Is grammar dead? [Archive]

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-28-2002, 02:46 PM

I was wondering how long it would be before we can't even communicate in writing anymore. I know that it gives me a headache reading sloppy shorthand....I would rather try to read my Doctor's handwriting! ;) You know they take extra courses in Med-school to perfect that, right? ;)

OuTR

07-28-2002, 02:51 PM

Yeah.. typing seems to have become a chore for some and
shorthand and abbreviations are becoming more exaggerated
all the time!

GoranAgar

07-28-2002, 02:52 PM

Well, I recommend you avoid the Tomb Raider forum for some time now. We have a plague there. Doctor's order.

Rook

07-28-2002, 02:59 PM

Aww, c'mon... Who doesn't know what ROTFLMFAO means?:rolleyes:

That one baffled me for the longest time. (I did finally figure it out though.) I was just too embarrassed to ask what the heck it meant when I started out here. I waited for somebody else to.:D

Nevermind any of those other fun abbreviations...

:D

mulder

07-28-2002, 03:00 PM

Hey Cat & Goran!

Why do they bother to abbreviate when typing? Is it because they spend too much time on messenger?

Drives me nuts......:D

John Carter

07-28-2002, 03:34 PM

To answer your thread's titular query, Catsuit, only among the slovenly of intellect and lazy of expression.

Oh.

Not yet, but it isn't feeling well at all.

Catman

07-28-2002, 03:36 PM

I maintain that so-called "correct" grammar (that is, grammar sanctioned by the establishment) is highly overrated. So long as a speaker/writer can communicate with whom she/he wishes to, I don't see why anyone should get annoyed.

http://www1.iastate.edu/~wsthune/cps/tab/tabgrin.gif

tomb_raiding

07-28-2002, 04:03 PM

Originally posted by Rook
Aww, c'mon... Who doesn't know what ROTFLMFAO means?:rolleyes:

That one baffled me for the longest time. (I did finally figure it out though.) I was just too embarrassed to ask what the heck it meant when I started out here. I waited for somebody else to.:D

Nevermind any of those other fun abbreviations...

:D

Ok so wut the heck does it mean !! :o :rolleyes: :cool:

mulder

07-28-2002, 04:21 PM

For all I know I may be wrong but I think she means abriviations like ....u instead of you..........or smth instead of something.....

u no wht i mn?

Rook

07-28-2002, 04:45 PM

Yep!:D

But I still maintain that ROTFLMFAO is a little too abbreviated. :p

the last frustration

07-28-2002, 04:55 PM

Grammar is a time of waste. :rolleyes:

willow

07-28-2002, 09:13 PM

You know, for being computer savvy... I'm not really that good with online dialect... and I loathe that wretched leet speak...

Lara Croft Online

07-28-2002, 10:05 PM

Pritty soon ppl won't even be able to speel properlee or nothin no wut I meen?

DaveJ

07-28-2002, 11:25 PM

Grammar may not be dead yet, but the internet is doing its best to sit on the tubes that carry vital fluids into its system.

staticon

07-28-2002, 11:31 PM

Is grammar dead?

I don't know. But if she is, grampa will be upset. :D

MunkeeChum

07-29-2002, 01:41 AM

Originally posted by willow
You know, for being computer savvy... I'm not really that good with online dialect... and I loathe that wretched leet speak...

1 7|-|1/\/|< 17 |20[|<0|2z :):p

DaveJ

07-29-2002, 02:03 AM

It is indeed the computer age equivalent of speaking in Dungeons and Dragons style prose.....

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-29-2002, 02:58 AM

Well now, that made me laugh. While not quite ROTFLMFTO, I was indeed snickering......And mulder is correct as ever. ;) I see no trouble with abbreviating over-used phrases, much, but to pinch off all the little words is...is....is..... well, sharpened bamboo shoots come to mind. ;)

And Staticon, we don't need to tell him quite yet, John Carter and DaveJ think she may have a little time left, hehehehe...

.....But TLF is playing around the power cables with her shiney sharpened steak knives :eek: :o

Zaphod

07-29-2002, 06:30 AM

I don't know if anything can be prounced "dead" after only a 10-year trend. People have only been online since 1992-ish, and for many people, it's more like 1999. It's a phase - it'll go away.

