Andrew Savory wrote:
Sorry, but I don't agree. Written English is a heck of a lot harder to master than programming. Most programming languages have a right and a wrong way: ie, black and white, works or doesn't. They have a very limited syntax and often there are many easily accessible books written on how to program in a given language. English, on the other hand, has too many shades of grey to make it easy to master. Syntax, grammatical rules, spelling: all these things change based not just on what country you're in but often depending on the region of a country. In English, it's very difficult to pin down 'write' and wrong, once you get beyond the basics of spelling and grammar. It becomes much more subjective and more difficult to define.
I agree. Teaching a small child to read and write brings it home just how erratic the english language can be. I think a few hundred years ago it may have made more sense, when "when" was spoken aloud with the "h" being audible, and the "k" in "knee" or "knight" also was heard. But look at bough, cough, through. As a small child, language is learnt first by ear then by reading. So any input at that age is more likely to result in proper spelling and grammer if the parents of a small child talk to them properly, and later if they are encouraged to read the written word.
Hmmm... again, I think it's easy to blame the education system and "trendy methods" for falling standards, but I think a portion of the blame should also be directed at the parents and society. TV doesn't encourage reading and writing; the fast food disposable lifestyles we live also prohibit attention to detail and focus on results over accuracy.
Well, that one starts off a whole new debate on responsibility - who is responsible in this society and for what. Can you point a finger at a parent who sits their kid in front of the telly stuffing hamburgers when it is the way they were brought up themselves? At what point does someone have to face the fact that each person is ultimately responsible for themselves? (I don't know what I think the answer to this one is, it all makes me a bit confused).
Laurie Brown wrote:
I've learnt that my views on grammar and written English differ a little from most other people's...
Oh yes, how is that? Jenny