A ludacris segway into teh arrangement of letters, 4 ur benefit

[Duke87 1,070]

So, yeah, you know what I hate? Lazy spellings.

In many cases, it occurs out of simple shorthandedness:

doughnut → donut

night → nite

through → thru

dialogue → dialog

catalogue → catalog

gauge → gage

But pop culture can really sway it, too:

Dean Kamen invents this gizmo, calls it a "Segway", it gets a lot of attention... and before you know it, no one can properly spell "segue" anymore.

Christopher Bridges adopts the stage name "Ludacris", records a few hit songs... and before you know it, no once can properly spell "ludicrous" anymore, either.

The worst part, though, is when chatrooms, IMings, and texting get a hold of things:

you → u

to, too → 2

are → r

what → wut, wat

for → 4

before → b4

see → c

oh really → o rly

et cetera

Although, granted, some items in that last category do occasionally make themselves useful in a tongue in cheek manner.

Anyone with me on this or am I just being pedantic?

[Explodingsims 3]

I'm with you. I hate hate HATE Txt words.

Somehow I have a feeling this trend will only get worse.

I guess I never knew how to spell catalogue though...and neither does Firefox apparently.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

Well lets face it, Americans have never been good a spelling.

[Zelgadis 638]

Yup, it's "rediculous" all right.

And where did that spelling come from? Only in the last couple of years or so have I ever seen anyone spell it like that.

ISF

[masochist 111]

I don't get the spelling of "the" as "teh;" how does it make it easier? How is it different/unique/humorous enough to warrant such widespread use?

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

I am definitely a purist on spelling, you may have noticed. Although, 'donut' has been an accepted spelling since before the PC existed, so we can't blame text or 1337 for that one.

When I built doors and doorframes, I learned that when there is a window in a door, it's called a 'vision lite', and those full-length windows alongside a door are called 'side lites'. It drove me nuts to see them spelled that way, but it's an accepted industry spelling.

Do the schools even teach proper spelling anymore? It doesn't seem like they do. I have had to regularly correct the spelling of degreed engineers, and even an MBA or two. I cannot believe that someone with sub-grade school spelling was able to obtain a Master's.

But none of this means you aren't pedantic, Duke.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

Certainly in Britain spelling seemed to cease to matter in schools round about the 1980's. When I was at school in the sixties each spelling mistake had to be written 100 times.

What gets me is the missuse of words such as:-

There,their and they're   and     to,two and too.

[Dark_Jedi06 13]

The butchering of the English language is an atrocity. The means by which we communicate forms the bedrock of our society, and I get the feeling that such rampant 1337 speak only makes people less intelligent...or at least sound less intelligent. Writing is an essential form of communication and should not be shirked.

[Meg 368]

My parents used to say that my generation wouldn't be able to spell since we didn't study it enough in school.  Nowadays, I know people who don't bother because they figure the word processor will correct it.  (which, for some reason reminds me of this mainframe word processor we had before PCs came out.  But I digress.)

 

A lot depends on the audience and setting for what is been writing.  In the workplace, it is expected that written documents will use proper spelling and correct grammar.   Except in cases like manticorefan describes.  The word "lite" became popular when "lite beer" was introduced.  Calling it "lightweight beer" wouldn't have gone over too well.  and "light beer" sounds like it should glow in the dark or something.  And "diet beer" certainly would have been a failure.

Verbal English has also changed.  (I should say "has always changed".)    My former boss did not like it when anyone used the phrase "24/7".  She thought that was lazy shorthand.   The rest of us thought it conveyed the concept concisely.

 

It's interesting how new words get created along the way.  When I was a teenager, the new word was "humongeous".  My parents insisted it wasn't a word.  We insisted it was.   These days it's "ginormous" which is a word I never heard as a kid.

 

English, as a verbal language, has always been fluid.   But the new written forms are a bit much sometimes.

[IDS2 3,453]

I prefer to type out my words, but I don't mind using shorthand when I'm in a rush (i.e. giving directions) although reading some txt language can be difficult; several of the acronyms are foreign to me. Most of the time when I see someone typing shorthand it's for humorous effect, though it isn't really funny.

Also, I've noticed that lots of changed words like 'doughnut' to 'donut' are the results of genericized trademarks/proprietary eponyms. Examples include Jell-o, Q-tip, Kleenex, Coke, Escalator, and Band-Air in place of gelatin, cotton swabs, cotton tissue, coca leaf extract, moving staircase (Otis invention), and adhesive bandage, respectively. These aren't necessarily good examples of the point you're stating, but it's a similar process; a brand name or company name is used to refer to words in existing vocabulary.

Oh, and anyone else think 'LOL' is pointless? Overused to the point that nobody who uses it thinks about what it means before they do.

[Randomtaskk 1]

I don't really mind text speak, at the end of the day its just short hand (mostly), however I never use it myself.

