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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

"Alot" is not a word

Personally I love well written text. Nevertheless, there are many contributing to this forum who are not native english writers. Like myself we entirely rely on you the native English/Amercan because we learn while reading.

If you don't want to be bothered with words like "alot" please be a model in this regard.

Kind Regards,

Hans
 
Any laguage has its difficulties, some more some less. Some rules are tideous like in German the constantly usage of the caps-key. Because of this and the English model in beginning nouns not with a capital letter this ill-manner is drifting into the Germn language like the pest.

IMO, lazy wrinting causes laziness in thinking. The most focused posts are written in exemplary English. Expertise needs a wide horizon - including writing skills.

Hans
 
Whether you like it or not, people judge you by the words you use. Mistakes in emails and on forums are common, but one should always try to improve oneself. Case in point: it is not "Who" you know, but "Whom" you know.

Another fun one that people misuse all the time is "Chomping at the bit". Horses do not chomp, they "Champ at the bit".

And finally, how about "affect" and "effect". They are butchered all the time.

But I agree with the "alot" frustration. It does not help oneself to continue to show ignorance by standing up for a word that doesn't exist. Just learn the right word and use it correctly.
 
One more thing, I am amazed and humbled by those on this forum whose native language is not English but who apologize for their poor usage. Your English is much better than my French, German, Spanish, etc.
 
Would anyone here seriously accept a screenplay or script sent to them that was full of spelling and, or, grammatical mistakes?
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For most scripts I would expect grammatical mistakes since that is how many ordinary people talk. For example, that Yoda character in Star Wars has terrible grammar. ;) I think screenwriters need to know both bad and good grammar (some characters have bad grammar, some good).
 
Zac Crosby said:
It is, I've gotten job responses in txt form...

Z
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That is actually a requirement from many (sorry, I mean alot of) big employers these days. Including a txt format resume allows their hiring system to enter your info directly into their database and scan for the keywords/attributes they are looking for. It certainly beats reading 20,000 resumes!
 
GlennChan said:
For most scripts I would expect grammatical mistakes since that is how many ordinary people talk. For example, that Yoda character in Star Wars has terrible grammar. ;) I think screenwriters need to know both bad and good grammar (some characters have bad grammar, some good).
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Er... The dialogue within the script doesn't really count. Actually that's a whole different discussion in itself. Some producers / studios / directors don't even want to see stylized dialogue in a script. They wish to leave it up to the director and talent to add their own flavor.

When it comes to the script itself, I prefer they have as few spelling errors as possible. Scripts are a different animal though and it's hard to dictate grammar, due to the rather short-handed literary form. If we look at other forms of writing, some types need to be correct in the form of spelling and grammar -- technical writing is one of these. More artistic forms like novelized fiction, can vary. A lot of it comes down to a writer's own style. Proper spelling still matters for non-dialogue portions as does the proper use of often confused words like "there", "their" and "they're". Beyond that grammar is not that important within the more creative forms. Ever read J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books? Grammatically, they are dreadful. But they are still easy to read and she tells a decent story for all ages. Not to mention the fact that she and Scholastic have sold tens of millions of copies.
 
perhaps spelling should be added to posting rules ? ...
more then X# words not spelled correctly = you're out of here !! BANNED ??
 
donatello said:
perhaps spelling should be added to posting rules ? ...
more then X# words not spelled correctly = you're out of here !! BANNED ??
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Right. Having a grammar gestapo would be great! (sarcasm)

If someone has something valuable to contribute here, I would rather have them share it, no matter how difficult the english language may be for them.

