thinking that illiteracy is now universally acceptable in everday life

[MarytheContrary]

"would of" "should of" "could of" - They/Their/They're - lose/loose - bought/brought - weighed/weighted

So glad to see this thread got the responses I hoped for - and it was my very ever first AIBU

Thank you muchly Vipers

Ofah smartpant's ladida.

Know seriously it is well bed like no one nos how to spel even clever ppl are not sure as it's so normal to see thinks like will's conveyancing meaning wills as in deaf not will's as in Will's Conveyancing iyswim. Its wyrd because when ppl talked note rote so much like as on the internet and then ppl rote ppl rote better but now ppl rite more they make more wrongs and tgey could of learned better but dint because ppl understoid and feel its snoby to say summit to dem. Wyrd as sumtimes its like 'street' but other time's it's rare.

Wyrd bith ful araed.

vinegar you don't make sense hun. You are in good company on this thread. Lots of 'huns' and very little sense which is a total shame. I was hoping for a debate with people who had half a brain- seems I was wrong........

You're the only person who has used the word 'hun,' so far as I can see, mary.

You sound a bit stirry now. If you disagree with us, tell us why - don't just throw out insults. It makes you sound as if you don't have any argument to make.

No, seriously, it is well bad. No-one knows how to spell, even clever people are not sure, as it's so normal to see things like 'Will's and conveyancing', meaning wills as in death, not will's as in 'Will's Conveyancing', if you see what I mean. Its weird because when people talked and didn't write so much, like they now do on the internet, people wrote better, but now people write more they make more mistakes, and they could have learned better but didn't, because people understand and feel it's snobby to say something to them. Weird, as sometimes it's 'street' but other times it's road.

HTH. You should read 'Trainspotting' if you fancy a challenge.

I have a colleague, he is 28 and quite brilliant in our field. He went to a selective grammar, has no additional needs and has a BSc and masters.

Yet he doesn't know that it's 'have', not 'of', 'anything', not 'anythink' or 'were you' and not 'was you' etc. He has a huge void in basic standards of grammar and literacy which he is very aware of and embarrassed about. He always asks me to prove read his written work and presentations. I'm often shocked when he asks me what words mean as he is very bright indeed in most ways.

I don't know if he is typical of this age group, but I think it's a shame that he has been let down educationally somewhere along the way.

*proof

Question for you all? I am an English teacher and are currently recruiting. If you submitted a letter with spelling mistakes and poor grammar, surely you would not be considered for interview?

I don't follow, huey? Do you mean, if we submitted letters we shouldn't expect to be considered? You 'are' currently recruiting, so surely you know better than we do whether you'd consider us.

I think you should, though, especially if we declare SpLD that might affect spelling or grammar. I think you could find yourself on the shady side of the law if you didn't.

I have previously applied for jobs and had errors in my application. It's not ideal, but it isn't a complete bar to getting jobs, either, IME.

Question for you all? I am an English teacher and are currently recruiting. If you submitted a letter with spelling mistakes and poor grammar, surely you would not be considered for interview?

Ironic humour (I hope!)

AnnieMorel I'd be a little cynical about your colleague tbh. Surely one of the things you need in a decent job is attention to detail, and even if for some reason he didn't get corrected at school or university regarding his "problems", its something he could teach himself as an adult. But he has never had to, because he simply gets a work colleague to do it for him. He probably did the same at university. It sounds more like deliberate helplessness.

I actually suspected that of my ex, he of "I should of" fame. It was as if he liked to portray himself as more incapable than he was (he too had a Masters degree and worked in a profession), and in his case, it was usually to attract attention from women, some of whom inexplicably loved the "poor little me" act.

You've got a missing apostrophe, TheC, suggestive of confusion between homophones.

In many jobs I believe it may not be a barrier, however I feel that if you apply for a teacher of English you should have a superior command of the English language and the finer points of grammar. You would not employ a maths teacher who could not add up. I have had three covering letters with spelling mistakes on them. We are currently recruiting a Teacher of English, they are our only candidates. Do we employ them because they have decent credentials or do we disregard because their literacy Is clearly not up to scratch? Personally I feel the latter but this lax in basic literacy Is becoming more widespread. An English teacher should have a good command of the language they are teaching.

Hmm.

I think the issue would be whether or not they could get around it in their work.

I teach English; I am dyslexic and I do make quite a lot of errors. But I am able to correct them in my students, to explain why they're wrong, and to mark their work. I also know how to seek help when I can't manage. So, we cope.

You're not an English teacher, I think?

Oh, sorry, you said above you were.

I'm sorry, but your English, judging by your posts, is poor. I'm less shocked by the SPAG and more by the fact you've misused 'lax'.

You may think it's rude of me to say that, but ... shouldn't you correct yourself first?!

A teacher teaching Mathematics would not be able to to get away with not being able to demonstrate the basics of Mathematics. If you are unable to demonstrate the basics of good literacy then you should not be considered for shortlisting.

Yes, but I think SPAG are more akin to arithmetic than mathematics. And while I expect you'd be very unimpressed by someone who slipped up adding up in a job interview, I can't imagine maths teachers never make mistakes. So long as they are caught and corrected, it doesn't seem to me to be the end of the world.

Did anybody else notice the demonstrators outside the UKIP office in Rotherham today which referred to BIGATRY? A sign of the times.

When you apply for a job you should endeavour to impress and show off your skills.

I don't think anyone disagrees with that, huey.

I have taken part in large-scale sifting of applications from graduates. Those written in text-speak go in the cyber-bin. So do those which confuse

have and of

there and their

stationary and stationery

and many of the other old favourites.

I've spent an hour today revising grammar with my Year 6's. We talked a lot about the "I or me" rule and the fact that nobody really uses it correctly at all, so why do we persist in insisting that we learn it? it's a valid point: many adults can't describe to me the rule, and yet we expect 11 year olds to know it.

Similarly, we had a fabulous discussion about the mutability of language. Nouns that can be verbs. think about it: email, hoover, text. All recent words that can be both, depending on context.

We ended up discussing whether grammar was important. The end result was that we agreed that some rules are vital because they help define meaning and use within sentences (commas for possession and inverted commas and so on) but some rules actually restrict fluency in writing and creativity. As James Joyce and many authors recognise.

I am proud of my class. They understand that grammar is a tool for writing and understanding. The education secretary could take note.

They sound awesome.

(As do you! Sorry, very rude to give all the credit to them. )