[Closed] Illiteracy - and 'education' in general

Just you. About the same IME

That was spelt far too well... certainly not a private sector rant.

No capitals.
No expletives.
An orgnaised list.

Utter rubbish infact.

2/10

[img] [/img]

Ah, those were the days ...
[img] [/img]

Utter rubbish [u]in fact[/u].

TFTFY

I'm forever asking said people to clarify what they're getting at.

Right, and they're the stupid ones?

Ooooh get her!

You might want to consider your usage of the hyphen and colon 😉

provide a clear and [b]eligible[/b] response

Sorry, what were you saying about clarity? 😉

Right, and they're the stupid ones?

Yep, most of the time.

*strikes 'incentivise with toffees' from 'list of good commissioning practice'*

"eligible response" Good choice of words! LOL

"Cannot" Try "can not" or "can't" next time.

You might want to consider your usage of the hyphen and colon

Colon to open bulleted list.

hyphens used as bullets

hyphen used in place of en rule or dash. Semi colon looks a bit formal eh wot?

Given the limitations of web-based tomfoolery, no arguments here.

@S_S, Op is correct saying "cannot". It is one word, not two.
Source:
[i]cannot, v.

Pronunciation: /'kæn?t/

the ordinary modern way of writing can not: see can v.

Oxford English Dictionary Second edition, 1989; online version November 2010.[/i]

Your post isn't all that great either by the way 🙂

- ability to figure out what the 'other party' wants to understand and provide a clear and eligible response = no chance

Oh the ironery!

Can someone translate that for me? I just can't decipher what it is he's trying to say.........

😉
😀

I recieved an email yesterday with a strange greeting:

"Hope your well?"

Hope my well is what? Full? We have indoor plumbing these days!

I don't fink grammer & speeling is getting wearse, just that it is gettink more visible cos peeple have more interent access. Maybe we should go back tert Dark Ages when Latin was the only written language and the mass popluation were kept in there plaice ie shear iggorance. 😛

I'm in my 50s. (no apostrophe)

The Spanish might drop the personal pronouns but in English you shouldn't.

A colon rather than a semicolon should start your list of ages.

Public-sector workers and their private-sector conterparts. (with hyphens to avoid ambiguity)

Did you mean a legible response?

Your English is nothing to be proud of Spacemonkey. Which sector do you work in?

Isn't it just that you get more written stuff from public sector employees?
I work in the privite sector and there's some pretty bad writing (eg, me) but it never gets out to the public.

And equals signs? Really?

This,

"ability to answer a question with something that at least makes partial sense",

does not equal this,

"dribble".

Yet your "rant" infers that it does.

Some of you are being a bit too literal here. Was just making a few comments about how some people (often in senior roles that demand communicating regularly to 1000's of staff) can struggle to string a paragraph together that makes sense.

legible

Doh! You got me there 🙂

You mean something along those lines:
[i]
"Dear Mr. ------------------
Your application for -------------- has been unsuccessful as you do not meet the following requirement:
[b]The applicants must live in Ireland or in The Common Travel Area, i.e. United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Channel Islands etc., for a minimum of 3 years.[/b]
From your application I understand you have lived in the UK for 13 years so you do not meet the above.
You are allowed to appeal against this decision should you disagree with it.(...) [/i]

1000s
I was

If you are going to start a thread about writing standards at least learn form the corrections.

That's quality, HC. Was that a council/local gov?

spacemonkey - Member

Some of you are being a bit too literal here. Was just making a few comments about how some people (often in senior roles that demand communicating regularly to 1000's of staff) can struggle to string a paragraph together that makes sense.

No you weren't.

You stated that in your opinion public sector workers are far more illiterate than their private sector counterparts.

You've provided no evidence to substantiate your claim.

So do you have something against public sector workers in general or are you just a bit of an opinionated knob?
No offence 😀

If you are going to start a thread about writing standards at least learn form the corrections.

I'll repeat: Some of you are being a bit too literal here.

I'm not interested in playing the English teacher here. Just voicing an opinion.

Greenhouses...

Just [s]voicing an opinion.[/s] airing a prejudice.

The Southern Yeti - Member

That was spelt far too well... certainly not a private sector rant.

Spelled? Spelt is a wheat species, I think?

I'm confused now... do I work in the wrong sector... or not?

You don't capitalise after a colon. You could usefully have used a semicolon before 'just voicing'.

Edukator - Member

1000s
I was

If you are going to start a thread about writing standards at least learn [u]form[/u] the corrections.

You are correct Coffeking, Spelt is an ancient species of wheat.

But also the past participle of spell according to the OED.

Social Welfare Local Office in my town. Quality, isn't it?
@coffeeking, you're correct: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_spell_the_past_tense_of_spell

You'll find lots of typos in my posts, MrOvershoot, not so many common errors. I've noted that people who start threads of this nature generally don't realise how bad their own English is. I only pick people up on their English use when they criticise others. It would be far too much effort to proof read every one of my own posts before hitting submit.