People will eventually realize that it takes, at the end of the day, no longer to type "you" than "U" or "to" than "2." As for the acronyms, jargon and slang have always been with us, just in different forms (see the Slang thread from a week ago or so).

Grammar is not dead by any stretch. The OVERWHELMING majority of TEH INTARWEB is written in correct grammar. It's really only chatrooms and messageboards that aren't. And as much as we all hate to admit it, the bulk of web users never go to a messageboard or a chatroom.

Grey Mouser

07-29-2002, 11:26 AM

Alll yur grmerrr ar blong tooo MSWerds SPELLLNG ANDD GRMERRRCHEK (wit teh F7 keey)!!!

staticon

07-29-2002, 02:21 PM

Re: The above-:

R.I.P. Grammar. :D

Rook

07-30-2002, 01:40 AM

ARTWJUF

All right, that was just uncalled for.:D

THEthief

07-30-2002, 05:58 AM

Catman

07-30-2002, 06:31 AM

Mr. Bunny finds this thread quite amusing.

http://www1.iastate.edu/~wsthune/cps/mrbunny/laugh.gif

Who can figure the mind of a rabbit?

Xcom

07-30-2002, 07:45 AM

I've always believed that as long as people can understand what I am saying, it's okay to make mistakes.

Grey Mouser

07-30-2002, 08:45 AM

Originally posted by Catman
Mr. Bunny finds this thread quite amusing.

http://www1.iastate.edu/~wsthune/cps/mrbunny/laugh.gif

Who can figure the mind of a rabbit?

Hmmm...could it be that the Bunnies are responsible for the overall decline in grammar that Catsuit&Ponytail (and others) see as becoming ubiquitous?

I would not be surprised at all if, behind every chopped, truncated and poorly realized sentence, paragraph and soliloquy, there is an Evil Bunny (a redundancy, I know...all bunnies are Evil) bent on subverting the communicative abilities of an entire species. I believe that they are jealous (like the Dogs, but the dogs are not evil and generally get along, unless taught otherwise) of Homo Sapien's opposable thumbs and status near the top of the food chain.

Beware the Bunnies!!!

TDC

07-30-2002, 09:29 AM

Spelling, grammar, punctuation...being lazy in any or all of them is not in my best interests. I think that people who see mistakes in writing/typing make judgments on the other's intelligence. Right or wrong, that's not where I want to leave people with a bad impression of me. Also, I feel that what you say is often just as important as how you say it because the message can be lost if it is presented poorly.

Internet abbreviations...I do them, too, but I try to limit where and when. I think it's not a big deal unless I find myself having to explain what I mean on a semi-regular basis, and I don't mean just because someone just bought a computer or is new to a chat.

Heck, most of the time, I don't even use emoticons! I figure that I ought to be able to get my meaning across without them. Seriously, what did people do before them - walk around being confused every time they read a note?

THEthief

07-30-2002, 10:04 AM

Grey Mouser is right (uh, pardon me - Grey Mouser is CORRECT): BUNNIES ARE OUT TO CONQUER THE WORLD!! BEWARE!! :o

But who is behind the rabbits? Dare we theorize that it could, in fact, be cats? :o :eek:

;)

MunkeeChum

07-30-2002, 12:57 PM

Well if the rabbits do try to take over we do have a proven weapon that works everytime.

Myxomatosis.

Hell it may be sore for the rabbits, but they wouldn't try stepping out of line for along time :)

Catman

07-30-2002, 02:03 PM

http://www1.iastate.edu/~wsthune/cps/mrbunny/watchers.gif
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.
The bunnies are watching you.

Bullet ridden monkey

07-30-2002, 07:07 PM

OuR /|\InD5? h@! gR@Mm@r iZ @Lr3@Dy |>3@d! w3lC0M3 T[] 7h3 fU7Ur3 oF 7h3 3NgLi$h L/-\|\|gu@g3, b@|oy!

DaveJ

07-30-2002, 11:15 PM

I sincerely hope not.

It will hopefully fade when people realise it is about as cool as speaking Klingon in public....

willow

07-30-2002, 11:20 PM

if leet is the future... i don't want to live there... just kill me now.

