The decreasing standards of written English

[jaybee]

I've been noticing it a lot over the last few years and I'm beginning to wonder if it's to do with the way people are speaking in slang and with accents out loud, and therefore they convert this into what they believe the written English should be? For example:

"...he's been an idiot isn't he?"
Been = being

But I also know of teachers (still teaching to this day) who really struggle with spelling and are told to get the teaching assistants to proof check their comms to parents, in order to prevent the embarrassment of poor spelling in reports etc.

It's not just things like "they're, there and their" or "you're and your", but the most basic of all forms of English grammar is surely the use of "A" vs "AN". I work with colleagues who are paid highly for what they do, yet write emails talking about "A apple" rather than "an apple".

In a country where exam results are supposedly getting better year on year, why is this happening?
Do you think it matters these days?
Is it important?
If you were interviewing candidates for a job and you found spelling and grammatical issues all throughout their CV, would it put you off if they had otherwise good experience?

 

[SkodaMart]

Innit

 

[bJN]

U wot m8

 

[Graetzbridge]

This is just last month:

How it was spelt

What was probably intended

Rediculous

Ridiculous

Accruing

Occurring

Draw

Drawer

Sheppard

Shepherd

Emergancy

Emergency

opersite

opposite

bare

bear

been

bean

breaking

braking

definately

definitely

hording

hoarding

aloud

allowed

preventative

preventive

poaple

people

might of

might have

their

they’re

Was you

Were you

accept

expect

cue

queue

your

you’re

excepting

accepting

Try and

Try to

To hot

Too hot

effected

affected

saught

sought

 

[Lysander]

Thread is full of old and autism.

 

[Lysander]

To actually answer your questions:

In a country where exam results are supposedly getting better year on year, why is this happening?
Do you think it matters these days?
Is it important?
If you were interviewing candidates for a job and you found spelling and grammatical issues all throughout their CV, would it put you off if they had otherwise good experience?

1. Because language changes through laziness and ignorance. And if it happens enough it becomes the standard.
2. Yes and no. Yes inasmuch as I prefer English that is CORRECT but no inasmuch as things inevitably change.
3. See above.
4. Well, if there were two candidates who were equally qualified I would invite them both to interview and base things off that.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Thread is full of old and autism.

 

[BallistixOnZ490]

Most spelling mistakes online are genuine typos. Especially when typing on touch screens, inaccuracy in pressing the letters is the biggest bane to correct spelling.

I always try to edit my typos, on the whole most of my written grammar is flawless.

But I still get branded an idiot of course because perfect grammar doesn't make you special.

Then everyone who you do see that is supposedly meant to be clever cannot write a single line correctly even if their lives depended on it.

The point that the OP points out that even teachers cannot write correctly coincides with my statements that most teachers are idiots that shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near children.

And then you wonder why even students that get straight A's still cant write and speak correctly. The entire education system has been dumbed down to the core, correct answers are marked wrong for not using the newest woke method that nobody other than the teacher understands, spelling mistakes are allowed to slide because correcting them is some kind of 'ism' based on race or being low class.

'Its not Jamal's fault he cannot write and spell correctly, he is black and poor'.

Following which every other student needs to also be taught and graded based on what Jamal requires to understand and pass things.

 

[Hades]

'Its not Jamal's fault he cannot write and spell correctly, he is black and poor'

Whoah, thread took an unexpected turn!

 

[ttaskmaster]

In a country where exam results are supposedly getting better year on year, why is this happening?
Do you think it matters these days?
Is it important?
If you were interviewing candidates for a job and you found spelling and grammatical issues all throughout their CV, would it put you off if they had otherwise good experience?

1/. You can pass a driving test with a perfect score, yet still go and drive like a complete ****. Same with language.
2/. Of course it matters. There must be a standard and it must be upheld, else there's no point in even learning English. English teachers should be nigh-on flawless in that regard.
3/. Yan gee wan gwan del fang down tha' yawll wudz wiv ya, innit? If you don't fully comprehend that sentence, then yes, it matters. Language is taught for the purpose of accurate communication. So yes, important.
4/. If their written English is that bad, they probably wouldn't be suited to the role, since clear and accurate communication is pretty essential in my industry and no amount of experience will help if they cannot actually convey it.

 

[BallistixOnZ490]

Whoah, thread took an unexpected turn!

Sorry this is true - In America professors that correct black student's spelling get sacked for racism.

 

[norm]

Pretty much all aspects of culture and society are veering towards mediocrity. Nobody gives a damn about setting the right impression any more, everybody wants to be an individual. Hence it's given rise to ever increasing levels of vanity and self absorption i.e. a generation of social media addicts.

This has given rise to the likes of school mum's shopping at supermarkets in their pyjamas and slippers because they have this deluded belief because of television and mix of feminist attitudes that it's okay to be an entitled slobby mare and no one is going to tell them otherwise, least of all a man.

