Are spelling and grammar still as important as ever for getting our ideas across, or is near enough good enough?

Since kids are no longer taught how to communicate effectively, can we blame them if their posts are mangled? (Since the 1970s Australian schools have espoused the idea that spelling and grammar don't matter, it's the ideas that count.)

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14 Answers

Jann Nikka Profile
Jann Nikka answered

Spelling and grammar on here, "It is what it is".

It's a World Wide Web and 6 Billion people can answer if they choose, from all backgrounds to all levels of education or no education. Blurtit nor anyone else should be able to tell people how to speak, type, write or spell. 

That being said, I do my best📱.

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Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
Today, kids and most adults don't care about correct spelling or grammar. Look at all the LOL, Lmao, Rotl, etc, they only need to learn the acronym.
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
We were doing that in the days of Morse code, Jan. We didn't use LOL of course but three dashes and a dot (---,) was recognised as a laugh. We had lots of abbreviations.
Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
I agree :)
Yin And Yang Profile
Yin And Yang answered

With spell check and auto spell on all the devises we are at the mercy of computers and technology!

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Yin And Yang
Yin And Yang commented
TOOOOO FUNNY! That would be a great question to post. I saw it once before and the responses where hilarious! We had a lady friend from church send a text to another lady friend saying what she was bringing for the group that night as a snack. She said "I am bringing some black pastries... I think they are chocolate flavored" and when she re read the text auto correct changed "pastries" to "penises."
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
Now that left me chuckling. I'll bet there was more than usual interest in the supper table that night. :)
Yin And Yang
Yin And Yang commented
Yes she kept her chuckles between her and the lady she accidentally sent it to (friends for over 20 years) then when we were cleaning up..... the chuckles came out to those left that night! LOLOLOLOLOL!
dragonfly forty-six Profile

I try to use correct grammar and spelling, as far as others, I just take what I can get. I've learned not to get fired up about things that others do.

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Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
I hear you.
My phone has 7 different languages I can use and several different keyboards. It ask if I want to use American English, England English and get this North America English.
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
That sounds right. I should think Central American English would be spelt with a Spanish accent.
Jann Nikka
Jann Nikka commented
LOL YEP.
Tris Fray Potter Profile

Spelling and grammar does matter.  You need to use good spelling and grammar even if it's for as little as a resume.  People look at it and judge you based on your spelling and grammar.  If there's one typo, people are turned off of it.

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Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
I agree of course but on the Net it doesn't seem so important.
Tris Fray Potter
Tris Fray Potter commented
I think that it depends who you're talking to, and who's going to see it. When I'm Instant Messaging with friends, my grammar is horrible, but on here, and other websites where not everyone will understand 'internet slang,' or I want to have a decent reputation, I will use proper grammar. On Facebook, I will also use proper grammar and spelling because who knows who's going to see it?
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
Sounds perfect, Tris. We're all different, of course, and many people either don't, or can't, manage to get it right. That doesn't mean I think any less of them, yet if I was an employer reading a resume, or a project manager reading a submission, it would have a very large impact.
Aldrich Ames Profile
Aldrich Ames answered

Honestly, most people my age that I know don't talk like this:

"I luv dat ppl thnk kidz tak lik dis!!1!! 😡😏😑😧😈👿"

I think grammar matters. If you talk like the example I showed above, then you aren't going to be taken as seriously and you'll be almost incomprehensible. People won't make the effort to even try to understand what you're saying. If English isn't your first language, then I think spelling and grammar errors are excuseable. Otherwise, stop talking like that.

Maurice Korvo Profile
Maurice Korvo answered

Is near enough good enough?  I heard of a person who parked his car in a "No Stoping" zone. Came back and found he had a ticket. Took it to court and won, as "Stoping" is not the same a stopping. It has to do with mining.  Near enough was not good enough.

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Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
I think he was lucky in his choice of judge.

My favourite was the one about the guy who ran a red light and told the judge the Doppler effect had caused him to think it was green. The judge accepted his explanation and fined him $200. Why? Because in order to experience a Doppler effect from red to green he'd have been speeding. And then some! :)
Rooster Cogburn Profile
Rooster Cogburn , Rooster Cogburn, answered

Under a different regime here, I had to spend hours correcting spelling and grammar and I do think it's very important. I see lousy spelling and grammar ? I usually think the person is underage as I do one on here now but I do understand the people that English isn't their first language also. If a person can read it and understand it ? They'll get better answers, no doubt.

