A lot is a word too!
Alot is not a word
- Thread starter Winston
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nucular power
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
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- 23,587
"Definately" drives me definitely nuts.
Isn't it nice to conversate about stuff?
"Alrededor de estas piezas, ésta es la clase de errores del deletreo que vemos"
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Yeah, what he said!
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Yeah, what he said!
...and I'll be the second. I used to spell every word right but these boards and you Americans confuse me. If the English is not your first language and if you see the wrongs as often as the rights you get confused.
And I'll be the third. I completely agree that bad English starts to become normal when you're constantly seeing it, just like manners. Part of the problem is that people who aren't good writers and would would never normally do so are forced to if they want to communicate over the Internet. I've always prided myself on being a good writer and speller, though, so I try to make it a point to watch myself so I don't contribute to the problem.
Pet peeve of mine...when people refer to their car's brakes as "breaks". I've seen it on multiple auto forums I visit.
That is a good point. The more we see it, the more likely we are to adopt it. I was a great speller through most of my life but over the years, it's gone down hill. Another reason why is due to the fact that I only communicate via email anymore and it's always very fast. No time to spell check. I deal more with numbers. I should take a refresher class on writing. My wife is excellent so I have her if need be.
Ask the French about wrapping rules around a language. You can have a Department of Language, Official Use Guidelines, and all sorts of silly French stuff to "protect" a language. And in fact, as the French are proving, you can kill a language by not allowing it to evolve.
Certainly this doesn't address spelling and basic grammar, but even those are subject to change over time. A language is to be used to communicate, that's all.
If it works, it will be used. If it needs to change, let it.
On the other hand, if it changes too fast it can fail to communicate just as easily!
If your national pride is wrapped around your language, you might want to look for something else in which to place your pride (if there is anything else....)
Certainly this doesn't address spelling and basic grammar, but even those are subject to change over time. A language is to be used to communicate, that's all.
If it works, it will be used. If it needs to change, let it.
On the other hand, if it changes too fast it can fail to communicate just as easily!
If your national pride is wrapped around your language, you might want to look for something else in which to place your pride (if there is anything else....)
Wow. This is abunch of stuff to consider!
Correct: I have a lot of oil.
Sloppy: I have lots of oil.
Wrong: I have alot of oil.
Me have oil--big stash!
Sloppy: I have lots of oil.
Wrong: I have alot of oil.
Me, not I, is the object of a preposition.
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
- Messages
- 23,587
Let's discuss dative.
Sorry if this constitutes a hi-jack, but the one that drives me nuts here on BITOG is "Mobile"-1 oil. Mobile, of course, is an Alabama city on the Gulf Coast. Mobil is the oil company. . .
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