Literacy

[lynmilne65]

To think people should have a degree of literacy before posting ?

The thing is I know exactly which posters will pop up on this thread.

Posters who correct and correct despite being lacking in their own posting capabilities.

I tell a lie, they’re the 3rd group it’s permitted to correct

Thanks temp you get me 😁

@Pinkyyy

You're getting there although the indefinite article seems strangely used.

Now see if you can correct the strange placement of the question mark.

🚨

I’m an English teacher with a first in English Literature. Major grammar pedant with my students but on something casual like Mumsnet, I couldn’t give a flying fuck .

Temp, your life seems quite empty. I suggest a visit to WHSmith for some SPAG workbooks if you can't control your urge to practise.

Other than that, perhaps you should volunteer at a local school in September - we could often use a hand with basic marking at the start of a new term.

deliberate homophone error, by the way...

Liar.

I can see everyone's missing the playground. Never mind, back on Monday, lots of people to be directly nasty to.

@ProfessorMoody

I'm an ex-HOF of English and currently a Deputy Principal. Thanks for the offer though.

I've never corrected anyone's SPAG on MN unless it's on a thread specifically about it.

Honestly, the only two issues which annoy me (as someone with several Linguistics degrees) are the overuse of reflexive pronouns because people use them to sound more clever than they are and when people use 'think' instead of 'for example' or 'such as' or 'like'. Thankfully the 'think' problem seems to be MN-specific.

@Twotailed

Yes. I am.

I really can't stand all the correction. There are several aspects,

1. A person has difficulty with spelling and writing generally
2. A person has had less formal education
3. Rampant typos or autocorrect
4. Street speech and current trends
5. Textspeak

Mumsnet has a lot of bullies and self-opinionated posters. If an aspect of a post irritates you, you don't need to correct it. Otherwise, we will all pile in on the correction

To correct someone's writing is to try and put them down and devalue their thoughts, not acceptable

Some people have dyslexia and have trouble writing, some people have english as a second language, some people aren't very computer literate and struggle with typing, and others just struggle generally and it doesn't come naturally. A lot of these people will have confidence issues with their writing too, and be afraid to try in case they are laughed at or slagged off.

I feel like it would be a bit shitty to exclude them or make them feel bad, don't you?

I've corrected people's SPaG on here (and had my arse handed to me for it!).

Its not so much that I find it annoying, or cannot understand the post, more that I find poor literacy tends to devalue the point that is being made.

It just seems a shame that someone with a perfectly valid viewpoint or opinion makes it very difficult to take them seriously due to their poor SPaG.

There was a thread just the other day were the OP's actual issue got totally lost in her use of malapropisms such as 'battered an eyelid'.

Isn't it better to have comedy errors pointed out to you on a forum like this so you can avoid them when you're at work, or with someone upon whom you need to make a good impression ?

I guess I see it in the same light as letting a stranger know that she's accidentally tucked her skirt into her knickers or something - surely people would rather know than walk around making a fool of themselves?

With me, it definitely comes from a good and helpful place, although I don't generally comment these days as I know how badly it goes down.

Temp. With you all the way on reflexive pronouns. Myself? They make me grind my teeth. How about yourself?

To think people should have a degree of literacy before posting ?

A “degree of literacy” is simply not specific enough for a member to determine whether or not they meet the standard required (by you) to commence posting.

0/10.

I couldn't care less about SPaG - but I tend not to read long posts which haven't been divided up into paragraphs. it's just too tiring. And yes, I'm aware that some phones cause this to happen.

Thanks temp you get me

She gets you what?

Not punctuation for a start.

Myself? They make me grind my teeth.

That's the only one that absolutely enrages me.

I'd prefer that people make a small effort to make their posts readable but that's easier for some than others and I would like everyone to feel comfortable enough to post without worrying about pedants picking up on grammatical errors.

Just try and rise above it OP. Helping and supporting others is more important.

I can't spell for toffee but will continue to use this website until banned

I think it depends - so long as you make yourself understood, it doesn't matter if the spelling and grammar is perfect

So a person with no qualifications, looking for anonymous advice about a bad relationship, should wait until she has redone GCSEs/A level/ degree?

In fairness BertieBot posters in situations like that are seldom pulled up on their SPaG.