Pet peeve about abbreviations, grammar, etc.

a/s/l

..........

You got me Yoda.....don't know what you're talking about, but it's probably funny. Hee, heee in advance.

I can't remember the short form for 'parent over your shoulder'. Anyone know that one?

a/s/l = age/sex/location

My son knows not to give precise location but young kids might disclose too much to strangers.

Thanks for explaining. I'll take back the "hee, heee" and replace it with an "Ah haaaaa".

I wanted to take a moment to answer the question about the littles that write and the idea of them being able to log in or whatever. I know for us one of those within that know how to log in or get to the site and forums help the littles get to the place they need or want to be. The questions you have kinda trigger as if you question the validity of those within. Maybe I am taking it wrong but we work together to allow those within to post. Is it wrong to allow them to post? My littles write in PM's and they write the age they are and there is nothing I can do to change that. Sorry if it offends anyone.

I also had a question about teaching children in school to learn to read and write and if anyone has had experience with this. My children when they were in kindergarten and first grade learned with the writing to read program. They wrote the words as they sounded and it did not matter that the spelling was wrong. Although my children learned to spell correctly many children learned that at first writing it correctly did not matter and they many times did not care to get it right later. Maybe that is some of why as they grow older they do not have the grammar skills they need. Not to mention I think that when children are left to learn without help, they tend to pick up ways that are not really okay.

When I first went to the chat rooms when I joined here, there were always abbreviations going on and I felt dumb because I had no idea what they meant. I could not figure them out and so I many times felt like I had to just pretend to understand when I really did not. My children used those same abbreviations but I never thought about it or asked. Many times in the chat room if you do not abbreviate you miss out on the conversation and before I get the answer typed back they have already moved on to another topic. I guess I need to learn to type faster.

Thank you for this thread.

"Is it wrong to allow them to post?"
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((((darkpurplesecrets)))) - I hope the OP'er doesn't mind me answering this. Thank you for sharing your feelings DPS. I don't feel the original post was talking about DD or the littles here at PC. You or any member, along with your littles are welcome to post anytime here at PC. I agree there's a time and a place for abbreviation(chat rooms). I'm sure if I went in chat, people would be snoring, before I got a sentence typed out lol.

I also love the way little kids write their words. I have an 8 and 12 yr old. One of my most prized possessions in a mother's days poster my oldest made when she was 6, with all the wonderful mistakes. It still hangs in my kitchen 6 yrs later.

You don't bother me at all, Lynn. I wasn't talking about littles. I wasn't even talking about the way children spell, because I love the ingenuity of it. The things my son wrote before he could spell are so wonderful.

I am sorry that I answered the way I did. I realize this was not about littles or DID'ers, I just read one of the comments and it triggered me before I actually took time to think. So I apologize for that but thank you both for clarifying that. Sometimes it is so hard to understand what others are talking about and maybe I should have refraided from answering. But I appreciate what you both said. It does validate me and all those who might have taken the comment out of content.

I do get what you are saying and I appreciate it. Thank you again for this thread and for all the wise things others have said that make a lot of sense. Sending gentle hugs and loving thoughts. Always.

dps

(((darkpurplesecrets))) thank you for clarifying this and I'm happy you(your littles) feel better/welcome anytime here at PC. It's wonderful when communication leads to understanding - life is great when this happens. Ironically this ties into what Perpetuallysad was trying to convey I think - if we don't preserve authentic writing skills we might lose touch with the deep meaning/emotions which comes from creative well written material - as written by you(dps) and others.

Personnel???

The thing is, some of us got stigmatized for knowing the "correct" way to write and speak!!!!

Unless the way it is put prevents communication!

I have been for a long time particular about grammar and such, because for some reason it seemed to come naturally to me and I understood the difference between saying something well and not. And I got derided as a child in school for being good at it. But recently I finished a book on ancient Mesopotamia and understood the author's point how scribes of those times, the ones who understood how very well, after years and years of training to write in their very complicated ways, actually made it harder to change over from writing that did not use an alphabet, but instead a kind of picture-writing, to a form which actually had an alphabet. So I guess there are drawbacks to learning something too well!

i thnk evry1 hear needs 2 STOP woryin abowt gramar and teh like...............and jst go with teh flow and enjoi thmselves!!!!!!!!!! but thats just me uv course so PLZ dont get all senstiv mmmkay? and NO tht wuz not adresd to any 1 persn in particlar...