Preventing our friends from around the world from posting accomplishes nothing and would greatly change the international character of our community.
 
donatello said:
perhaps spelling should be added to posting rules ? ...
more then X# words not spelled correctly = you're out of here !! BANNED ??
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Don't tempt me. :devil:
 
Language is fluid. Yesterdays slang is today's proper English. I don't mind as much the grammatical problems as my mind is pretty much a mess anyways. What I have more trouble with, is calling a technical center and finding out that the person on the other line has such a terribly strong accent and poor grip of the English language that I cannot solve the problem for which I called. I have no problem working with people who are learning English as a second language in the field, as there are many ways to communicate, but why must they answer the phones.:angry03:

Colloquial English I believe is acceptable within this non-formal reduser environment. I also believe that alot (not all obviously) of the most creative people have a difficult time coloring inside of the lines.

When it comes to the grammar police I find myself reminded as to the differences between ignorance and indifference. As in "I don't know" and "I don't care". :innocent: :shifty:
 
Daniel Browning said:
In Year 1 that useless letter "c" would be dropped to be replased either by "k" or "s", and likewise "x" would no longer be part of the alphabet. The only kase in which "c" would be retained would be the "ch" formation, which will be dealt with later. Year 2 might reform "w" spelling, so that "which" and "one" would take the same konsonant, wile Year 3 might well abolish "y" replasing it with "i" and Iear 4 might fiks the "g/j" anomali wonse and for all.

Jenerally, then, the improvement would kontinue iear bai iear with Iear 5 doing awai with useless double konsonants, and Iears 6-12 or so modifaiing vowlz and the rimeining voist and unvoist konsonants. Bai Iear 15 or sou, it wud fainali bi posibl tu meik ius ov thi ridandant letez "c", "y" and "x" -- bai now jast a memori in the maindz ov ould doderez -- tu riplais "ch", "sh", and "th" rispektivli.

Fainali, xen, aafte sam 20 iers ov orxogrefkl riform, wi wud hev a lojikl, kohirnt speling in ius xrewawt xe Ingliy-spiking werld.

[--Mark Twain]
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Looks like something between Swedish and Icelandic, which strangely enough are modern languages. They, for the most part, use English grammar structures, we could just all switch over to those languages. We really don't need all the Latinization from the French and the Romans anyway.


"coherent spelling in ?us? throughout the English-speaking world.
 
Mark Thorpe said:
Maybe it is just the old dog in me but if I have people working for me I want them to have a grasp on the grammar handle. If for whatever reason they would be required to send in a field report or promotional dossier then it should be presented in a professional manner, clearly written and with correct spelling. Would anyone here seriously accept a screenplay or script sent to them that was full of spelling and, or, grammatical mistakes?

Cheers,
Mark.
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There is a difference between communicating on an internet forum and communicating in an official business manor though. I mean, sometimes I visit RedUser in my bathrobe but that doesn't mean I wear it to work. Well, if I'm working from home I wear it sometimes but if I leave the apartment I don't wear it.


-A
 
Manner or Manor, that is the question?

There are multiple tributaries one could take this discussion. Fact of the matter is I like the written word to be written well, period. I can understand that native non Anglophones may have problems writing English and that is more than acceptable, heck, I speak fluent French but ask me to write grammatically correct French and I would be lost.

In an industry where we play with light, cast spells with diction and create illusions with actions I only feel it best that those who wish to project themselves intellectually do so armed with the knowledge and understanding of their given language. I am not too sure if that is something too hard to ask for or not.

At the end of the day there is always the spell check function.

Cheers,
Mark.
 
kidrobot said:
There are far more serious things going on in the world today.

I am of course talking about people who write "would of", "should of" and "could of". You never see "they of" though. Maybe it just doesn't roll off the tongue as easily.
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Every time I read those, I shiver, and it leaves a tiny scar in my soul. And I'm not even a native speaker!
But it seems to have become quite popular to write like that among this generation, and all over the world; my little sister is a really bright girl, and knows how to write, but when I saw her chatting with a friend online, she used horrible grammar and spelling. I asked her why she didn't write properly, and she just told me it'd be "uncool". :waaa:

Well, I hope this trend reverses, and knowledge becomes fashionable once again...:matrix:

Jojo
 
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