(sp?): The Phantom Menace
 

Rimbaud's Annoying Habitometer is beeping incessantly, telling him a new foible has arisen and he must address it immediately.

Rimbaud the Merciless does not condone lazy posting. When writing a long word or name, such as Marileangorifurnimaluim or others of great length and/or capacity to confuse, writing the odious _(sp?)_ afterwards does not excuse your mistake (if indeed you have made one).

It is that last qualifier that irks me especially. To make an unseen error in a post is understandable, typos are common and in a medium of this nature, almost unavoidable...but to notice that you may have made a mistake and not to correct it seems like apathy of the highest order.

Look the word up, and spell it correctly, if you are not sure. Then you will have learned something, as well as having imparted your knowledge correctly.

The next person to scribe (sp?) shall be destroyed by a barrage of flaming trout. This I vow.

[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: Rimbaud ]

...And with this mighty oath, Sir Rimbaud, Grand Knight of the Dictionary, laid down his fearsome challenge. ;)

All those who fear his deadly trout should note that it's a matter of a couple of seconds' work to open another browser window and point it at dictionary.com, which is what I always do if I'm not sure how to spell something. They even have both British and American spellings and you'd be amazed at how the flow of one's prose improves with the removal of parentheses, question marks and little abbreviations. There are even off-line dictionaries that may be consulted without recourse to a browser, and which are tailored to the version of English most prevalent in their country of origin (they use a combination of ink and paper as a storage medium, I believe). The manifold wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze me. (sp?)

Ah, the Fish called Rimbaud schools the unwise. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Ammunition, my good Sir.

http://images.animfactory.com/animat...ing_md_wht.gif

Battle resource, fall back position to Squatter's troups: Online Dictionary

Bethberry

[ October 10, 2002: Message edited by: Bethberry ]

Long posters, please remember that you can use the WORD program, with 'Spell Check' as an initial editor, to craft your replies.

Polish your gems, and present them to us in all their glory!

This makes me think about the always returning mistakes that makes my toes curl [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] every time I see them, such as:

their/there, your/you're, then/than and so on.

Anyway, I have yet to find an online dictionary that works from Danish to English.

Try this one:

http://dictionaries.travlang.com/DanishEnglish/

I don't speak Danish, so I can't vouch for its quality.

It seems to work to some point. It might be useful. Thank you. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Menacing punc humour

Edit: Okay, I realize this isn't directly related to the (sp) virus, but I think the !!!! is a mutation of said virus (or vice versa). We have a disease syndrome here for which humorous retorts are the most fitting replies.

[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: Bethberry ]

*Cheers for Bethberry*

Woo! Thank you so much! The "more than one exclamation point" thing gets to me. Makes us all sound like a bunch of caffeine-addict, chipmunky, *N Sync teeny-bopper, overly-excited creatures...

And: yes: the dictionary is a very powerful item. They also have a spelling dictionary, if you notoriously spell things wrong.

Oh: and if you have even more questions, go to http://www.1000dictionaries.com/engl...onaries_1.html . It has links to many, many different dictionaries for many, many things (including spelling, grammar, a thesaurus, a quote dictionary, etc.)!

Personally, I think flaming trout may be too quick. Maybe rabid squirrels.

(Sp) really bothers me too. It shows that you didn't take enough time to make sure your post was correct. I know that some words are hard to spell, but if you can't spell it, maybe you shouldn't use it!

Do you question my choice of weapon, good lady?

*lowers eyebrows menacingly and juggles a suitably aflame piscean*

Maybe I am, kind sir...

*Elenna unlocks the cage of several red-eyed, foaming-at-the-mouth, screeching squirrels.*

Are you telling me you don't fear this?

That sounds like a challenge to me. This thread's beginning to get interesting.

*Points over to where the Rabbit of Caerbannog is still hunched in his cave*

You guys wanna take that on? Anyone? Aaaand: you first have to answer three questions:
1. What is your name?
2. What is your quest?
3. What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow (African)?

Good luuu-uuuuck...

Can't answer questions imposed, (especially the last one)

Just let me sit back comfortably and recall my youth, when BD was running on Ezboard. There was such a thing as spellcheck installed + post preview option, which came in handy, especially for the likes of me (i.e. not native speakers). Maybe it is possible to obtain such useful tools for UBB as well?

Ahh, chat and sms have slowly diminished all our spelling capabilities. That's the downside of technology when people want to be faster. Being not some English major would not be an excuse for me to be wrong in my grammar but it's shameful sometimes to not know the correct words, grammar and spelling.