The one thing which really bugs me is people typing words as they would pronounce them in thier accent i.e., ken wha a meen pal (know what I mean pal/freind?), am gonnae tok lyk dis cos a wannae (am going to talk like this because I want to) etc. Really annoys me ><

As an aside, a New Scientist article reckons that kids who use text speak can actually spell better than those who dont: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/02/study-confirms-txt-spk-doesnt-hurt-kids-language-skills.ars (Couldnt find the New Scientist one, but its the same story).

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Yup, it's "rediculous" all right.

And where did that spelling come from? Only in the last couple of years or so have I ever seen anyone spell it like that.

quote>

That likely stems from the fact that these days people sometimes pronounce it more like "ree dic you luss" than "rih dic you luss". And therefore it becomes "rediculous" because people treat it as though it's "diculous" with the prefix "re-" in front of it.

Originally posted by: masochist

I don't get the spelling of "the" as "teh;" how does it make it easier? How is it different/unique/humorous enough to warrant such widespread use?quote>

It started out as a typo. When you're typing real fast, it's not difficult to acidentally transpose "the" into "teh". But then the whole leetsepak phenomenon latched onto it and it became common usage. Same story with "pwn".

[Streetwise 3]

This topic makes me crazy for the following reasons:

1. I grew up in a newspaper/printing environment, so at nine years old I knew far better than most adults how to spell properly and construct complete sentences.

2. When I was THE proofreader for the local newspaper, one thing I would have to read is the school news which was sent to us from, and written by the local grade school and high school students, whose writing was absolutely abominable. It would be typeset from the original copy by our typesetter (she had my utmost sympathy) and then I would have to painfully wade through it, looking for every single error that there was. The worst part was that at the end of the school year, there was NO improvement in the writing of those journalism students. One time, a journalism teacher commented that the students would write much better after they had computers that put sentences together for them. It got to the point that I refused to proofread any more of the school news, and the typesetter backed me up on that, since she hated to set their stuff as much as I hated to proofread it.

3. When a new boss took over, he said that the  word tonite is to be spelled as tonight, regardless of how the original copy came in (good for him!).  

4. In my graphic design classes in college, if you misspell even one word, your assignment can be dropped as many as two letter grades (as it should be). We are being taught that each piece that we create should be proofed by at least three other people. 

We all make mistakes, but to not care at all is inexcusable.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Streetwise

In my graphic design classes in college, if you misspell even one word, your assignment can be dropped as many as two letter grades (as it should be). We are being taught that each piece that we create should be proofed by at least three other people. quote>

Speaking of which:

...I understand that English proably isn't the first language of whomever made that sign (at least I hope not...), but couldn't they at least get someone for whom it is to write the message, to avoid embarassing themselves?

The new location of this establishment is, however, at the given address, next to Domino's. And one can get there from the location of this photo by walking across the McDonald's parking lot.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

Yup, it's "rediculous" all right.

quote>

haha, I spell it like that to bug my girl friend. She is definitely a grammer Nazis.

As for texting, I make sure to spell out every word and add correct punctuation. I take pride in everything I write and I treat it as if I was writing a formal paper. I just need to work on my sentence structure, as some of you might have noticed in other posts. And the text speak, I finally learned some of the terms last year. I'm still confused by a bunch of them since they make no sense to me.

And teh is just funny. It just shows that if you make a simple error on the internet, you may never be able to live it down. Just imagine how that guy must feel? He probably spelt it wrong in a heated post about spelling properly or using correct grammer.

Also, as an after thought, grammar is also a commonly mispelled word. I just did it twice! Good thing I spell check most of my posts.

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Jezus53

girl friend.quote>

This is another one that's strange on me. When did "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" become two words instead of one? I see people do it all the time now, but not too long ago it used to be unheard of.

She is definitely a grammer Nazis.quote>

Irony: using incorrect grammar to say that someone is a Grammar Nazi.

Also, Godwin's Law.

As for texting, I make sure to spell out every word and add correct punctuation. quote>

I only ever text in response to someone texting me. I generally tend to prefer to either actually call someone if I want to talk to them, or email them if I just want to send a quick message.

When I do text, I never use punctuation... although that has nothing to do with me being lazy or sloppy and everything to do with the fact that I don't know how to type punctuation on my phone. If I did, I would.

Hell, typing letters with just a tiny little numeric keypad is awkward enough as it is. And those little qwerty keypads or touch screens that some phones have now are really no better. They're just too damn small. Keyboards weren't meant to fit in your pocket!

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Jezus53

girl friend.quote>

This is another one that's strange on me. When did "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" become two words instead of one? I see people do it all the time now, but not too long ago it used to be unheard of.

quote>

Habit. Plus I've never had to write it much so I've never actually learned the word. But I do tend to switch between "girlfriend" and "girl friend."

She is definitely a grammer Nazis.quote>

Irony: using incorrect grammar to say that someone is a Grammar Nazi.

quote>

As I said, I have poor sentence structure, I guess I should have said I have poor grammar instead.

Also, Godwin's Law.

quote>

Really.

