]

I get the feeling that I don't fit in simply because of my writing. Everybody is different and as I mentioned I mucked my education up and didn't carry on with it. There have been MANY topics that I would have liked to reply to, ask questions and comment on, but I start typing then think to myself what's the point?

Point 1 you made, that's me. Ill educated. Never needed to brush up on my writing skills because of the work I do. Yet I manage to pay the bill's, live a decent lifestyle and own many car's that I wanted for pleasure.

I would understand the criticism if you could not understand what I was saying but surely it isn't that bad.

Anyhow, I do not want to start wars with anyone because I value peoples opinions on this site.

If you see anymore of my bad writing, ignore it.

[Strangely Brown]

supra legend said:

I would understand the criticism if you could not understand what I was saying but surely it isn't that bad.

I don't see any problem with your writing and, more importantly, you are making the effort to get it right. My objection is to those who are just lazy and trot out the "it's only a forum" defence, or those who are ill-educated and can't be bothered to improve themselves. It is more the attitude that is the problem than the ability.

[Castrol Craig]

Pigeon said:

Strangely Brown said:

This, "It's only a forum, so it doesn't matter" attitude really pisses me off. So what if it's only a forum? It takes no more time to type properly and spell and punctuate correctly than it does to make yourself look like an illiterate mong.

The only reasons to get it wrong are (1) you are ill-educated; (2) you are thick; or (3) you are just too bloody lazy to take a little pride in how you present yourself to the world. Whichever it is, the end result is the same. You can hide behind the, "it doesn't matter" defence as much as you like but the only person you are fooling is yourself; if you use the language like an illiterate, then people will see you as an illiterate.

[Eric Mc]

supra legend said:

I get the feeling that I don't fit in simply because of my writing. Everybody is different and as I mentioned I mucked my education up and didn't carry on with it. There have been MANY topics that I would have liked to reply to, ask questions and comment on, but I start typing then think to myself what's the point?

Point 1 you made, that's me. Ill educated. Never needed to brush up on my writing skills because of the work I do. Yet I manage to pay the bill's, live a decent lifestyle and own many car's that I wanted for pleasure.

I would understand the criticism if you could not understand what I was saying but surely it isn't that bad.

Anyhow, I do not want to start wars with anyone because I value peoples opinions on this site.

If you see anymore of my bad writing, ignore it.

And it's never too late to try and put things right.

No one said that you have to give up learning the day you leave school.

[cal72]

Well i defenartly can spell definatly as i use this word all the time.
Definitely;)

[dibbly dobbler]

spud989 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

spud989 said:

but prescriptivism died out decades ago

Good God man what are you talking about? This is a Pistonheads grammar wk-fest thread!

spud989 said:

Nowadays it's fairly acceptable to use an adjective in the slot of an adverb

No it fking isn't, may I suggest you are in the wrong job?!

In that situation, I'm afraid it is. Obviously it doesn't apply to all adjectives/adverbs - I should have made that clearer originally. The rules of language follow the trends of those who use it - think of rules as a fishing net that guide us, if you will; they give it a general shape, but if everything inside the net swims off at a tangent then the net must follow.

And no, you fking may not.

I note you say 'fairly acceptable' which is interesting

I actually agree with most of what you say (which is rather annoying ). I guess I am swimming in a different direction to most of the other fish in your net - I can live with that.

Sorry about the 'wrong job' jibe, that was a bit off.

[supra legend]

Eric Mc said:

And it's never too late to try and put things right.

No one said that you have to give up learning the day you leave school.

True, in my case any further qualifications have been to operate plant or run gang's etc. Never been a pen pusher but if that time does come then I will take it upon myself to sort it out.

Anyhow, I will start making an effort. Never know I might learn a thing or two

[Danny S]

I type definitly, and then use spell check to correct it

Thank God (Safari) for showing me that long red line of failure

[spud989]

dibbly dobbler said:

spud989 said:

dibbly dobbler said:

spud989 said:

but prescriptivism died out decades ago

Good God man what are you talking about? This is a Pistonheads grammar wk-fest thread!

spud989 said:

Nowadays it's fairly acceptable to use an adjective in the slot of an adverb

No it fking isn't, may I suggest you are in the wrong job?!

In that situation, I'm afraid it is. Obviously it doesn't apply to all adjectives/adverbs - I should have made that clearer originally. The rules of language follow the trends of those who use it - think of rules as a fishing net that guide us, if you will; they give it a general shape, but if everything inside the net swims off at a tangent then the net must follow.

And no, you fking may not.

I note you say 'fairly acceptable' which is interesting

I actually agree with most of what you say (which is rather annoying ). I guess I am swimming in a different direction to most of the other fish in your net - I can live with that.

Sorry about the 'wrong job' jibe, that was a bit off.

No problem. I enjoy people who are passionate about language and grammar

Yes, 'fairly acceptable' because you've also got to take into account context. In conversation (certainly) and through something like a forum, or a casual note, it's more than acceptable. Would I work it into the book I'm (very slowly) writing? No, I wouldn't, unless it was being used to characterise someone.

In semi-related news, I've almost finishing marking 450 English scripts for this year's GCSEs. Believe me, adjective/adverb confusion is the least of our country's worries when it comes to communication

[Glassman]

spud989 said:

I enjoy people who are passionate about language and grammar

[Wacky Racer]

sjp63 said:

scottish school - teacher asks class to form a sentence with indefinitely in it. Little Johnny (13 yrs) puts his hand up. OK Johnny she says rolling her eyes. Well miss when im fking little Emma and my balls touch her arse then i know - im in definately

edited to say it needs reading in a scotch accent

DEFINITELY!!

[Muntu]

Wacky Racer said:

sjp63 said:

scottish school - teacher asks class to form a sentence with indefinitely in it. Little Johnny (13 yrs) puts his hand up. OK Johnny she says rolling her eyes. Well miss when im fking little Emma and my balls touch her arse then i know - im in definately

edited to say it needs reading in a scotch accent

DEFINITELY!!

And I would hazard a guess that a "scotch accent" is a bit like slurred English?

also

[spud989]

Glassman said:

spud989 said:

I enjoy people who are passionate about language and grammar

I ate him with a split infinitive and nice subjunctive

[mybrainhurts]

THERE IS ONLY ONE E IN ARGUMENT