Spelling Nazis really get my ghoti

[Sabln7]

Originally posted by DC_DEEP+Sep 21 2005, 07:37 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DC_DEEP &#064; Sep 21 2005, 07:37 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Pecker@Sep 21 2005, 01:48 PM
Speaking of "Phew&#33;"

I couldn&#39;t get online at all yesterday because my puter split an infinitive.

To repair it took all day
It took all day to repair it...

Damn - more work to do I have.

[post=345379]Quoted post[/post]​

Funny, Pecker, funny. At least you should have put "To took all day repair it."
"It took to all day repair it."
You still didn&#39;t split your infinitve.

Now, let me see you dangle your participle. Get with it&#33;

[post=345408]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]

Dangling a participle, the hallway echoed with screams of embarrassment from the student. (Never dangle a participle in public.)

Oh, and in my previous post, I meant to say that descriptive grammar has been known "to boldly go" where prescriptive grammar fears to softly tread.

 

[DC_DEEP]

Originally posted by Sabln7@Sep 21 2005, 04:23 PM
Dangling a participle, the hallway echoed with screams of embarrassment from the student. (Never dangle a participle in public.)

Oh, and in my previous post, I meant to say that descriptive grammar has been known "to boldly go" where prescriptive grammar fears to softly tread.

[post=345422]Quoted post[/post]​

As long as you don&#39;t take after our fearful leader dubyee and start promoting conscriptive grammar, with no child&#39;s behind left.

 

[steve319]

Originally posted by DC_DEEP@Sep 21 2005, 01:27 PM
I am just wondering how someone who has no organic dysfunction, and is otherwise "intelligent" etc etc can remember number order (for a phone number) but not letter order (to spell words).

[post=345369]Quoted post[/post]​

It does seem strange, doesn&#39;t it? But most experts believe that, for most of us, spelling is a visual skill, not a purely auditory/phonetic one (how many of people do you know who might have difficulty spelling aloud but can discern if a word is correct when they see it or can write it correctly?). Moreover, how is it that we can remember the "y" in Pennsylvania is a "y" and not an "i"? Because we register that in visual memory (or most of us do).

On the flip side, for most of us, memorizing a numerical sequence has to do with auditory clues and aural imprinting (saying the phone number over and over again) than with visual ones. At least that&#39;s what they say.

According to Brian Butterworth, author of The Mathematical Brain:

The parts of the brain that process words are different from the parts of the brain that process numbers. We store words in two areas, Wernicke&#39;s area in the left temporal lobe, at least in most right-handers; and Broca&#39;s area, in the left frontal lobe. Numbers are stored in the parietal lobe - not that far away, but far enough to be a separate system. No part of the brain is specialized at birth for reading because reading is a very recent skill for which the brain adapts the language areas. The brain, however, does seem to have evolved special circuits for numbers. There&#39;s an important difference between those two types of learning. Mathematics is built on a specific innate basis, and reading is not.

(Anyone here know if this is true?)

Also, there&#39;s THIS interesting little piece that looks at language processing and brain differences between English speakers and Chinese speakers.

 

[LuckyLuke]

For all the talk of dangling participles, I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever seen anyone ever dangle one.

I suppose dangling participles are as rare as those who are capable of defining one.

And I&#39;m a firm believer that poor spelling is a product of either A) a poor education or b) a poor student or c) someone who is lazy and just doesn&#39;t care.

I wouldn&#39;t bother to correct such, but then again, I&#39;m less likely to bother reading those posts. Care in spelling often goes with care in thinking. Sloppy spelling indicates (to me) a sloppy thinker.

I may be misjudging some people with this view, but that&#39;s my perogative to do so.

 

[Dr. Dilznick]

Originally posted by fake_guy
Note the fact that she stated it was an idiosyncrasy. We&#39;re all guilty of bastardizing the language in some way or another, including the absence of a predicate, in the first part of your second sentence (preceding the colon) . You&#39;re no better than anyone else, so instead of being a hypocrite, just lay off.

Way to completely miss the point. I&#39;m still laughing at her concern over the preciseness of words, yet using "nomatter" regardless. I could give a fuck less.

 

[Pecker]

That reminds me.

I&#39;ve read Slaughterhouse Five several times but I&#39;ve yet to find the 4 prequels.

 

[Simon9]

...maybe they&#39;ll do it like Star Wars, where the first movie is really the fourth and the first sequel is the fifth....or is the fourth movie really the first....I....oh forget it. As long as everybody here agrees about spelling and its natural relationship to large penis issues.


How cum it&#39;s not spelled (spelt?&#33 penus...you know, so it rhymes with "Venus" in all those wonderful limericks?

