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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

..to think that anyone under 40 doesn't care about grammars and, as a result, society is doomed.

104 replies

Spattergroit · 27/10/2023 20:14

Decent spelling and grammar are the cornerstones of civilised society and yet so many people defend their wright [sic] to do it wrong.

AIBU to think that we should be worried. Really worried. About the future of our society.

AIBU also to think that it is largely an affliction of the under 40's and that they are lazy about language which translates to other areas of life.

NB IABU to not make it a poll but until @mumsnethq offers this as an option on the app it just ain't possible ...

OP posts:
VariantHela · 27/10/2023 22:07

I have a degree in English language. So, no.

curtaintwitcher78 · 27/10/2023 22:08

I bet you say haitch.

Twentytoone · 27/10/2023 22:12

Yabu. Spelling and grammar is not the cornerstone of civilisation.

What civilisation rests on is the ability to calmly listen to opinions you hate, and not demonise or dismiss those who express them. Mumsnet is actually pretty good at that (go Mumsnetters!) but the rest of the world seems to get worse at it every day. That’s what you should worry about.

Antst · 27/10/2023 22:21

This reply has been deleted

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junbean · 27/10/2023 22:25

I've noticed loads of posts on here with zero punctuation. Just one really really long sentence. Why? Is it not taught in schools anymore? Many news articles I read are also rife with errors, even the headlines. So that means the writer and their editor failed to notice. Some articles are unreadable. It's shocking to know these people are actually being paid for that.

Original poster
Spattergroit · 27/10/2023 22:26

@Antst are you saying that the terrible housing situation is directly related to the inability of youf to use correct syntax?

It's an argument. That's for sure.

OP posts:
skyfalldown · 27/10/2023 22:27

"under 40's"

What do the under-40s possess?

Antst · 27/10/2023 22:29

Spattergroit · 27/10/2023 22:26

@Antst are you saying that the terrible housing situation is directly related to the inability of youf to use correct syntax?

It's an argument. That's for sure.

God, I hope not. I'll never be able to buy a house if that's what's going on. I did not pay enough attention in English at school.

Illbebythesea · 27/10/2023 22:29

@Spattergroit

are you saying that the terrible housing situation is directly related to the inability of youf to use correct syntax?

😩 please stop. It’s like your 50+ year old mum trying to ‘talk cool and be down with the kids.’ I get Second hand embarrassment I can’t cope 🤣

Bellabluea · 27/10/2023 22:31

My DD1 is 25 and a far more picky pedant than I.
In my sample size of 1 YABU

Whattheflipflap · 27/10/2023 22:34

I think we are more accepting of challenges with grammar, spelling and punctuation. And we generally have ways to mitigate them in the workplace.
I’m a HCP with profound dyslexia- I can’t spell but the software I use for my notes spell checks then our notes system runs on chrome which spellchecks again.
i don’t need to be amazing at literacy to be good at lots of other things.
my mother openly states she is academically adept because she (or someone in her class) was made to do times tables or spellings 2 different children a go, three times a day, every day. You couldn’t go a week without it
she forgot her eight times table - and became so nervous she defaecated
We didn’t have a better way in the 70’s we just humiliated children into not making mistakes.

Mydogmybestfriend · 27/10/2023 22:35

Your life must be so boring

ErrolTheDragon · 27/10/2023 22:46

Decent spelling and grammar are the cornerstones of civilised society and yet so many people defend their wright [sic] to do it wrong.

AIBU to think that we should be worried. Really worried. About the future of our society.

Hm, afaik the earliest civilisations used pictograms so spelling clearly isn't a necessity. I expect people then worried about the future of their society when newfangled phonetic types of writing and hence spellings came into existence.

Tiredalwaystired · 27/10/2023 23:07

Meh. Language evolves. That’s why we don’t speak like a Shakespeare play. I can’t be bothered with punctuation on social media for starters (although it appears autocorrect does).

PurpleNebula84 · 28/10/2023 00:13

Grrrr... "carnt" and "discusting"... Rage right there 😒😒 More spelling than grammar, but the rage is real (especially when "can't" is a shortened version of "cannot")

PurpleNebula84 · 28/10/2023 00:15

And "pacifically".... Surely you mean "specifically"

PurpleNebula84 · 28/10/2023 00:18

Although, I am under 40, only just, but still under 40.

truetruebarneymcgrew · 28/10/2023 00:24

Done2much · 27/10/2023 21:51

spelled

spelt is a grain

Spelt is also correct for the pass participle of spell.

ActDottie · 28/10/2023 01:12

I’m 30 and care a lot about grammar and spelling.

WandaWonder · 28/10/2023 02:53

Nice tri bot

Sixsixtysix · 28/10/2023 02:59

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

marshmallowfinder · 28/10/2023 03:44

truetruebarneymcgrew · 28/10/2023 00:24

Spelt is also correct for the pass participle of spell.

Show quote history

Past.

FannyBawz · 28/10/2023 05:36

Well I thought you were talking about grammar schools in your title…..

ErrolTheDragon · 28/10/2023 08:48

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

There is such a thing, Muphry's Law.

ErrolTheDragon · 28/10/2023 08:52

Tiredalwaystired · 27/10/2023 23:07

Meh. Language evolves. That’s why we don’t speak like a Shakespeare play. I can’t be bothered with punctuation on social media for starters (although it appears autocorrect does).

Language does evolve, but some mutations are evolutionary dead ends of incomprehensibility.