E-mail and proper English

[catnapper]

I have friends who are teachers who say high school students turn in paper in English class with LOL speak freely interspersed, and can't understand why they lost points. Seriously? Sadly, yes.

Yes, I've seen that too. My own daughter tried to hand a paper in like that a couple years ago. She was typing so fast and was in a rush to get it out of the way that she didn't realize what she put in the paper Thankfully, she does know it doesn't belong in an essay, AND she's wise enough to ask someone to proof read. Sadly, not a lot of kids do understand the difference.

[Randi]

I can understand why close friends use these abbreviations in text messages on a cell phone, or in an IM chat if they’re in a hurry, but in my opinion, it doesn’t belong in an e-mail!
So I agree with this:

If I send a text to my best friend that says, "C U in 5", that's alright. She knows I mean "See you in five minutes", and it is very informal.

However, I do believe that the proper use of the English language is declining due to text messaging. You can see it in almost every newspaper you open. I guess some kids think it is smart.... “look at me, I know how to do this!” - but what they are telling about themselves is, that they’re not capable of typing very fast, or how to spell a word right.

I enjoy reading a well written text with proper spelling, that even contain words I didn’t know existed. I’m learning from that.

When it comes to English, I’m still learning new words every day and I enjoy communicating with people who have a bigger vocabulary more, than someone who don’t.

[Kirsten]

Well, guess I'm also old fashioned when it comes to this. Even though I understand why people use these abbreviations in cell phone messages or instant messages, I just cannot bring myself to do that. Same goes for not using capital letters at the beginning of sentences, or in nouns.

Another thing I've noticed is a severe deterioration of people's orthographical skills; at least here in Germany. You wouldn't believe how many spelling or grammatical errors you'll find even in official letters! Also, there seem to be more kids these days with dyslexia or speech disorders than there used to be in earlier times. I'm surprised how many kids go to see a speech therapist these days! My personal opinion is that we wouldn't have all these problems if parents would encourage their kids to read a book instead of dumping them in front of the tv/nintendo/pc...

Kirsten

[Cataholic]

What concerns me the most about this topic is not the poorly written email or message board per se, but more so the lack of the ability to perceive the difference between social situations.

That is exactly how I see it. I joke around with people a lot. I said to my friend the other day, when I beat her into work the first time in ten years, "'bout time you got your a** in here". Would I say that to someone that I just met, when they showed up late at work? Of course not. I know the difference, I know my audience.

The potential adopter did not know her audience. She didn't know diddly squat about you. She did not put her best foot forward, and you made a judgment call based on the ONLY piece of evidence you had- her email. Kind of like what we were talking about in the tatoo thread. People make snap judgments all day long and twice on Sunday. Think if you can afford that or not.

I wouldn't adopt to her, and I probably wouldn't give my child's clothing away to people that didn't care enough to put their best foot forward.

[pomtzu]

I'm with the oldies here, as well I should be, in expressing my displeasure at where proper communication is going. I don't text, but I find nothing wrong with "text talk" among friends. However, in a business situation of any kind, or correspondence with a stranger, it is never appropriate or acceptable.
I throw in an occasional LOL here on PT, or in an email with friends or relatives, but that's about the extent of it. We live in a fast-paced world now, but that is no excuse for anyone to be so lazy, that they can't take the time to spell out in "real words", what they want to say.

[RedHedd]

Glad to see that I'm not the only one. Whew!

In regards to the email.... I actually emailed her back and told her my kittens had to go as a set. That nipped that one in the bud! Then I wished her luck in her search. I got THREE additional emails from her within the span of an hour.... this woman is waaaaayyyyy too desperate for a kitten. I emailed my concerns to the rescue and everyone else agrees with me that she sounds a bit off-kilter. I should know by now to trust my instincts in regards to things. If I think it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then I need to trust that it is a duck.

Yup - a clueless duck who can't take the time nor care to send a properly punctuated communication when it comes to something serious like adopting a kitten.

I'm one who will delete or not respond to poorly punctuated, spelled or grammatically incorrect missives.

As for spell check, IEspell is a great little add-on that I use to spell check postings on forums like this one. Actually Pet Talk now has spell check so I don't even have to use MY iEspell. Thanks, Karen & Paul!

[carole]

I think you have made the right call in this situation,good for you, and also for letting the shelters know as well, i guess if she really wants a kitten though, she will find one easily enough,let us just hope and pray she will be a decent pet owner, you have to think if one can not even write with some intelligence then perhaps they are not clued up enough to know how to take care of a kitten.

I must admit when i first started on the internet in chat rooms, it was very acceptable to abbreviate with C U soon etc, and i thought when i came to PT it was the thing to do, i soon knew different and respected that 100 per cent, but i was new to it all, and i now know when and when not to use it.

Sadly it is a sign of the times,but who say's we have to embrace it all.

[Moesha]

I do use the text abbreviations when texting, never in E-mail. I actually can't stand doing it. The reason I do use it though is because of the limit of characters you can send via a text message. If I am sending to other Verizon customers, they will adjust my text size. If I am sending a message to someone who uses a cellular service other than Verizon, I only have 160 characters that I can send. Sometimes they will send it in two messages, and sometimes they won't. I use as many shortcuts as possible to get my message across in one text.