Proper English for Internet Communications

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SMHW

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I think the following generally apply when communicating via the internet, whether using a computer or personal wireless device.

Texting via cell phone: Lack of capitalization and use of short hand (number ‘4’ instead of word ‘for’) is acceptable due to the high difficulty of using a phone pad.

Instant messaging (via computer): It’s a private conversation and not subject to the usual rules of grammar beyond what are needed for understanding.

Computer Chat rooms: These are semi-public conversation so proper grammar, spelling, and word usage are considered a sign of intelligence. However typing speed is of importance and sometimes that need trumps the desirability for proper grammar.

Computer message boards/forums: These are semi-public conversation so proper grammar, spelling, and word usage are considered a sign of intelligence and respect to one’s readers. The proper use of the English language is understood to be an element used in judging the maturity of the poster and the importance of the post.

Computer Blogs: These are public forms of communication. The individual is free to express himself (within the guidelines of the service providing the blog space) as he sees fit. He should be prepared to be judged by his writing style.
 
Email: Email practically demands a set of rules unto itself. Here are a few:

‘Private’ emails are like any written communication as far as writing style. Emails sent to groups are likely to reflect on the sender’s intelligence in a fashion similar to message boards.

Forwarded emails should be edited. Readers generally do not want to wade through ten levels of forwarding addresses before getting to the main body of the email. Sometimes the body of the email needs to be edited to remove characters added as a result of forwarding.

When sending emails to a number of people or when forwarding emails, one should try to respect the desires of some to keep their email addresses private.
 
Thank you - I think people forget these things sometimes.

~Liza
 
I, too, have great difficulty, listening to, or reading, how some people “murder the King’s English”
Kathy
 
Katie1723 said:
I, too, have great difficulty, listening to, or reading, how some people “murder the King’s English”
Kathy
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“By rights she should be taken out and hung [dramatic pause] for the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue.”

Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady.
 
Thank you for this - excellent!! 🙂

Here are a few tips for the grammar and spelling challenged:

Examples of the uses of to, too, and two

to - indicates movement, and also precedes an infinitive verb. “He went to the store.” “I am going to walk to Church this morning.”

too - “I want to come to the store, too!” (meaning also.) Not “I want to come to the store to!”

two - the number 2 - “He ate two muffins for breakfast this morning.” Not “He ate to muffins …”

The Difference Between “an” and "and."

an - used in place of “a” when the next word begins with a vowel. “An eagle soared across the plain.” Not “and eagle soared …”

and - “Jack and Jason went to the park.” *Not *“Jack an Jason …”
 
I often find myself typing “and” as a typo for “an”. I know well the difference between the two. The problem is that I type them both frequently. My fingers simply fail to type the word that is in my mind. Usually I notice when I read over what I typed, but not always. Perhaps other posters are making this same mistake. Knowledge will not change it. :o
 
Pug said:
I often find myself typing “and” as a typo for “an”. I know well the difference between the two. The problem is that I type them both frequently. My fingers simply fail to type the word that is in my mind. Usually I notice when I read over what I typed, but not always. Perhaps other posters are making this same mistake. Knowledge will not change it. :o
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One thing that I find helpful in this regard is to read my post out loud to myself - if it “sounds” funny, then I know to check more carefully for typos.
 
My job requires that I communicate with students regularly via instant messaging. We (my fellow teachers and I) accept a lot of the IM conventions when talking with students, but one thing that will bring a conversation to a halt is the CAPS LOCK KEY. Surely everyone knows that all caps = shouting?
 
jmcrae said:
Thank you for this - excellent!! 🙂

Here are a few tips for the grammar and spelling challenged:

Examples of the uses of to, too, and two

to - indicates movement, and also precedes an infinitive verb. “He went to the store.” “I am going to walk to Church this morning.”

too - “I want to come to the store, too!” (meaning also.) Not “I want to come to the store to!”

two - the number 2 - “He ate two muffins for breakfast this morning.” Not “He ate to muffins …”

The Difference Between “an” and "and."

an - used in place of “a” when the next word begins with a vowel. “An eagle soared across the plain.” Not “and eagle soared …”

and - “Jack and Jason went to the park.” *Not *“Jack an Jason …”
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Excellent examples of the grammatically challenged. Add TO them TWO of my personal “favorites” : using could OF, would OF , should OF when the proper terms are: could’ve, would,ve and should’ve. And, TOO, using your and you’re and they’re and their interchangibly. :banghead:
Kathy
 
And please remember that we don’t use an apostrophe to make plurals.

Please buy some green beans for the casserole.

NOT

Please buy some green bean’s for the casserole…

Apostrophes are for contractions and possessives. Its and it’s are the exception. Its means “belonging to it.” It’s means “it is.”

Spelling: Definitely, not definately. Canon law, not cannon law.

Thank you.

Betsy
 
A great deal of internet communiction will fall somewhere between the accepted standards of speech and formal writing. Take a look at a transcript of normal speech. In terms of sentence structure, grammar, and organization it is a mess. And this applies to just about anyone.

Expected adherence to the standards appears to be a function of the speed of the expected feedback loop. If one is writing an online article, we can expect the same standards as in a hard copy published book. Response from readers is a slow process.

However, response from IM is almost immediate. It’s in the same class as a normal verbal conversation. We accept the same bending of rules in IM as we accept in everyday in verbal conversations.

Even in the same forum standards may change as a function of expected feedback. If I were corresponsing with someone on this thread, and we were actively answering each other in real time, I could loosen standards. But another post in the same thread may have tighter standards since it is not part of such an immediate feedback loop.

The challenge for folks who would like to improve their writing skills is to keep their standards as tight as possible for all internet entries. The speed of the feedback loop is an acceptable excuse for lowered standards, but why shoot for the bottom?
 
A great deal of internet communication will fall somewhere between the accepted standards of speech and formal writing. Take a look at a transcript of normal speech. In terms of sentence structure, grammar, and organization it is a mess. And this applies to just about anyone.
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I think most readers can tell when internet communications are deliberately trying to mimic conversational speech patterns. Sometimes a single word ‘sentence’ such as, “Yesterday,” or a sentence fragment such as, “Before the game,” is the best way to convey information in a back and forth exchange.

There is also a difference of importance between a discussion on the nature of original sin and a discussion regarding the events of a popular television series. The former is likely to be best expressed in formal English. The latter can use a more casual, playful style of writing.
The challenge for folks who would like to improve their writing skills is to keep their standards as tight as possible for all internet entries. The speed of the feedback loop is an acceptable excuse for lowered standards, but why shoot for the bottom?
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👍

I would add that we all understand that people make typos. We don’t always use spell checker. Sometimes our eyes just fail to catch an error. Sometimes we fix a grammar mistake and forget to modify some other part of the sentence to agree with the fix. The Catholic Answers forums allow a limited amount of time to edit posts and it’s not reasonable to expect a moderator to fix minor errors. There is nothing quite like having one’s post quoted by others and realizing it contains a glaring verb tense mistake.
 
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