My son occasionally sends me the paragraphs that claim that people are able read, comprehend, take meaning from printed words that are garbled.That we really only need the initial and ending letter correct with the other letters in between in any order. [lkie tihs] He contends that spelling, punctuation and capital letters are irrelevant.
My contention is that correct spelling and proper grammar will garner more readers in the long run. He throws e.e. cummings in my face. I say, "Pooh!! Who reads e.e. cummings these days? Give me Robert Frost."
I would like to have my Eighth Grade Style Book back. I don't even know if they are in print anymore. However, I make do with the The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: A Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon and Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. Both are excellent grammars for those of us who want to be understood.
The word of the day for November 16, 2008 is "obscurely" — Pronunciation: \äb-ˈskyu̇r, əb-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French oscur, obscur, from Latin obscurus
Date: 15th century
1 a: dark , dim. b: shrouded in or hidden by darkness. c: not clearly seen or easily distinguished. : faint [obscure markings]. 2: not readily understood or clearly expressed ; also : mysterious. 3: relatively unknown: as a: remote , secluded [an obscure village]. b: not prominent or famous [an obscure poet]. 4: constituting the unstressed vowel \\ə\\ or having unstressed \\ə\\ as its value.
— ob·scure·ly adverb
Our quote for the day is from Albert Camus:
Those who write clearly have readers, those who write obscurely have commentators.;^)
I am having a go ..again...at writing a comment..wonder if it will arrive. Thanks as always for some really great postings.
ReplyDeletelove Sybil
Thanks for the plug for my journal. I recieved that same email. I found it rather interesting. Like you, I find myself more inclined to read something with substance than a simple string of words.
ReplyDeleteI wrote down those two books. I may write in a way, I'm understood, but tend to suffer in the grammar dept. (Hugs)Indigo
hi! i am trying to teach my 7yr old correct grammar at the moment, hard when i use so much "text" style writing myself. There is a place for correct writing and the short versions i think! The short ones are soooo much quicker...LOL!!!! take care TY!! 4 a fab entry!!
ReplyDeleteWell Jan..grammar either comes to me one day or doesn't the next. It must frustrate you when you come to read my lexicon of grammatical mistakes over at my journal. I tend to write colloquially so the word order changes rather than grammer dictating.
ReplyDeleteI guess it must be like doing a crossword for you when you come by to catch up on my entries. Lol!
I am definitely obscure...well...most of the time. hahahahaha!
I hope you get your Christmas flyers sorted out. What a waste of paper!
Hugs to you.
Jeanie xxx