by Thomas Millington
Member since:
September 14, 2006

CAN YOU READ AND WRITE?

October 20, 2007 07:28 PM UTC (Updated: August 11, 2008 03:44 PM UTC)
views: 0 | comments: 20

Since becoming a member of Gather just over a year ago I have had occasion to read hundreds of articles and even more comments published on the site by other members.  It would appear to me that, without actually compiling exact statistics, upwards of 90% of postings are made by semi-literate people, although some may well have been done by seven to ten-year-olds.  I suppose it could be that some extreme sloppiness and ignorance of the English language is due to a deliberate attempt to be humorous, or provocative, or perhaps even folksy.  But I doubt it.  In deference to those members whose first language is not English - my humble apologies; this criticism is not directed at you.  In most instances I find that the foreign-language members do much better than most of the American ones. 

I would like to put out a challenge to Gather members to see just how many, if any at all, are able to put together two sentences, one following the other in a logical sequence, utilizing all the rules of proper grammar, punctuation, spelling and capitalization.  If your first language is not English you may submit your offering in your native tongue.  Any attempts at humor or sarcasm will be ignored.  I have no interest whatsoever in amassing points, so if I don't receive more than one comment I will be neither hurt nor surprised.  I will consider any and all serious attempts to comply as praisworthy. 

Comments: 20

Roy Wallen Oct 20, 2007, 7:40pm UTC
I agree with your assessment. I suspect, however, that part of the problem is proofreading rather than blatant misuse. That said, modern usage of English in America is notorious for serious shortfalls in grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and syntax.
Trish A. Oct 20, 2007, 8:25pm UTC
I wish you the best in this challenge. I struggle with spelling and typing sometimes but try my hardest to be as accurate as possible.
Laurie White Oct 20, 2007, 9:40pm UTC
Yes, Thomas, the level of writing here runs the gamut from extremely poor to talented. I try to read the intent and story behind the writing, even if it isn't perfect. I have to agree with Roy in that some of the issue is proofreading in a little box.
Therese P. Oct 21, 2007, 2:34am UTC
Wonderful article Thomas! It begins well, has a catchy title, presents examples of the issue and offers a challenge at the end.

Thank you for stating the issue with such clarity!
I must admit that I have come across articles that seem to be written in the way the person probably speaks.


I have a friend who is ten yrs older than I and her english is shocking,. When I talk to her on line I have to decipher what she is trying to tell me. She is 60 and although I have known her for 20yrs I have learnt what she means, yet she makes no move to improve her language. She is an aussie and english is our first language. Why won't she learn to improve herself? Too lazy.
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 8:03am UTC
Roy: Thank you for your comments. I agree that a lack of proofreading may play a small part, but proofreading would catch the typos, not the flagrant disregard of any and all rules of written English. It is a pleasure to communicate with people such as yourself who know how to communicate effectively in writing.
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 8:05am UTC
Trish: What more could anyone ask? You get an A+
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 8:10am UTC
Laurie: I agree. However reading is much more enjoyable, and comprehensible when one does not have to constantly maneuver around the grammatical road blocks.
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 8:14am UTC
Therese: Such a valuable and well-stated assessment. Thank you. I was expecting a degree of ridicule and a 'so-what' attitude, which I did not get. It seems there are far more literate Gatherers than I had suspected.
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 8:20am UTC
Maria: Thank you for your comments. Yes it is a sad state of affairs when people write the way they speak. People should be more careful with their writing as it is so much more permanent. Perhaps by age 60 it is far too late to change how one speaks and writes. Proper English should be taught in school so that it becomes ingrained and remains with the adult person throughout his/her life.
Sedickah Abderoef Oct 21, 2007, 12:55pm UTC
Hi Thomas
My mother tongue is Afrikaans, which as you can guess, developed in Africa. You invite us to respond in our home language, but how do you expect to understand my language? I am baffled. I now respond in Afrikaans:
Jy praat absolute twak. Ek stem met jou saam dat die mense op Gather skryf asof hulle ongeletterd is. Trouens, hulle is bloot vrek onnosel!
So what do you make of that?
Cheers from a delirious South Africa. Our Sprinkbok Team won the Rugby World Cup in France last night!!!
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 1:05pm UTC
Hi Sedickah: Congratulations on your team winning. Your English and your Afrikaans are both flawless. So again I congratulate you. Thank you for responding.
Donald Hawley Oct 21, 2007, 2:21pm UTC
Yea, man. I have found that sometimes I have a hard time going back and editing because of the lack of time before the site closes down. In fact, I have spent a lot of time composing the response only to have to do it all over again because I was "timed out." That's "time and time" again.
Thomas Millington Oct 21, 2007, 2:51pm UTC
Donald: What do you mean by "before the site closes down"? If you are referring to the gather.com website it does not close down. So you have all the time you want to make changes or corrections. If your computer times out you need to check your computer and increase the time.
Paidra Delayno Oct 22, 2007, 2:47am UTC
I have a book which my father read as a child. It is part of the Tod Moran series. At the moment, I can't recall the author. The English used in the book, written for young adults, would be considered advanced for adults today.
Trish A. Oct 22, 2007, 3:57am UTC
Thank you for the A+. I think my spelling has improved because of Gather. If my husband isn't around to be my human dictionary I get out the old fashioned dictionary.

There are nights when my seizure disorder is rearing it's ugly head and I pray that people will be more understanding. Your A+ is so very appreciated.
Thomas Millington Oct 22, 2007, 6:38am UTC
Paidra: Thank you for your comment. Was the author of the book to which you refer British by any chance? Perhaps this book should be re-introduced into the school curricula today.
Thomas Millington Oct 22, 2007, 6:44am UTC
Trish: I am so sorry to hear about your seizures. I find your written expression to be flawless. You could be a fine example to others on this site. I keep a dictionary by my side at the computer and refer to it often. For example I spelled the word 'seizures' with an 's' instead of a 'z' and this was flagged by my spell checker so I made a quick correction. But this time instead of consulting my dictionary I looked to see how you spelled it. Thank you.
Donald Hawley Oct 22, 2007, 8:10am UTC
Thomas, et al: Some times words are spelled with an "s" in England where Americans (at least United Statesians) spell those words with a "z". Also, in my experience, I have been surprised at how poorly the English write English in letters to me. It is not just one or two occasions but pretty consistent. Of course there are some differences in expression. As an example, we say, "I went to the doctor..." whereas they (in England) say, "I went to doctor..."
Thomas Millington Oct 22, 2007, 10:36am UTC
Donald: You are quite correct, however the basic rules of English grammar, punctuation, spelling and capitalization are the same all over the English speaking world. The minor, acceptable variations are as recorded in text books and dictionaries of the various English speaking countries.

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