If you've ever noticed adverts today on TV, so many are from the perspective of a woman and give them all the focus, and quite often men are used as the butt of the joke. One that comes to mind is this:

"The spot opens with three masked men ready to rob a bank. The company’s spokeswoman, who’s in the area with her dog, tells them there’s an easier way to pay unexpected bills"

The men, depicted as bank robbers, so not worthy of anyone's respect, play no role other than to show the intellect of the woman, it's a typical theme now. The media industry had been overtaken by women to such a degree this sort of thing of downplaying men is more and more commonplace.

Another more recent ad,

The bloke is once again given a role that undermines him and puts all emphasis on the woman. I mean imagine an advert with the gender roles reversed and it was a blonde girl and the person insults her intelligence as some form of joke, it has just wouldn't happen now, but somehow men are fair game in this world of double standards.

 

[dl8860]

What the actual hell is this post

Most spelling mistakes online are genuine typos. Especially when typing on touch screens, inaccuracy in pressing the letters is the biggest bane to correct spelling.

I always try to edit my typos, on the whole most of my written grammar is flawless.

But I still get branded an idiot of course because perfect grammar doesn't make you special.

Then everyone who you do see that is supposedly meant to be clever cannot write a single line correctly even if their lives depended on it.

The point that the OP points out that even teachers cannot write correctly coincides with my statements that most teachers are idiots that shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near children.

And then you wonder why even students that get straight A's still cant write and speak correctly. The entire education system has been dumbed down to the core, correct answers are marked wrong for not using the newest woke method that nobody other than the teacher understands, spelling mistakes are allowed to slide because correcting them is some kind of 'ism' based on race or being low class.

'Its not Jamal's fault he cannot write and spell correctly, he is black and poor'.

Following which every other student needs to also be taught and graded based on what Jamal requires to understand and pass things.

Sidenote, OP how many times did you proof read your OP? Answer honestly.

 

[Hades]

they have this deluded belief because of television and mix of feminist attitudes that it's okay to be an entitled slobby mare

Whoah, thread took another unexpected turn!



/backs out of thread slowly

 

[Blackjack Davy]

Another issue is the increasing americanization of spelling if you're neighborly you'll point it out and become armored against it.

 

[adolf hamster]

this is an internet forum not an english exam i (and i assume i'm not alone in this) simply cannot be bothered fixing most of them.

end of the day language is a communication tool, if the words you've written successfully convey the point you're trying to make without excessive effort on the part of the reader then it's done the job.


meanwhile how the hell have we already gotten racism and sexism brought into this thread? i'd say that's the bigger issue here.

edit: to clarify the issue is people being able to stick to the bloody topic

 

[BallistixOnZ490]

What the actual hell is this post
Sidenote, OP how many times did you proof read your OP? Answer honestly.

Once or twice, barring typo errors that were immediately corrected.

Based on the frequency of how much I post here, and how most of my posts are entirely correct, I'm not proof reading them that much.

Often I spot typos when others quote my post, then go back and correct them out of courtesy.

I admit its definitely an OCD.

I'd make a great proof reader, but I lack the usual 2 years experience that every single job needs.

 

[Jay85]

This is just last month:

How it was spelt

What was probably intended

Rediculous

Ridiculous

Accruing

Occurring

Draw

Drawer

Sheppard

Shepherd

Emergancy

Emergency

opersite

opposite

bare

bear

been

bean

breaking

braking

definately

definitely

hording

hoarding

aloud

allowed

preventative

preventive

poaple

people

might of

might have

their

they’re

Was you

Were you

accept

expect

cue

queue

your

you’re

excepting

accepting

Try and

Try to

To hot

Too hot

effected

affected

saught

sought

I see this daily just looking at my facebook feeds... the amount of people who get grammar wrong/misspell or can't even make a proper sentence using proper words is shocking. Literally have to read a few times to fully understand what they're trying to convey. Saw one yesterday where full stops were nowhere to be seen... a full paragraph and no full stops.

 

[ltron]

This is just last month:

How it was spelt

What was probably intended

Rediculous

Ridiculous

Accruing

Occurring

Draw

Drawer

Sheppard

Shepherd

Emergancy

Emergency

opersite

opposite

bare

bear

been

bean

breaking

braking

definately

definitely

hording

hoarding

aloud

allowed

preventative

preventive

poaple

people

might of

might have

their

they’re

Was you

Were you

accept

expect

cue

queue

your

you’re

excepting

accepting

Try and

Try to

To hot

Too hot

effected

affected

saught

sought

Both preventive and preventative are correct according to Google and I prefer the latter. Try and/try to is just nitpicking.

 

[adolf hamster]

a full paragraph and no full stops.

i know i'm terrible for doing that, i just over-use comma's constantly and take a new line.

seems a better alternative than a wall of text, that's just hard to read.