Worsening standards of English
- Thread starter Rotayjay
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- Jul 26, 2023
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Unpopular opinion but there's no such thing as a 'standard' of English. People from 100 years ago would think a lot of what we say is completely nonsensical and then 100 years further back would think the same. It's just a constantly evolving language, now impacted by social media and the internet.
- Apr 16, 2008
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Just sent something with you're instead of your. Feel like an absolute idiot. Made me think of this thread straight away. Gosh darn it...
Nah it's getting really bad.
I was reading something related to horse racing on one of the Murdoch publications online, and I saw a "could of"; not in the comments but in the article itself.
I understand there's people out there that for whatever reason don't realise that is wrong but to get a job in print media and not know that? Shithouse.
I was reading something related to horse racing on one of the Murdoch publications online, and I saw a "could of"; not in the comments but in the article itself.
I understand there's people out there that for whatever reason don't realise that is wrong but to get a job in print media and not know that? Shithouse.
The rise of computers and social media. Try and argue that isn't the reason.
- May 19, 2017
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Closely related to its cousin, the one that actually really shits me ...
"I could care less", when you are actually trying to express how much you could not care less.
This one is absolutely everywhere now!
I'm sure this is about the third time I've shared this on BF but it's worth doing again:
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Newsreaders .
Mazing , this is just Mazing.
don't know how much my own experience reflects others, but i read a lot less than i used to. a lot of my reading is limited to the cesspool that is the internet.
i read a good variety of stuff. i like to read all sorts of online newspapers, left and right leaning political things but also tabloid junk. i go down rabbit holes at wikipedia, browse case studies on topics of the day. i don't need to shield myself from opposing views, i can internally disagree without needing to do anything about it.
but i don't read books anymore. and i don't have to think about my spelling, computers have taken care of my lack of effort. i sometimes know by the way a word looks that i haven't written it correctly instead of spelling rules, i've lost some knowledge there, i don't really write either. online at places like here or reddit i abandon as many posts as i post. i find disagreeing takes a lot of energy. i've become not bad at not needing a last word.
what makes me stupider than other people who don't read or write, is that i still buy books. not often but i think of something i should be reading. not because i have a huge inherent joy of reading but the person i want to be would read these books. the william s burroughs books that i haven't read, immanuel kant, art books. i bought a second hand enid blyton brer rabbit book, at booktopia i've got other enid blyton childhood books on there. so the joy of reading is in there somewhere. or is it just some kind of mid-life crisis... just laying it all out there...
i combine the worst of all worlds, i don't read or write, but i'm pretentious enough to think i should be reading certain things... and then i don't.
it's no wonder my skills are fading like everyone else's.
i read a good variety of stuff. i like to read all sorts of online newspapers, left and right leaning political things but also tabloid junk. i go down rabbit holes at wikipedia, browse case studies on topics of the day. i don't need to shield myself from opposing views, i can internally disagree without needing to do anything about it.
but i don't read books anymore. and i don't have to think about my spelling, computers have taken care of my lack of effort. i sometimes know by the way a word looks that i haven't written it correctly instead of spelling rules, i've lost some knowledge there, i don't really write either. online at places like here or reddit i abandon as many posts as i post. i find disagreeing takes a lot of energy. i've become not bad at not needing a last word.
what makes me stupider than other people who don't read or write, is that i still buy books. not often but i think of something i should be reading. not because i have a huge inherent joy of reading but the person i want to be would read these books. the william s burroughs books that i haven't read, immanuel kant, art books. i bought a second hand enid blyton brer rabbit book, at booktopia i've got other enid blyton childhood books on there. so the joy of reading is in there somewhere. or is it just some kind of mid-life crisis... just laying it all out there...
i combine the worst of all worlds, i don't read or write, but i'm pretentious enough to think i should be reading certain things... and then i don't.
it's no wonder my skills are fading like everyone else's.
the japanese have a word for this - tsundoku
I wouldn't be too hard on yourself as I think everyone who has ever loved books has done this - at best estimate I have read about 80% of the books in my library
Last few years I have made an effort to really get back into reading and it has been incredibly hard - I used to be able to spend entire days reading very dense books but initially my attention span was just completely shot. It's very much been like physical exercise, rebuilding my reading stamina. Now I will happily dive into a book for an hour or two but there was definitely a time when it was something that I just could not do.
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"Team A are versing Team B this weekend" does my head in. I thought it was only a school kid thing until I heard another teacher say it the other day. Another colleague of mine always says "somethink" or "anythink".
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Mirrors my experience. Was an avid reader as a kid, then hit a wall at about 17 and haven't finished a book since. I read a crazy amount of online material. Even my partner thinks it's odd.
I picked up a book while on a holiday recently and it felt so good to read that way. Yet since I've got home, I haven't even thought about picking up another.
Sqotty from office works
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I think it reflects the general decline of IQ in society. If you cannot express yourself in a sophisticated (competent) manner, then you probably don't think in a sophisticated manner. Perhaps it is the opposite.
Reading books as a hobby has declined. Substitute forms of entertainment don't require the same literacy skills. I encourage my kids to read books for an hour a day. We may have over a thousand books. If you know what op shops to visit you can score a lot of great books for a pittance.
Reading books as a hobby has declined. Substitute forms of entertainment don't require the same literacy skills. I encourage my kids to read books for an hour a day. We may have over a thousand books. If you know what op shops to visit you can score a lot of great books for a pittance.
- May 13, 2014
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The gorgeous American actor Michell Monaghan is married to an Aussie and she was talking about it as a guest on a chat show.
She was laughing about how lazy we were with language (we are) and having a bit of lite fun with the host.
I went to the comments and I wasn't disappointed. First cab off the rank was, * off back to your own country and at least we don't have school shootings.
That was pretty much the theme for all of them.
- May 13, 2014
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I finished primary school in 1979, I have 2 teenagers daughters, one is in her first year of uni and the other in year 11.
I think that in general my generation had a much more solid foundation in the basics than what my daughters did when transitioning from primary to secondary schooling.
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I read a moderate amount of print, perhaps an hour a day during my commute on the bus. I read a lot more on the internet - Bigfooty, ABC News, Reddit, etc. I find that the more I've read in the previous month or so, the better my writing is. I call it osmosis - one's mind gets immersed in the pool of good writing.
- Sep 15, 2011
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A little from column A, a little from column B. The language is always changing and older people will always bemoan those changes. But there's no question text, social media etc is having an impact on the foundations of writing. I can accept changing use/meaning of words and phrases, but less so fundamental errors in grammar such as 'could of' or 'should of'.
Anyways, I edit for a living, particularly young people, and while there is definitely a few mistakes creeping in, it's probably not as bad as one would imagine reading the comments section of Facebook. The basic structures are still sound, I'm rarely having to rewrite entire chunks of text, more just tidying up.
My pet peeve, I always correct my son and his footy team. I fear this one may be a losing battle, though.
- Sep 15, 2011
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I hate it when people verb nouns
I think it's just simply born out of an ignorant assumption that the word 'versus' is actually 'verses'
more evidence that we need to bring back Latin in schools