 

[Simon9]

...thanks&#33; That&#39;s one more thing I know now. At this rate, I&#39;ll be omniscient in a week. Maybe two....

 

[Lex]

Steves (26 and 319)--I agree with you guys, as usual.

Axex--you could never be a tard, you stud you. Lay off yourself. or ELSE.

Originally posted by Dr. Dilznick+Sep 22 2005, 12:51 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dr. Dilznick &#064; Sep 22 2005, 12:51 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-fake_guy
Note the fact that she stated it was an idiosyncrasy. We&#39;re all guilty of bastardizing the language in some way or another, including the absence of a predicate, in the first part of your second sentence (preceding the colon) . You&#39;re no better than anyone else, so instead of being a hypocrite, just lay off.

Way to completely miss the point. I&#39;m still laughing at her concern over the preciseness of words, yet using "nomatter" regardless. I could give a fuck less.

[post=345647]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]

But that IS the point. All this "lording my power of typing skills over you" (not the same as spelling) and "exhalting my intimate knowledge of search engine mouse clicks" that gets OLD. I agree that posts should have punctuation and be mostly well-spelled. A lot of people can and will agree to that.

It&#39;s all the "Ah ha&#33;&#33; I know more than you" (read: I can use a search engine) or "There&#33; I noticed that what you just said in post #3002 contradicts what you wrote in post #21" (read: I have no life and nothing better to do than to catalogue everything you say in my memory bank) that borders on obnoxious (if not the pointlessly assinine). If so many people give so little a fuck here or there about certain members (or their posts)--why, then, post about them (or their posts) at all?

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

Originally posted by fake_guy@Sep 22 2005, 02:43 PM
Spelled is its proper spelling. Spelt, if I&#39;m not mistaken, is a bread originating in Europe decades ago. Or is that Speltz? Oh..whatever...it&#39;s still spelled "spelled", not "spelt".

[post=345672]Quoted post[/post]​

Spelt is acceptable as the past participle of spell. In fact, it is the preferred form in the Cambridge Stylebook. Tolkien always used spelt. Spelled is more common in the US. The only other spelt that I can find is a type of wheat.

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

Originally posted by LuckyLuke@Sep 22 2005, 09:44 AM
For all the talk of dangling participles, I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever seen anyone ever dangle one.

Here is an example from one of my students:

"After reading the book, it still doesn&#39;t make much sense to me."

The participle &#39;reading&#39; dangles because it doesn&#39;t modify the subject of the main clause: &#39;it&#39; wasn&#39;t &#39;reading&#39;.

 

[D_Barbi_Queue]

DMW - I am going to apologize now for all of the grammatical rules I&#39;ve broken and will break. It must pain you to read some of my posts. )

 

[Freddie53]

Originally posted by DoubleMeatWhopper+Sep 22 2005, 09:39 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DoubleMeatWhopper &#064; Sep 22 2005, 09:39 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-LuckyLuke@Sep 22 2005, 09:44 AM
For all the talk of dangling participles, I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever seen anyone ever dangle one. 

Here is an example from one of my students:

"After reading the book, it still doesn&#39;t make much sense to me."

The participle &#39;reading&#39; dangles because it doesn&#39;t modify the subject of the main clause: &#39;it&#39; wasn&#39;t &#39;reading&#39;.

[post=345770]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]
Jacinto,

This may be true. But this is a common error, extremely common.

Two questions and a request:

1. Is this sentence correct or incorrect and why? "After reading the book, you will write a two page essay on the your favorite character." This is a sentence that I have heard from nineth grade through college and beyond. It is my assumption that reading modifies you. But I want to be sure.

2. Would you give your opinion on the best way to fix the example you gave with possibly some other possibilities that are written correctly?

3. In the first sentence of my post, I see columnists punctuate it this way in the newspapers.

"This may be true. But this is a common error. Extremely common."

I was taught that there is a sentence fragment at the end. But I see similar sentences written like this all the time in the newspapers by professionals. So, is it still wrong or are the columnists taking some liberties with puncutation rules? I don&#39;t see a subject or a verb anywhere in the second sentence.

Thanks

 

[Dr. Dilznick]

Originally posted by Lex

But that IS the point. All this "lording my power of typing skills over you" (not the same as spelling) and "exhalting my intimate knowledge of search engine mouse clicks" that gets OLD. I agree that posts should have punctuation and be mostly well-spelled. A lot of people can and will agree to that.

It&#39;s all the "Ah ha&#33;&#33; I know more than you" (read: I can use a search engine) or "There&#33; I noticed that what you just said in post #3002 contradicts what you wrote in post #21" (read: I have no life and nothing better to do than to catalogue everything you say in my memory bank) that borders on obnoxious (if not the pointlessly assinine). If so many people give so little a fuck here or there about certain members (or their posts)--why, then, post about them (or their posts) at all?

