Stephen Fry Kinetic Typography - Language

I thought that this was rather neat and also quite apt as my grammar is horrendous :o I'm afraid mostly due to bad experiences in school which made me dislike English and also numerous great literary works which I have now re-read and enjoyed immensely:luv:
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I think it sad that the standard of spelling and grammar is generally poor amongst young people today. It all goes back to this stupid idea in teaching that to insist they get it right inhibits them in some way.
When I was at school (here we go) if you had grammatical or spelling mistakes in your English written work, you were made to write it out again and again until you got it right. You made sure you had a dictionary and used it. The same with "public speaking," if when reading a passage out loud or giving a short talk to the rest of the class, if you so much as "erred" or ummed" you were likely to get a blackboard rubber thrown over your head to hit the wall behind you and shower you with chalk dust.

But I agree, a poor teacher can be a hindrance. We had a brilliant English teacher who made Shakespeare come alive by explaining each passage in detail until we were able to assimilate the way in which the language worked at that time.

But that was in the late fifties, before the Labour government tried to bring the grammar schools down to the level of the local comprehensive.

Itâ??s interesting to read the comments on Friends Reunited from people who were at my old school through the change and witnessed the declining standards in tuition and behaviour.

These days a lot of â??em canâ??t even be assed to use â??spell check.â?

But I never personally criticise anyoneâ??s spelling and grammar (unless thereâ??s an inoffensive joke in there). But Iâ??d be embarrassed if I made mistakes in posts on here, (I often go back and correct some Iâ??ve made Iâ??ve spotted later).

However, itâ??s a well known fact that all message board programmes are designed to add the odd mistake between; â??preview post â? and â??send reply.â?

 

The subject of grammar is a minefield-I always see errors in my writing and I studied it within my A-levels. Prepositions, clauses-independent or dependent, conjunctions blah blah blah boring snoring.

English is a beautiful and evolving language and it is brilliant that way. I like to read information to gain knowledge and not to correct someone else's lack of it. Sometimes I need intellectual writings and sometimes I need to read Heat magazine. There is room for all, even James Joyce and Anthony Burgess!

 

What always surprises me is the snobbery involved in English as a subject.

The ability to use correct punctuation and quote passages from various authors in History seems to outweigh the ability to use mathematics or the ability to understand Ohms law.

Whilst I am a great reader, I would never class myself as a great writer but that doesn't really worry me. I say it doesn't worry me because in most instances I am able to get across my message which surely is the basic essence of the written word?

 

Unfortunately, as a country we have an ever shrinking manufacturing base. Most jobs now (that pay decent money) require the ability to communicate, write coherent reports with the correct grammar etc., Even filling in a job application is a great hurdle for many now.

I used to be "shadowed" by potential store managers. I always advised them that when it came to promotion, it was rarely a case of just trawling through personel files. Those who made the decisions often relied on "snapshot" memories, maybe just a short conversation they might have had with a junior manager. So it was important to concentrate on the "passport image" (personal presentatation) and how they expressed themselves. The ability to do this is greatly helped by having a good command of language and grammar.
It's sad but true, if you look good and speak well, you're less likely to be thought the total clutz you may actually be.

I was a typical example!

 

I imagine you are a better writer than you give yourself credit for. Well read people tend to be able to cross most gaps with the written word.

 

The problem with many young people of any era is that some have this attitude that "people will have to take me as I am." Unfortunately, prospective employers won't. Applicants are expected to be able to "pass through their particular cardboard-cut out" to use an analogy.
Our youngest son was never studious, he went to college but will admit to spending more time on his student union activities than studying (I couldn't blame him, I was never very studious, but had the ability to "just do enough"). He's always spoken well with clear diction, as his mother and I taught all three of our kids basic English before they even started school.
When he left college at eighteen he wanted to be independent, applied for a few jobs, turning up for interviews in casual clothes, he wasn't short of cash as he had a part time job. But didn't get anywhere. He then told me about a sales job that he really would like. So I suggested he did it "my way." I took him to a high street tailor's bought him a business suit and in other shops, some conventional shirts and "work" shoes, I also gave him a few of my ties.
When he arrived for the interview in his new gear, he found at least a dozen other applicants in the reception room and he felt really uncomfortable dressed as he was, there were even a few smirks from some of the other prospective applicants in various forms of casual dress. He'd hardly sat down before a door opened and an interviewer walked into the room. He looked round the room and immediately settled on our son and said "You're next!"
He got the job. There wasn't an over-night change in his attitude, just a steady realisation that he now had to be "two people." he needed his "work face" during the day and "any other face he chose" in his own time.
It sometimes made me smile when I saw him checking his appearance in the hall mirror to see that his tie was tied; "just right" before he went off to work.
This was twenty-five years ago; he now manages a dozen estate agency branches and is probably "better of than I am."

For any parent with a problem teenager, I'd say don't despair, they will change.
I was speaking to the postman this morning, he was telling me how his young daughter had just come home from working abroad for six months. He said a few years ago they fought like cat and dog, but now since working away from home she's changed, really appreciates her parents and they all get on like a house on fire.