Discussions of the Day

Ouch. Perhaps this should have been done privately by email to them.

No Janea is quite justified in her comments. I constantly correct my GD in her use of written English to be told the teachers don't mind.

ouch.

Might have been better by PM. Always thought it was bad Netiquette to correct publicly.

I have to grit my teeth a fair bit, but I was educated at a grammar school, and know three languages, so grammar is easy for me.

Anyone educated during the period when grammar was ignored in favour of content, has little chance of understanding why you don't use an apostrophe for a plural, just because the word ends in a vowel, or why 'he could of' is wrong, and should be 'he could have'.

I think that teachers don't mind grammar mistakes, because they simply don't see them: they might well make the same mistakes themselves anyway.

I did my university degree in languages late in life, and often helped young people understand grammar. It is so hard learning a foreign language, when you have no understanding of how your own language works. Once you master a foreign language such as German though, you will be unlikely to make mistakes in English grammar!

Shouldn't that be "us oldies"?

With janeainsworth on this. Why let standards fall? As it's a public forum it affects all, so there should be no need for private messaging.

Definitely 'we oldies' Maggiemaybe.

I correct grammar on Facebook on a regular basis. Most of my friends are former colleagues, and much younger than me. I feel that I am educating them, but whether they take any notice is anybody's guess.

Agreed Janea.
I do wonder whether it is a misguided attempt to appear to be non-confrontational.

or

I do wonder whether it is a misguided attempt to appear to be non-confrontational?

Language evolves. I find some things grate - but not in fact the question marks that Jane dislikes - that is just journalese.

The fact that some things grate on me (or anyone else) is neither here nor there; language does not sit still. Some of what we were taught at school will have changed by the time we die - so be it. The use of a dash - thus - is much more acceptable now rather than commas. It harms no-one.

I think that the Gnet team do a good job on the whole. To say that they are "younger than us" and "not so well educated" seems a bit insulting to me.

If it's wrong it's wrong.
Apostrophes are scattered everywhere in printed matter, the iniquitous "could of, the use if "I" after a preposition instead of "me" in print and speech (and of course JaneA was correct to say we oldies as the words have been are understood) but the bottom line is if teachers are not correcting at school they are not doing their job
So yes, "Not in my name" GNHQ, and yes, it needed saying openly

I too am with janeainsworth here. There is no need to complain by private messaging. janea has no way of knowing which individual at GNHQ has responsibility for the Discussions of the Day box, so this is not a personal attack.
Examples of poorly written English do rather grate on me too and I have become irritated by this one.
I used to teach Spanish at evening classes and every year my first lesson was one in English grammar, because I found it impossible to teach another language to people who had no understanding of language construction - many did not even know the terminology for parts of speech.

Oops, lost the " after " could of" and it should have been ^ the use of I^

I'm happy for language to evolve, in the sense that we get new words all the time, or new uses for old words, but I think the stricture of the language should remain as it is. Grammar and punctuation help to ensure that our words are less likely to be misunderstood.

Anyway, it is the only thing I have over the younger ones: they leave me miles behind on modern technology. Born in 1945, I was never even taught binary maths, unlike my sister born 7 years later, in 1952.

They text using their smart phones at 90mph, unlike me, struggling to do even the shortest message. Email and FB are old hat to them, whereas I use them a lot.

They leave me behind in so many ways.

I meant structure not stricture. No matter how much you understand grammar, typos get you in the end.

Joan

Reading a medieval manuscript would show many spelling and grammatical constructions that are different from today's usage, but they were "right" when they were written.

"If it's wrong, it's wrong" is a statement that implies that there is a definite right and that it holds for all time - this is not the case. Both spelling and sentence construction change over time.

The presence of text communication is changing the language at a very fast rate, but I am happy with that - it is just a fact of life.

The question marks irritate me, but the superfluous apostrophes make me feel quite cross!

I'm with Janea and others on this one. If no one says anything, nothing changes. It's not personal - after all, we don't know which member of the GNHQ team composed the headings.

For me too, apparently, Lara! Though I would still say us oldies. I would have said "as well educated" instead of "so well educated" too. I also split infinitives when not doing so leads to a contrived and pretentious sentence. Language evolves, and sometimes for the better. Oops, and now I've used "and" after a comma twice. I'm off before the grammar police send round the hired goons to duff me up.

Personally I would prefer to be corrected privately, not in front of others. However, as I've said, this is just my opinion.

Thank you for all the replies.
Interestingly, one of the adverts that popped up when I opened this page was entitled 'Get the skills you need to get that job'
I think the shows that proper use of language is still important in both creating an image, and conveying a meaning.
I realise that language evolves, new phrases become fashionable, and certain words 'date' the user, but some things are set in stone, and the correct use of apostrophes to me is one of those things.
Perhaps the use of question marks when a question isn't actually being asked, reflects the tendency of some younger people (when speaking) to end their sentences on a higher note, as if they are asking a question, even though they are making a statement.

It never occurred to me to complain via private email to GNHQ, partly because I have no idea who actually compiles the Discussions of the Day box, and in any case it was not a personal complaint, so I saw no need for confidentiality.
It was more a comment on the appearance of the Gransnet Forums page, and I suspected that others might feel as I do. I realised too that others would disagree, and starting an open discussion rather than a private complaint would give both sides an opportunity to make their points.

Oh that's mean! Nothing wrong with the question marks. The apostrophe in the 'DH's' could be debatable. Perhaps DHs would not look right. You don't have to stick to rules all the time.