Semi colon looks a bit formal eh wot?

I love semi-colons. I didn't discover them until my thirties; not stopping now.

I only pick people up on their English use when [s]they criticise others[/s] I feel the need to be pedantic.

TFTFY 😉

Resorting to acronyms is unfair. I'm sure you'd have made an error if you'd tried to type that in full.

Spelled? Spelt is a wheat species, I think?

Either is correct IIRC, but the latter (spelt) more common in the UK and the former in the US.

I think.

Resorting to acronyms is unfair. I'm sure you'd have made an error if you'd tried to type that in full.

Wot? Like ...

Their, fix'd dat 4 u.

On the contrary, I find private sector money-grabbers worse at spelling and grammar. Do I get a prize? (Sent from iphone 7)

Pot or kettle. It's up to you to decide which you would rather be.

Is it me or are public sector workers far more illiterate than their private sector counterparts?

Is that suppose to be some sort of joke ?

Or are you seriously suggesting that public sector employers only offer employment to the candidates with the lowest level level of illiteracy, whilst rejecting all those who can spell and use correct grammar ?

And if you don't seriously believe that, why even bother saying it then ? ......... it's not particularly amusing - it just makes you sound like a prat.

You are correct Coffeking, Spelt is an ancient species of wheat.

No you are both wrong. Spelt and wheat are not the same species, wheat is [i]Triticum aestivum[/i] and spelt is [i]Triticum spelta[/i] although there close similarity sometimes lead them to be thought of as sub species

where is mark datz?

FFS, some of you are taking this far too seriously and literally.

Just chill.

My blurt was based on dealings with senior 'representatives' within both sectors over the last 15yrs+. And IMO the amount of nonsensical crap written in emails and documents by those in the public-sector just seems to far outweigh that which I've seen from the private-sector. Part of my job demands that I 'convert' some of this stuff so it becomes accessible to a larger audience. Hence the rant. I.e. it's irritating to keep asking said people to explain/illustrate their material because they're too damn lazy to provide it in a fashion that 'non-familiars' will understand.

If you happen to work in the public-sector and as a result choose to take this personally, then that's your issue.

the lowest level level of illiteracy

Does this mean the most literate or most illiterate?

Yours confused.

I've just had a pleasing pedantry overload. This thread is great!

Just had a rant about our boss writing "the next four weeks will literally fly by".

Literally, FFS!

If you happen to work in the public-sector and as a result choose to take this personally, then that's your issue.

ability to figure out what the 'other party' wants to understand and provide a clear and eligible response

I can only surmise that you recieved the brunt of your 'education' from a private tutor in a public toilet..

Just had a rant about our boss writing "the next four weeks will literally fly by".

Literally, FFS!

😀

Could it be you're just not familiar with the register being used Monkey. Or the register being used makes you switch off. This sort of stuff used to go straight over my head into the wastepaper basket.

"Consultation with our erstwhile comrades and comradesses through democratic dialog at shop-floor level and representation at work's council level along with torture of black-leg fifth-columnist, non-unionised infiltrators gives us reason to believe our capitalist masters will inspite of our relentless and selfless sacrifices make a profit this year. Notwithstanding no-strike clauses obtained through a management campaign of propaganda and abuse of the collective bargaining mandate to undermine the will of our devoted members this affront to the values of our class shall not go uncontested. I call upon you brothers (and sisters) to stand idly by and let your voices be heard. [b]One out, all out, strike!!!![/b]"

I acknowledge the fact that my boss is possible an idiot.

Oh, and to address the OP's original point. Nope, lots of people are idiots but some are better educated than others. Senior managers should be able to write for themselves but invariably have PAs to do it.

The Southern Yeti - Member

"the lowest level level of illiteracy"

Does this mean the most literate or most illiterate?

Yours confused.

I intended to say "the lowest level level of literacy" but it came out with a typo. How "confusing" it must have been for you.

And just for the record, I don't claim to be good at spelling, nor at English grammar, nor particularly literate. IIRC I got a grade 3 CSE English, all very basic and average - but more than enough to get through life and be understood by all, except perhaps complete idiots. I work for the private sector btw.

My blurt was based on dealings with senior 'representatives'......

Your original post said no such thing. And if this is an example of your lack of attention to detail, then you must be crap at your job, which you claim requires you to [i]"'convert' some of this stuff so it becomes accessible to a larger audience"[/i]

Your inability to communicate precisely what you meant in your original post, doesn't sit very well with your rant concerning [i]"crap written in emails and documents by those in the public-sector"[/i]

TopTip : Brush up your own communication skills before slagging off those of others.

anagallis_arvensis - Member

[b]You are correct Coffeking, Spelt is an ancient species of wheat.[/b]

No you are both wrong. Spelt and wheat are not the same species, wheat is Triticum aestivum and spelt is Triticum spelta although there close similarity sometimes lead them to be thought of as sub species