# Chat language in the forums



## Alxmrphi

moderator said:
			
		

> Source Please be more respectful of learners of your mother tongue and use standard English (including punctuation and capital letters where appropriate).
> 
> Thanks for your cooperation,


On some other level, dont you think that paying attention to the way people commonly say things is also important in learning the way language is [mis]used in that culture?

I am really trying to make my English (see, i made it a capital ) as best as i can for other Italian (ooh, again) learners. *But* I do think that it is also, even if only a tiny bit important for all aspects of language use to be learnt.

Però, i would not like it if people who speak Italian here, would do that and confuse me, The reason that i mentioned this is most people are extremely advanced in English. I do not remember ever seeing someone who is Italian, and also learning English at the same level i am.

My conclusion, that i hope to portray as unbiased, is that i do see a tiny fault in saying someone should change the language they use in their own country that has its own language and they have lived there all their life and that is how they converse and what is spoken where they cannot be "wrong English". If it exists in a land where that is the only language spoken, it might be *incorrect,* but it is never wrong.

And i say this about the people who have not been asked to change the way they speak for the benefit of others (as i am seriously trying hard to do for non-English speakers here). I am not saying you shouldnt tell me to be grammatically correct, which i am sure i should be, especially in a place like this. I mean if a conversation in Italy sprung up about how wrong the English are, and the usage of their language is wrong. This is what i am refering to.

I suppose i am thinking of this as a philosophical question about language use, not to have a go at anyone or try to correct someone elses view.

I have had that on my head for a long time, I just had to get it off my chest.


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## Jana337

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> On some other level, dont you think that paying attention to the way people commonly say things is also important in learning the way language is [mis]used in that culture?


Discussions about slang, colloquialisms, chat language and whatever strikes our members as noteworthy are more than welcome - in threads specifically devoted to those phenomena but please not elsewhere. 



> I am really trying to make my English (see, *i* made it a capital ) as best as *i* can for other Italian (ooh, again) learners.


Your effort is much appreciated. I hope you decide to convert to I soon, too. 

Jana


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## carrickp

Alex Murphy certainly has a point, but the issue of capitalization is hard enough for Italians learning English and anglophones learning Italian without natives of one language or the other making deliberate errors in their posts -- especially if the errors are made just because one does not wish to take the trouble to press down on the SHIFT key or, just as bad, because one has formed a bad habit as a result of overindulgence in SMS trafficking. Similarly, SMS-style abbreviations in both languages, and common Italian abbreviations such as qcno are confusing to learners such as me.


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## ElaineG

Also, let's be serious: I'm all for learning dialect, slang, contemporary usage, I love it all. But I challenge Alex or anyone else to show me a region of England, north-west or otherwise, where an English that fails to adhere to common capitalization or punctuation rules is actually the only written English used or even considered proper or standard.

Alex, a word to the wise, the standards of English grammar and spelling that people have asked you to try to adhere to on this forum are no different from what most employers or institutions of higher education would expect. Even if the way you write English is considered standard in your part of England or reflects what you were taught at school, it is not considered standard in the rest of England or the wider world. 

You will not only be helping other foreros, but you will be doing yourself a favor if you learn to write standard British English. You'd be amazed at how much such things matter in terms of educational and employment opportunities.


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## DAH

Alex_Murphy said:
			
		

> On some other level, dont you think that paying attention to the way people commonly say things is also important in learning the way language is [mis]used in that culture?
> 
> Però, i would not like it if people who speak Italian here, would do that and confuse me, The reason that i mentioned this is most people are extremely advanced in English. I do not remember ever seeing someone who is Italian, and also learning English at the same level i am.
> 
> My conclusion, that i hope to portray as unbiased, is that i do see a tiny fault in saying someone should change the language they use in their own country that has its own language and they have lived there all their life and that is how they converse and what is spoken where they cannot be "wrong English". If it exists in a land where that is the only language spoken, it might be *incorrect,* but it is never wrong.


 
Look at it this way: Reading and writing are the only vehicles for communication in this forum. It is one thing, to stand and talk with someone and be able to get your point across or be understood especially with the aid of intonation, facial and hand gestures. Image if Braille readers where subjected to i dont & u dont.


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## cyanista

Most people in this forum seem to agree that adherence to standards of written language (punctuation, capitalization, avoiding chat slang etc) is important here. I suggest that this point should be included in the WR Rules - for the benefit of newcomers. I think it would save our moderators much time and effort.


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## la reine victoria

cyanista said:
			
		

> Most people in this forum seem to agree that adherence to standards of written language (punctuation, capitalization, avoiding chat slang etc) is important here. I suggest that this point should be included in the WR Rules - for the benefit of newcomers. I think it would save our moderators much time and effort.


 

A very good point Cyanista.  I'm sure the moderators have more than enough to do already.

Badly written English is, I fear, becoming an 'acceptable' norm amongst many of the young people in Britain today.  Under Mr Blair's leadership, school teachers are burdened with endless official paperwork, leaving them precious little time or energy to do their job properly.  Spelling and grammatical errors are frequently left uncorrected when written work is checked.

It is extremely important for our foreros, who are learning any foreign language, to see it correctly written and punctuated.


LRV


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## cuchuflete

Is it correct to wear a bathing suit and hip boots to a symphony concert?  After all, they are standard attire for digging clams.

When you greet your boss at the bank, do you yell, "Hey Bro!
Whassup!"?

Chatspeak and SMS language are perfectly valid and correct, in their own settings.  These forums are a distinct setting.  Here, chatspeak and SMS words are dissonant.  They also are confusing to learners, who have enough work to do already, without the distraction of trying to figure out what is, and is not, standard language.


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## LaVieEnBleu

Alex_Murphy has a point, but cuchuflete has an even bigger one, and so does DAH. Alex, Think of it this way: If you want to learn something, say English or Italian, would you rather be taught Italian by a teacher that writes on the chalkboard:

hi, evrybody, i'am going 2 b ur nu teecher 4 the rest ov this turm. 
                                  -------OR-------
Hi, everybody, I am your new teacher. My name is Mr. Appleson, and I will be teaching you for the school year.

Do you get the point? Okay, I might be leading off the track, but hry, that's the only way I could out it. T_T He, he.

                                     LaVienEn*Bleu*


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## LaVieEnBleu

LaVieEnBleu said:
			
		

> Alex_Murphy has a point, but cuchuflete has an even bigger one, and so does DAH. Alex, Think of it this way:


 
Sorry, **think, not Think. 

LaVieEn*Bleu*


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## LaVieEnBleu

ANd hey, not hry. >__<


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## LaVieEnBleu

-pfft- And, not ANd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*slams head against wall*


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## LaVieEnBleu

Hmmph. Se ehat I mean? That's also why so many people (no, not ppl) say "corigez touss mex ereurss". 

                                          LaVieEn_*Bleu*_


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## Jana337

Hello,

Have you ever tried hitting the Edit button? 

Jana


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## 140278

Let's go back to the topic. We must consider that when we are writing, our words are not going to be read not only by us, but also by learners and also people who can correct us. So let's try to write as correct as we can.

That's my suggestion.


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## lonelyheartsclubband

You're completely right, 140278!


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