PJ Stein Profile
PJ Stein answered

I had a friend who made a web page to sell calendars to raise money for breast cancer research. She had cut and paste a small part and posted to her Facebook page. She had inadvertently used the word decease for disease. I quickly pm'd her to let her know. That is not a mix up you want when you are looking for a cure. 

Call me Z Profile
Call me Z answered

It probably isn't realistic to expect excellent grammar and spelling in every instance, but it should be reasonable to expect an effort to get a point across coherently. That suffices in most cases. I do think we can usually see a correlation between the sophistication of one's ideas and the level of grammar (and vocabulary) used to convey them. 

There is a case to be made for the evolution of language but I have to admit, as with the course of our social culture, I am not a big fan of where things seem to be heading. 

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Call me Z
Call me Z commented
I hope that young people who wish for their ideas to be taken seriously by serious people, endeavor to understand the value of effective communication skills, despite the mollycoddling of some "progressive" teaching methods. I believe this is where your question is directed.
We are amiss to leave training our children solely to systems who teach to a test, or mollycoddle nonachievers at the expense of recognized standards. That might work inside those programs, but ultimately fails the kid and our society.
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
The lack of effective education certain lies beneath my question but the reason I asked it was because, over the past three or four weeks, I've seen quite a few people sniping at ill-written, badly spelt questions. I don't think should be a bar to anybody getting their questions answered.
Call me Z
Call me Z commented
Agreed. Encouraging contributions should be more important.
Tom  Jackson Profile
Tom Jackson answered

If kids routinely learned what they were taught, I would say "yes, we can blame them."

Ignorance of the law may be no excuse, but now that they see a law is there, maybe they need to learn about it.

If you can't communicate with me, it usually turns out to effect them much more than it does me.

Ancient Hippy Profile
Ancient Hippy answered

I appreciate correct grammar and spelling but we all make mistakes while typing. I really can't stand when questions and answers aren't capitalized at all.

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Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
I got into trouble with the kids on Ask when I didnt realise a question should have been capitalised and answered it the way it was written, not knowing it was the name of a game.
Virginia Lou Profile
Virginia Lou answered

Hi Didge,

I have actually been thinking of posting a Q along your same line...

Once on Ask, Yosey pointed out that she had never seen a post of mine with less than flawless grammar or spelling. Well since then, I have played with thought flow ..for the sake of expressiveness.

Can I use two words incorrectly, but floral in their conveyance, and thereby replace a whole sentence?

You and I together, especially on Ask, would sometimes be able to pull meaning out of basically unintelligible posts...and give the asker a response. So I do think it's helpful to have a foundation of grammar and spelling.

Oh and I have been reading Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and other stream-of-consciousness authors, and find that style impressive, too.

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Virginia Lou
Virginia Lou commented
We have a dragon, a hawk, a skunk...a dragonfly, superfly...
Dozy we have no eagle! Yes we definitely need her...and a Sasquatch too...
Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
It's been a long time since I heard from Sas. She went back to school, changed her job and, last I heard, was studying real estate in her spare time. It keeps her busy.
Virginia Lou
Virginia Lou commented
I truly miss them both.
Sheldon  Cooper Profile
Sheldon Cooper answered

If u ask me - text is not the same as spelling

I can say wrk - or work

I can say ; you -  or u

Muspelled. Yes

Point across- yes

KB Baldwin Profile
KB Baldwin answered

Depends on the intent.  If texting, spelling and punctuation are just an additional problem.  If you are trying to seriously communicate with someone, not only is the grammar and punctuation necessary to convey your message, but also the choice of words.  Anyone in doubt should read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves".  As for spelling, there is no excuse if you are on a computer, as spell check has your back.    NO EXCUSE! 

And all of you are FORBIDDEN to go back and look at my prior posts! 

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Didge Doo
Didge Doo commented
I've often been appalled, going back to one of my posts, to find out how many errors occur. I don't know if my fingers take leave of my brain or my brain takes leave on its own account. Some of the errors i can't put down to lousy typing.

So I try not to point the finger unless it's something particularly funny. I'm too vulnerable myself. :(

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