Indeed chat-spellings are sneaking in everywhere, sometimes forcing me to read a message two or three times before I actually understand what it says. That, of course, is partly caused by the fact that English isn't my native language.

Vanima you know very well that the answer to the third question depends on whether it is carrying a coconut or not!(!!) [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I would almost rather people leave their misspellings alone and unmarked. Adding "(sp?)" after a word shows the writer noticedthe mistake but was too lazy to actually do anything about it. Sometimes the word isn't even misspelled....

Maikadilwen, what are you on? It is impossible for a three-ounce bird to carry a one-pound coconut through the air! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Childlike Empress you haven't seen "Monty Python and the quest for the Holy Grail" have you? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

But of course I have, Maikadilwen, else I'd have said nothing or at least phrased it differently [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I would like to call your attention to another very annoying bad habit - realizing the senselessness of a post and posting anyway! How often do I read: "I guess I'm not making much sense, but it's late and I'm tired!" Here are three good solutions to that problem:

1. Don't post. If you're too tired to make sense, wait until the next morning. If you're afraid to lose those valuable, though scatterbrained, thoughts, type them into your word processing program and save them - that makes it easy to do a spellcheck on them the next day too. Or just jot them down on a piece of paper, the way Tolkien himself took notes of ideas, before thinking them over and making necessary changes.

2. If you feel you must post when tired, check what you wrote the next day and edit it so that it does make sense. Then the above comment is unnecessary.

3. If you wrote it and realize the next day that there's not really any sense to it, delete it! Don't wait for a moderator to do it.

Take pride in your writing; there are enough posts on the forum that make very little sense - and the authors didn't even notice!

Good point Estelyn.

I think one of the reasons why many people are posting even though they are too tired to make proper sense, is because they are afraid that if they wait, somebody else will come up with the same thoughts and post before them.

Sometimes a post sounds a lot better when you read it over and edit a bit.

Personally, I always read through my posts two or three times, checking for errors before I hit "Add Reply". And then I check it again when it has been added to the page because the post always looks different then.
I think the most important thing when making a post, is to read it through a few times and think "Do I make myself clear? Will other people understand what I am saying?"

Too many people do not take the time to do that and that is why they end up with spelling errors or missing words.
"I am typing too fast" is not a valid excuse for not checking your spelling.

[ October 13, 2002: Message edited by: Maikadilwen ]

I just noticed this thread. If you guys chance upon some particularly abhorrent spelling, do please add it to the "Agony of Misspelling" Hall of Shame.

I stole the idea from Merendis' list of misused homophones. What I have are all the misspelled thread titles I could find. I find that particularly appalling - bring on both the flaming trout and rabid squirrels. But we can expand the parameters of the Hall of Shame.

-Maril

"Your Friend at the End"

Laziness is a disease that will not be cured by well-meaning threads such as this. Nice try though.

Quite true. For example, we are the only ones who will read a thread entitled 'The Agony of Poor Spelling.'

These threads are entirely for those who care, the dwindling cult of English mavens.

Rimbaud on the other hand cleverly disguised this thread under the name "Phantom Menace," which is sure to confuse the 'Star Wars vs. LOTR, who would win?' crowd. They however will flee the moment they realize what they have wandered into.

-Maril

Boo hiss
This topic is misleading _(sp?)_ [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] , this is not about the "Phantom Menace,"
For shame misleading poor little old me.
I think that it is time for me to flee, before being destroyed by a barrage of flaming a trout and rabid squirrels.

Exit stage left.

I speak as one of the many who dont have a spell checker on thier computer and didnt know that dictionary.com exisited, and couldent find a FREE online spell checker but I thank you all for the advice.

I am also one of the people here who has realy bad spelling skills (Although I can read any word you throw at Me) and I aplogize for My spelling skills.

And I suppose you have never heard of that ancient relic, a book called Dictionary, KGL?

And Maril, you could always rename your thread, "The Agony and The Ecstasy ..." and you might catch a different crowd. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[ October 14, 2002: Message edited by: Bethberry ]

As an English maven myself, it's a pride issue with me to check words that I don't understand using a *gasp* PRINT DICTIONARY!

KGL, you should take enough pride in your writing to assure that it is spelled correctly.

Too true, réd. I'm not trying to improve the situation, though; I'm here because I like to complain. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I'd just to point out how cheaply those can be picked up: I bought a 1954 copy of the Concise Oxford (let's face it: have any really useful words been added to the language since then?) for about 50p (around 80 cents) at a charity book sale just last week. I also managed to get a copy of Roget's Thesaurus, which is useful for those who have progressed beyond elementary spelling, and have reached the giddy heights of prose style. This volume was acquired for the princely sum of £1.