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-31-2002, 03:02 AM

Ha! You all thought I was sleeping, eh?

But I did have an odd dream about bunny-spys and counter espionage cats...... :eek:

In an exchange with a friend I had another thought *shock!! horror!!*.... and had to put it down as well.....

"Oh, another thought about grammar....."thang" is not included in my rant, because it is a phonetically altered spelling of "thing"......When I see "thang" written, I know it is to be pronounced by the reader that way, denoting a dialect, or accent. It is like the way MacBran types, and is a completely valid writing style in my opinion. :) "

That's all I wrote, but you get my drift.......but even that leet speak is not my gripe, because it actually takes some effort...unless you go to that lame translation site, hehehe :p ;) And Hamlet is best seen in the original Klingon, you know, hehehe

Also, TDC, you have it exactly, regarding most of it.....But I love emoticons, and I have some really...ummmm.....eloquent ones that I usually refrain from using, hehehehe, or at least refrain from using here. ;)

I also have no gripe with people whose first language is not the one they are trying to communicate in. There are many fine minds on this forum who are coming from different language bases, and I am completely happy to work that little extra to ignore any mistakes and concentrate on the meaning.

CheshireC

07-31-2002, 03:52 AM

I always suspected that white rabbit, but could never prove it, on account of never being able to catch him................ ;)

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-31-2002, 03:59 AM

Hey Chesh, glad to see that you are up to your old tricks!

(Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!)

;/ Who said that!!??

CheshireC

07-31-2002, 04:50 AM

Originally posted by CatSuit&Ponytail
Hey Chesh, glad to see that you are up to your old tricks!

As always.....and so are you ! ;)

DaveJ

07-31-2002, 05:06 AM

Originally posted by CatSuit&Ponytail
And Hamlet is best seen in the original Klingon, you know, hehehe

Actually 'Hamlet' is best seen in its original skinhead form.....

TDC

07-31-2002, 05:28 AM

Originally posted by CatSuit&Ponytail
Also, TDC, you have it exactly, regarding most of it.....But I love emoticons, and I have some really...ummmm.....eloquent ones that I usually refrain from using, hehehehe, or at least refrain from using here. ;)Hi, Cat! I was referring more to people I've come across who don't read the words for what they are. They might tend to add a voice to the text when there isn't one, and they claim to not understand the meaning without use of emoticons. If people add a voice to what they read, there's nothing I can do about that. If I am so unclear with what I type/write so that I need emoticons, then I think I have to make a better effort. I have nothing against them, I just prefer to let the words do what they're supposed to.

Of course, if I saw some of those "eloquent" emoticons, I might reconsider!

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-31-2002, 05:41 AM

Yeah, I agree about people sometimes reading into the words a tone that isn't there....There is one particular incident that springs to mind, in which I failed to put a smilie into a post.....and was flamed .....even though I was only stating the facts, ma'am, just the facts.

When I choose to have a double meaning, I think I am pretty clear about it, hehehehe ;)

And I write a lot like I talk......ask DaveJ! Hey! DaveJ! ...hmmmm...I guess he's practicing his soliloquies....

And you can't see them, sorry! :o :D They are......worth a thousand words, or no words at all, if you catch my drift, hehehe!

DaveJ

07-31-2002, 05:57 AM

Actually I thought you wrote more than you talked...'twas my experience that you were as quiet as a kitten... but ready to pounce like a cat.

;)

NZrevenge

07-31-2002, 06:10 AM

Erm... What does ROTFLMFAO stand for? Something about laughing really hard, I can guess that much on my own.

45 4 \/\/|2171/\/ 1/\/ 1337, 1 7|-|1/\/|< 17'5 |300|)33 5700p1|), |3u7 17 /|/|4|<35 |\|\3 14|2f... p3|2|-|4p5 |\|07 |2341133 |207f1/\/\f40 /|/|473|2141, |3u7 p|-|u/\//\/33 3|\|uf.