I guess you didn't read any of my further posts.

Also, pachyderm, I wish you had not quoted my post as I had VERY CLEARLY removed myself from this discussion/argument/debate awhile back with an explanation of WHY I posted what I did.

I have ALWAYS tried to use good grammar and spelling and punctuation and was a good student and actually quite obsessive about it. I have never felt stigmatized by someone posting in defense of chat/text speak or people who don't use good grammar and such. That doesn't make any sense to me. I feel snobby posting that I try to use good grammar and that I was a good student.

But whatever. I don't even care really. I wanted to be out of this several posts ago, but was dragged back in.

Maybe it is time to shut this one down?

No way! I enjoy it a lot! It reminds me of my snobby days in which I thought that grammar and language was "a must" for any (under) graduate student.

You make me smile, ADoR........

Shangrala

I'm going to be the odd man out on this one. I largely disagree (although, admittedly, not entirely). This is because I view language as a fluid thing. The generalized way of speaking and writing English 200 years ago, 400 years ago, etc. was very different from the way we speak and write today. (How many of you use ye ole english or speak in a Shakespearean manner?) The internet has very suddenly added another dimension to human culture, and it's only natural that this would be reflected in the way people communicate to one another.

I've also spoken to people from many different places, with many different forms of slang. The 'acceptable' way to talk differs greatly, depending on where you come from. This is not only inherent in words, but also speaking styles. In some parts of America my particular style would be considered too fast; in others too slow. Certain words wouldn't be as easily comprehended, due to differences in pronunciation. Combine that with the multitude of variation in slang due to things like region and socioeconomic status, and we find many dialects within a language. So why should internet slang be any different? Heh, and if we want to get real snobbish about the whole thing, technically Americanized English is just a bastardization of British English. My boyfriend's mother has a very heavy British accent, and her speaking style is quite different. We've had to learn to get past not just the accent, but differences in terminology. I don't mind this. I like it. I enjoy the differences in people and culture.

Now if we're going to discuss this on the merit of being easily understood, there are very eclectic words in the English language which are not understood by the majority of people. They really do not aid in understanding one another, but I don't think that people should abstain from their use for this reason. If I don't know a word, I either ask someone what it means or I look it up in the dictionary. I figure if someone online doesn't understand the lingo or abbreviations, they can just as easily look it up in a slang dictionary or ask the user. I don't expect people to automatically understand everything I say - on or off the internet. Part of communicating is being willing to learn from others. Not just forcing them to conform to your manner of speech.

Now for the part I agree with you on (and this is probably going to look somewhat hypocritical given the above paragraphs) - I personally really dislike it when people go completely overboard with chat speak. There are some people out there who will type in a manner which is completely incomprehensible, unless the reader wishes to spend a good minute (at minimum) to decipher every sentence. They use absolutely no grammar or punctuation, capitalize indiscriminately, misspell every word; and worst of all, when you finally manage to decipher the sentence it's completely meaningless. When a poster reaches this level of incomprehensibility, I don't even bother trying to piece together what they are attempting to say. It's obviously complete drivel anyways. Using slang is (in my opinion) different from being incapable of forming a coherent thought and sharing it verbally/written.

Oh, one last point regarding people using this type of speech in school papers: I consider this to be very similar to older children and even young adults who write in the slang fashion that their parents speak. I see it a lot when the child or young adult has had a sub-standard education. This is particularly prevalent in American schools - especially in poorer neighborhoods. I know of people from other countries who are bilingual. I also know of people from other countries and regions who are bi-dialectical. They learn to get by in various environments. With proper education, there is no reason a person can't use internet slang online and write decent papers at school and work. The problem isn't in their alternative way of communicating; it's with their education in the socially acceptable one.

I agree, it has run its course.

I don't see why it's necessary to lock this, unless the OP wants to. It will just fizzle out like most threads anyway IMO(see I used a short form). It's been stated multiple times, the OP was speaking about abbreviations and how there's a time and place for it. It wasn't targeted to people with learning disabilities, mental illness, foreign friends etc. Now I feel exasperated because we aren't able to speak about the simplest topic. Let's talk about the weather......that's safe.

Happy Thursday everyone......

Shangrala

Oh man, I hate that so much! I plan on being an English major and I hate seeing butchered English. I live near a bunch of country folk, so I get really annoyed when most of them speak.

My favorite butchered English phrase: "Ain't got none."

hmmmmm........how's the weather there Shangrala?