[Randomtaskk 1]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Streetwise

couldn't they at least get someone for whom it is to write the message, to avoid embarassing themselves?

quote>

quote>

I always think that when I am on Asian manufacturers websites, which make very little sense the vast majority of times

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

Originally posted by: Randomtaskk

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Streetwise

couldn't they at least get someone for whom it is to write the message, to avoid embarassing themselves?

quote>

quote>

I always think that when I am on Asian manufacturers websites, which make very little sense the vast majority of times

quote>

Some things get lost in translation, I can forgive a person for whom English is not their first language. What I find unforgiveable is when things are done by first language English Speakers.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Merlin of Flyote

Originally posted by: Randomtaskk

Originally posted by: Duke87

Originally posted by: Streetwise

couldn't they at least get someone for whom it is to write the message, to avoid embarassing themselves?

quote>

quote>

I always think that when I am on Asian manufacturers websites, which make very little sense the vast majority of times

quote>

Some things get lost in translation, I can forgive a person for whom English is not their first language. What I find unforgiveable is when things are done by first language English Speakers.

quote>

Sure things get messed up, but if you are going to put up a proffesional web page then at least make sure the sentences make sense. I'm not ask for perfect English, just a nice flow of words.

[hamsterTK 93]

My guess is those spellings originated on signage to save space or lettering, and/or in product names in order to legally trademark otherwise generic names, i.e. "drive-thru" or "nite club".

Likewise I never understood the drama over text speak, show me again one bad thing that has resulted from it.

[Zelgadis 638]

Sometimes, at least for me, alternative spellings take on new nuances.

Cheese: Yummy farm product.

Cheez: Orange powder sprinkled on crunchy, processed snacks.

Naked: Without clothing.

Nekkid: Without clothing and having impure intentions.

I do wonder about catsup vs. ketchup. That seems to be a very old alternative spelling. So old, I'm not even 100% sure which one was first, though I surmise it was the former.

Not to hijack your thread or anything, Duke, but just out of curiosity, do any alternative spellings of words also have a slight change of meaning for you guys?

ISF

Oh, one more thing:

Likewise I never understood the drama over text speak, show me again one bad thing that has resulted from it.quote>

Severe drop in literacy. I taught one semester of writing class to native English speakers at Northern Kentucky University. I will never, EVER do that again.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: hamsterTK

Likewise I never understood the drama over text speak, show me again one bad thing that has resulted from it.

quote>

If you had to read High School papers you would understand. There are people that can't even capitalize the letter "I" when used as, "I went to the store." Or some people put down "w/" or "w/o" in their papers. IT's sort of depressing.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

I do wonder about catsup vs. ketchup. That seems to be a very old alternative spelling. So old, I'm not even 100% sure which one was first, though I surmise it was the former.

quote>

Ketchup or catsup comes from ket'siap (or similar spelling, take your pick). It was a fish sauce in Asia, brought to the colonies by sailors from Europe in the 1600s. It was very different from what we use today, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Yes, I brought that up from memory.

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: manticorefan

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

I do wonder about catsup vs. ketchup. That seems to be a very old alternative spelling. So old, I'm not even 100% sure which one was first, though I surmise it was the former.

quote>

Ketchup or catsup comes from ket'siap (or similar spelling, take your pick). It was a fish sauce in Asia, brought to the colonies by sailors from Europe in the 1600s. It was very different from what we use today, but that's a whole 'nother story.

Yes, I brought that up from memory.

quote>

You want to join my Trivial Pursuit  team?

[Duke87 1,070]

Originally posted by: Zelgadis

do any alternative spellings of words also have a slight change of meaning for you guys?quote>

What you said about "nekkid" is definitely true.

Many internet spellings can take on their own connotations to the point where there are situations in which using the "correct" spelling simply wouldn't be appropriate, or wouldn't convey the desired message properly.

Indeed,

i c wut u did thar quote>

has a very different meaning from

I see what you did there.quote>

Memeish stuff generally doesn't work as well in proper English. If you "correct" it, it loses something in translation, you know?

[Jezus53 18]

While I was in calculus today I realized another one. I caught myself writing down the word "disc" instead of disk." It's such a simple mistake since it is used all the time for Compact Disc and whatnot. Weird.

[Eastwinn 6]

Originally posted by: Duke87

Memeish stuff generally doesn't work as well in proper English. If you "correct" it, it loses something in translation, you know?quote>

Definitely. The best part is that there is no conflict; you'd never need the memeish stuff in a time where there is substantial pressure to use proper spelling.

BTW, most of the kids I meet can't spell "definitely". Lots of "definatley" and "definitly".

[Jezus53 18]

Originally posted by: Eastwinn

BTW, most of the kids I meet can't spell "definitely". Lots of "definatley" and "definitly".

quote>

I had the problem a year ago. I had a perfect streak of spelling it correctly, then out of nowhere I totally forgot! I think the problem started when I began to use Firefox. It was the first time I had a browser with spell check and I got lazy! I fixed that problem though.

[Merlin of Flyote 8]

Originally posted by: Jezus53

While I was in calculus today I realized another one. I caught myself writing down the word "disc" instead of disk." It's such a simple mistake since it is used all the time for Compact Disc and whatnot. Weird.quote>

Didn't the use of Disc come about because of use by the record industry.