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-31-2002, 06:19 AM

Yes, I was very quiet at your place..... :o ;)

BUT! I meant....I write in the same manner in which I talk.....not : I write a lot, like I talk. :p I only talk a lot when my husband is wanting to sleep, hehehehe

And I refuse to sideline the conversation with a dialogue on quantum physics and anomalous temporal flux when I am trying to discuss grammar, NZrevenge! :p

NZrevenge

07-31-2002, 06:27 AM

Yes, how terribly rude of me. I shant do it again, and I hope you can forgive my terrible manners. It is rather hard to stay polite these days.

Ah scru dat, me kants bee karing bout granmar stufff. Dis boring. I goes now. Does ewe not no wot ROTFLMFAO iz bein? Me wants too no!!1!

CatSuit&Ponytail

07-31-2002, 06:39 AM

It means, Rolling On The Floor, Laughing My Furry Armadillo Off. Right? Right. :p

NZrevenge

07-31-2002, 06:44 AM

IS DAT ALL WELL OK THANX VRY VRY MUCH IM HAPPY DAT IT WAS FINALY TOLD TO ME TO BE HONEST I THORT IT WOULDVE BEEN MORE DAN DAT BUT THANX VRY VRY MUCH NEWAY

Azuriel

08-01-2002, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by NZrevenge
IS DAT ALL WELL OK THANX VRY VRY MUCH IM HAPPY DAT IT WAS FINALY TOLD TO ME TO BE HONEST I THORT IT WOULDVE BEEN MORE DAN DAT BUT THANX VRY VRY MUCH NEWAY

hehehehehe

[newbie mode]HELLOKANSOEM1 HELPME IAMSTCUK IN STARTOPIA I LET THE GUY IN THE RED ROBE DIE IN LEVEL 1 IS DAT BAD DO I HAVE TO START OVER NOW HOW CNA I FIX? I AM NEW HERE PLEEZZE HELP THANK YOU[/newbie mode]

LARAMANIAC

08-01-2002, 08:19 AM

roflmao at Azuriel!!!!! Love that.

Personally I only use alternate spellings and grammar when I am trying to emphasise a point - like the "thang" thing Catsuit and Ponytail!!!! It can be useful to emphasise a tone or mood!!! Other than that though correct grammar and punctuation is the way to go, for me anyway!!!!
http://pages.prodigy.net/rogerlori1/emoticons/fairy.gif

Drexel

08-01-2002, 08:26 AM

See if you can guess what this means:

ROTFBMHOTCT?

MunkeeChum

08-01-2002, 08:59 AM

Originally posted by Drexel
See if you can guess what this means:

ROTFBMHOTCT?

Rolling On The Foor Banging My Head Off the Concrete Tiles :)

Am I right? It was just a guess.

DaveJ

08-01-2002, 09:06 AM

Originally posted by Drexel
See if you can guess what this means:

ROTFBMHOTCT?

Really Obnoxious Three Fingered Behemoth Misplaced His Only Three Cornered Teacup?

staticon

08-02-2002, 04:56 AM

Originally posted by Drexel
See if you can guess what this means:

ROTFBMHOTCT?

Robbed Of Thoughts, Five Brave Members Hogged Off Topic Chat Thread? :D

Drexel

08-02-2002, 06:23 AM

Originally posted by MunkeeChum

Rolling On The Foor Banging My Head Off the Concrete Tiles :)

Am I right? It was just a guess. Congratulations, you came the closest. The answer was:....... On The Coffee Table.

All 3 were excellent responses.:D

Jewel

08-02-2002, 10:18 PM

Miss Cat, I wondered how the docs got such sloppy writing. Now I know.

Here's some more acronyms for you all. See if you can guess what they are.

AFK
BTSOOM
FYA
HIWTH
IANAL
KOTC
NIFOC
SITD
TANSTAAFL
VEG
YKYBHTLW...

staticon

08-03-2002, 08:16 AM

AFK Available For Kindness.
BTSOOM Bung The Small Orange Over, Mate.
FYA Feeling Young Again.
HIWTH Hiding In Water Takes Hours.
IANAL In A Nice Alpine Lake.
KOTC Kick Out The Clowns.
NIFOC Nothing Is Found On Couch.
SITD Send In The Dinner.
TANSTAAFL Take Another Number, Stand There Again And Fiddle Loudly.
VEG Vague Evidence Given.
YKYBHTLW... You Know You're breathing Heavily Though Lightly Winded.

????????? :confused: :D