A couple of questions

[lexiepiper]

My main problem is text speak

 

I hate text speak and also people ThAt WrItE LiKe ThIs, it's horrendous :S

[Nollaig]

I hate text speak. I hate it even moreso on msn and other IMs.

[Angel]

You'd be surprised ... color/colour, humor/humour, tumor/tumour, (basically words that end in -or or -our), then meter/metre, center/centre, theater/theatre (basically words that end in -er or -re), gray/grey are the first ones of the top of my head.

 

That drives me insane when people are writing in the wrong language!! It is the English language and too much Americanism has crept into our spelling (no insult to our fellow Americans here, at all). So many other languages are based on / devolved from the English languange and I find it soul destroying that ours is being altered like this

 

Why does the spellchecker default to the American language I wonder? Is it because Microsoft Word is an American concept?.

[lexiepiper]

Yeah I think so Angel, it can be changed to UK English though

[Guest ii]

So many other languages are based on / devolved from the English languange

 

Such as? I'm honestly curious, I have no idea!

 

Why does the spellchecker default to the American language I wonder? Is it because Microsoft Word is an American concept?.

 

Not American concept. American PRODUCT. Bit of a difference there...

[Janet]

I try to use correct SPAG - and Firefox is great for that as it has a spelling extension!

 

I think it's important on forums because on many (and it's true of here) there are many posters for whom English isn't their first language, so it makes life that little bit easier for them.

 

I do get annoyed (especially on here) when people don't use capitals for names - book titles and authors for example, and it really irritates me when people use 'i' instead of I! It's just basic common sense that names require capitals!

 

 

I don't claim to be perfect though - I'm sure I make my fair share of mistakes!

 

Oh, and whoever said that their partner checks MSN before posting - I do that - and with my texts!

[Guest ii]

I do get annoyed (especially on here) when people don't use capitals for names - book titles and authors for example, and it really irritates me when people use 'i' instead of I! It's just basic common sense that names require capitals!

 

My most common "missed the Shift-button" mistake. Especially when typing with an unfamiliar keypad. I do try and go back to correct it if I notice it in time. (I often edit my posts right away as I notice the mistakes, too.)

[Heather]

I am poor at spelling and now I have downloaded ieSpell check to help me when posting. All I need to do is remember to use the spell check. I hope that everything I right is readable for anyone who uses this forum.

[rach.at.the.disco]

I hate text speak and also people ThAt WrItE LiKe ThIs, it's horrendous :S

 

I totally agree, especially the capitals randomly thrown into a word .

I'm quite strict when it comes to spelling and grammar. Even in texts and on Msn I can't use text speak, and when I do text I refuse to use abreviations and have to double check that it is all spelt correctly.

[lexiepiper]

Yeah I don't use text speak either, just lazy not to type it properly, but the weird letter thing seems to be popular with teens on Bebo, I know that my teen sister does it, I personally think it's more effort to do that than it is just to type normally, and you don't look like an idiot either

[BrainFreeze]

I hate text speak and also people ThAt WrItE LiKe ThIs, it's horrendous :S

 

Arggghhh!!! That drives me insane - as do people who Start Every Single Word With A Capital Letter. Why???

[Ruth]

I always try and use correct grammar and spelling when posting. Spelling errors in others don't really bother me, but like ii, bad grammar does bother me, although I wish it didn't.

 

I do actually believe that reading a lot helps improve grammar and spelling - and vocabulary too. Most people I know who are avid readers tend to have good grammar and spelling skills.

[Ceinwenn]

It is the English language and too much Americanism has crept into our spelling (no insult to our fellow Americans here, at all).

 

Try being Canadian - we spell colour, flavour & other words that end in or/our the British way, as in with the "our", but other words we spell the "American" (as you call it) way, like words that end in ise or ize, we use the ize - very confusing!

[Jack Dawkins]

I hate text speak. I hate it even moreso on msn and other IMs.

 

Text speak is the curse of the modern age.I think my punctuation is pretty poor and I have to make an effort to get it right,my spelling on the other hand is at the very least reasonable.Overall I dont think reading a lot improves my written english,posting on here may help though!

[chesilbeach]

Try being Canadian - we spell colour, flavour & other words that end in or/our the British way, as in with the "our", but other words we spell the "American" (as you call it) way, like words that end in ise or ize, we use the ize - very confusing!

 

Actually, it's a common misconception that the -ize ending is American and the -ise is British - even spell checkers get this wrong. If you look in a British dictionary (I've got a copy of the OED), using the word realize as an example, the only listing is under "realize" with an exception afterwards which says, "(also -ise)". The correct British spelling is the same as the American, and is the -ize version.

 

Compare this to colour / color. The full entry for the word is listed under "colour" with a separate entry for "color" which simply says, "see colour".

[Kylie]

I value spelling and grammar a great deal. I've worked as a proofreader so it's a very big deal for me! Having said that, I'm not perfect. Sometimes I've read back over a post I've written and found some ridiculous mistake. I think my most common error is leaving a word out altogether so the sentence reads strangely. I try to read over everything before I post so I can pick up that exact problem. I think my mind goes too fast for my fingers.

[Echo]

Americans say aloooominum.

 

Everybody else says 'al-u*-min-i-um', which, coincidentally, is how it's spelt

*as in youuuuuuu. U.

 

Um...why do the British put in the extra "i" at the end? That's what I've always wondered. We spell it as aluminum...no extra "i".

[Kylie]

Maybe the Americans decided to take it out

 

The 'i' is also pronounced, not skipped over. I say it as 'aloo-minny-um'. (Sorry Roxi, although, in my defence, the 'oo' is barely noticeable as it's said quickly.)

 

Wikipedia has this to say on the subject of spelling aluminium.

[Nollaig]

Aluminium came first. Aluminum is a variant. Ergo, Aluminium wins.

 

Also, saying aloominium is okay, it's the 'i' that gets me.

[Guest ii]

I think my most common error is leaving a word out altogether so the sentence reads strangely. I try to read over everything before I post so I can pick up that exact problem. I think my mind goes too fast for my fingers.

 

I often notice I've changed my mind about what I want to say mid-sentence, so it makes absolutely no sense. But, luckily for me, I'm not the only one! My prof famously sent me an email that ended with "Question not very interesting!" (I'd said that it's probably a very silly question, and he'd answered it very thoroughly and enthusiastically. It was even more 'wrong' in Finnish.)

[Ruth]

Differences in spelling between different variants of the same language don't bother me. My friend is British, and has been living in the States for 8 years; as she does a lot of proofreading, she said that she has had to 'retrain' her mind, because when she first got there, she saw words like 'neighbor' and 'color' as being wrong.