Three words: pure, unadulterated entertainment.

 

[Alley Blue]

Originally posted by Dr. Dilznick+Sep 23 2005, 05:17 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dr. Dilznick &#064; Sep 23 2005, 05:17 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Lex

But that IS the point. All this "lording my power of typing skills over you" (not the same as spelling) and "exhalting my intimate knowledge of search engine mouse clicks" that  gets OLD. I agree that posts should have punctuation and be mostly well-spelled. A lot of people can and will agree to that.

It&#39;s all the "Ah ha&#33;&#33; I know more than you" (read: I can use a search engine)  or "There&#33; I noticed that what you just said in post #3002 contradicts what you wrote in post #21" (read: I have no life and nothing better to do than to catalogue everything you say in my memory bank) that borders on obnoxious (if not the pointlessly assinine). If so many people give so little a fuck here or there about certain members (or their posts)--why, then, post about them (or their posts) at all?

Three words: pure, unadulterated entertainment.

[post=345799]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]

I must admit, I laughed my ass off when I read this too.......pretty damn funny, great post Lex.

 

[Sabln7]

Originally posted by DoubleMeatWhopper+Sep 23 2005, 02:39 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DoubleMeatWhopper &#064; Sep 23 2005, 02:39 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-LuckyLuke@Sep 22 2005, 09:44 AM
For all the talk of dangling participles, I don&#39;t think I&#39;ve ever seen anyone ever dangle one. 

Here is an example from one of my students:

"After reading the book, it still doesn&#39;t make much sense to me."

The participle &#39;reading&#39; dangles because it doesn&#39;t modify the subject of the main clause: &#39;it&#39; wasn&#39;t &#39;reading&#39;.

[post=345770]Quoted post[/post]​

[/b][/quote]

Isn&#39;t "reading the book" in your example a gerund used as the object of the preposition after? In that case, we have a prepositional phrase dangling. Wouldn&#39;t a dangling participle be "Reading the book, it still didn&#39;t make sense to me." Correction would be "Reading the book, I still was unable to make sense of it." Help me on this one. Of course, that is the problem with traditional grammar. It is difficult to analyze and categorize everything properly with all of the bastardization of the language that is commonly accepted. (Descriptive grammar.)

 

[Dr Rock]

Originally posted by TexAssgirl@Sep 23 2005, 03:08 AM
DMW - I am going to apologize now for all of the grammatical rules I&#39;ve broken and will break. It must pain you to read some of my posts. )

[post=345775]Quoted post[/post]​

YOU VILL LIVE ANOZER DAY, FRAULEIN

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

Originally posted by TexAssgirl@Sep 22 2005, 10:08 PM
DMW - I am going to apologize now for all of the grammatical rules I&#39;ve broken and will break. It must pain you to read some of my posts. )

[post=345775]Quoted post[/post]​

Don&#39;t sweat it. You use punctuation, spell well, and you don&#39;t use the vile grammatical constructions that makes my skin crawl. You need not apolise ... at least not to me.

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

Originally posted by Freddie53@Sep 22 2005, 10:55 PM
Is this sentence correct or incorrect and why? "After reading the book, you will write a two page essay on the your favorite character." This is a sentence that I have heard from nineth grade through college and beyond. It is my assumption that reading modifies you. But I want to be sure.

It&#39;s correct except that it should not contain the word the before your. I assume that was a typo. The participle reading does modify the subject, so it&#39;s correct.

"This may be true. But this is a common error. Extremely common."

I was taught that there is a sentence fragment at the end. But I see similar sentences written like this all the time in the newspapers by professionals. So, is it still wrong or are the columnists taking some liberties with puncutation rules? I don&#39;t see a subject or a verb anywhere in the second sentence.

It is a sentence fragment and should not stand as a separate sentence in formal writing. Creative writing is a different matter. The correct way of writing it formally is to follow error with a colon and begin extremely with a lower case letter. In informal writing, an ellipsis could be used in place of a colon.

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

Originally posted by Sabln7@Sep 23 2005, 07:42 AM
Isn&#39;t "reading the book" in your example a gerund used as the object of the preposition after?

No. &#39;Reading&#39; is not used as a noun, so it is not a gerund. It is a present active participle that acts as an adjective describing the reader, but as the reader isn&#39;t the subject, the participle is misplaced. If my student would have written, "After the reading of the book", there &#39;reading&#39; would be a gerund. The sentence would then be technically correct, but rather stilted. The best solution is, "After reading the book, I was still not able to make much sense of it."