Well, it would attract those who enjoyed that biographical novel about Michaelangelo; but I doubt that they have any trouble with their English. Any hormonally overloaded and gramatically challenged fans of Renaissance art would, however, find themselves suitably chastised.

What really depresses me about the entire spelling issue is that the worst offenders are not those for whom English is a second, third or even fourth language, but native speakers. I find it more than a little embarrassing, not to mention surreal, when an English Downer proves to be worse at speaking English than, for example, a German or a Swede. Have these would-be dyslexics no shame?

Since I'm now progressing into a full-fledged rant I'd also like to back Estelyn up in her attack on the "I'm tired" cop-out. In the past I've worked on a serious post for up to an hour, realised that it was going nowhere and abandoned it. Better to waste my time, I reason, than to waste everybody's. When through oversight I do post some utter drivel and someone knocks holes in it, I acknowledge my sloppy research, questionable premise or rambling argument or concede the point quietly. What difference does it make that someone was tired? Does that fact correct their spelling? Does it magically make their argument less rambling or specious? None of us are going to hold one weak submission against them if it's clearly an aberration, and by the same token no little apologies inside the posts will prevent people from resenting the consistent and thoughtless publication of dross.

My suggested punishmnent for such craven idleness is that the perpetrator be made to cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with a herring; possibly being required to make a nice two-level shrubbery as well.

Using a print dictionary should cause you no shame, Elenna. English is a third language for me so I still constantly refer to it when I come across a new word or some meaning that I may need to be refreshed of. Still, every encounter with a new word will always be advantageous to me.

Cutting down a tree with a de-boned and defrosted herring will be harder and should be reserved for repeat offenders.

I am pleased to report a reduction in the number of additions of (sp?) to posts in the last week, as observed by this humble... observer.

Well, I did once hear a prominent teacher of linguistics attempt to argue for the creation of the first new preposition in over 1000 years with the verb phrase, "would of". *coughs rather loudly* It was over a glass of ale, however. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

As to the problem which the following might have: Perhaps Maril could spell the word Xtasy? She might also want to consider replacing "Agony" for something more appropriate for a Tolkien forum, "Theogony." [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Rimbaud! I found the next person you should beat with whatever you decide to beat them with!

I'm not saying any names: it's up to you to find them (hint: Middle Earth Mayhem)! LOL...

And: someone who gets an "F" in my book for pronounciation is President GW Bush...no offense to him: he's who I wanted to win, but, when he said "nucular", I kind of fell off the couch laughing...then, of course, I told my friend about it, and she said, "Well...isn't that how it's said?" Then I explained the concept of the word "nuclear" coming from "nucleus" as in the "nucleus" of an atom and all that...

What I want to know is this: When Saddam Hussein's interpreters are telling him what President Bush is saying in his speech, do they say something like "And here the President grossly butchers his own native tongue?"

What I find ridiculous is that he is representing the American people, and he can't even speak our language! Lindil, I was surprised to hear that you aren't a native English speaker because you write so well. If only our fearless leader took so much care with HIS speech.

Elenna, I have a feeling they say something more along the lines of, "Now, the big dork from the United States said..."

Well, maybe in stronger language...

Even if the person they were speaking of is not a big dork or whatever they would call him, I have a feeling the interpretors may use not-nice reference in referring to the people...

In terms of leaders, I'd rather have a good man who's not a good speaker than a good speaker who's not a good man. "Nucular" annoys me-- but weighed against other annoying things leaders have done, I can let "Nucular" go and be grateful for the man.

However, we were talking about threads... and since we are celebrating a language professor's work, here, on the Barrow Downs, we should indeed take pride in what we type. We do get the chance to review and edit it. In memory of, and with respect for, the Professor, it's the least we can do.

I am reminded of the beauty and balance of Frodo's prose as he speaks with Faramir in Ithilien; I think that Bilbo would have been very proud. Reading that section makes me want to be eloquent, too. Few other passages in any other work have such an impact on me.

(Thanks, Professor.)

I think it was Fidel Castro who said of GW after he was elected: "I hope he's not as stupid as he seems." Talk about blunt. I guess there are advantages to having no diplomatic relations with the US. You don't have to be diplomatic!

Somewhere around here I have a list of 'Bushisms.' A personal favorite is one where he attempted to pronouce a multi-syllabic word three times. And got it wrong each time. In fact, I think it kept getting worse. (Anyone who took potshots at our last President's cigars is gonna have to stand aside as I make fun of Bush.)

This is a song by John McCutcheon, with the Help of Our Glorious Leader.


[ October 15, 2002: Message edited by: Susan Delgado ]