y dus no1 like fonetic spellins n txt language

[flower girl]

hi, i was talking to a friend the other day and he mentioned that every time he uses phonetic spellings instead of grammatically correct ones on the mouth piece he gets complaints and gets told off for it. i was wondering why this was and if there was a rule against using txt language or if it was just for everyones benefit. i personally find that its easier to both read and write txt language.

[Di]

Indeed there is a rule regarding text speak on tMP.

Bad Language: Please do not use bad language or make needless, incessant usage of:
(a) Emoticons
(b) the "quote" function
(c) Line breaks or ALL-CAPS
(d) Swearing or derogatory terms
(e) "txt" Speak - which is very hard to read and quite frustrating

[flower girl]

ah right. that explains it then. i never knew there were any rules on the mouthpiece, except the bad language one.
Thanks

[Darth_Tuba]

I don't think there's any excuse for it on here. It's pure laziness. I personally use abbreviations in texts all the time for the simple reason that predictive text can often lead to confusion anyway (people asking for a lift to came rather than band for example) and I can generally get more into a text message and save money. There is no excuse on here though, it isn't easier to read, or that much quicker to type. Let's face it, it looks childish!

[PeterBale]

Here's the extract from the rules regarding the acceptable use of language:

4. Bad Language: Please do not use bad language or make needless, incessant usage of:
(a) Emoticons
(b) the "quote" function
(c) Line breaks or ALL-CAPS
(d) Swearing or derogatory terms
(e) "txt" Speak - which is very hard to read and quite frustrating

As the rules state, for many people the use of "txt spk" is very off-putting. There are many who simply will not want to spend time deciphering what is to them like a foreign language. That being so, they will not read the post in question at all, so the point the writer is trying to make will be lost.

The occasional abbreviation or phrase is alright, but too much will not be permitted, with posts liable to be edited or deleted.

[Di]

ah right. that explains it then. i never knew there were any rules on the mouthpiece, except the bad language one.
Thanks

You can see them by clicking here (http://www.themouthpiece.com/vb/showthread.php?t=56) or by following the link "tMP rules" on the bar at the top of the page. ;)

[BbBill]

Indeed there is a rule regarding text speak on tMP.



Bad Language: Please do not use bad language or make needless, incessant usage of:




(a) Emoticons
(b) the "quote" function
(c) Line breaks or ALL-CAPS
(d) Swearing or derogatory terms
(e) "txt" Speak - which is very hard to read and quite frustrating



Maybe you can remind Ian Perks of these rules, its pretty annoying reading his replys when he insists on high-lighting POINTLESS WORDS IN CAPITALS when they dont need to be and using lots of smilelys... theres just no need.

[trumpetmike]

Txt Spk is one of the annoyances of online forums.
It isn't clever, it is confusing and I am delighted that tMP (or The Mouthpiece - must not be accused of shortening the name ;) ) has a policy to discourage the use of it.

[LeDragon]

Maybe you can remind Ian Perks of these rules, its pretty annoying reading his replys when he insists on high-lighting POINTLESS WORDS IN CAPITALS when they dont need to be and using lots of smilelys... theres just no need.

[/indent]

I find his random use of capitals quite amusing! It wouldn't be the same if he stopped doing it now!

[imthemaddude]

I have trouble with kids writing like it at school - whats the point of the hard working English teachers if they are going to write 'u' in an exam. The more you do it the more your likely to do it without realising.

[LeDragon]

I have trouble with kids writing like it at school - whats the point of the hard working English teachers if they are going to write 'u' in an exam. The more you do it the more your likely to do it without realising.

you're ;)

[mikelyons]

And that's another reason - it leads to a lack of ability, never mind care, in the correct use of spelling. It is bad enough that Americanisms are sneaking into the language, without deliberately going out of your way to mis-spell common words.

As Darth says, it's just laziness when used on a forum like this. There is a place for it in the specialised environment of mobile phone use, but not here.

[lottie4744]

It always tends to be us youngers that use the text speak, but really it is a pain in the ****! I think I went through a phase of typing it and realised i'd typed an english essay. I don't think my english teacher was to impressed with "Othello wnted 2 b" so I went back to typing normally, which proved quicker and easier. And it really is annoying trying to decifer what people are attempting to say!

[sevenhelz]

"decipher" I believe.

Even if the older generation (hi, mike :tongue: ) didn't find it offensive (which is another issue), their poor tired minds are obviously befuddled by text-speak; so it's only courteous to respond in kind with standard english. :D Plus, being able to communicate in a formal fashion is a useful skill which can earn you more respect than a teenage fad which may or may not last - but haven't we discussed this in the thread, A Complaint? Or was it Spilling? Anyone fancy a revival?


alternatively:
evn if da old peeps dint mind wot we sed, they dun unnerstnd it so b nice, n its gd cuz thn they likez u, therz mor bout dis sumwer els k cyz
xx

[MoominDave]

mis-spell

:rolleyes: or :biggrin: dependent on whether you meant to put in that hyphen or not.

"Decipher" is definitely correct in English English, but would an American write "decifer"? A quick look in American dictionaries online suggests not, but, given that Google returns 15600 results for it with an 'f' rather than a 'ph', it's surely only a matter of time.

[trumpetmike]

Even if the older generation (hi, mike :tongue: )

If this was directed at me, I wonder how old you think I am.
PM me the answer if you want - save your possible embarrasment.

I never said it was offensive - a sign of ill-manners, possibly. A sign that you are incapable of conducting a civilised conversation, quite possibly. A pathetic attempt to try and seem hip and trendy? If the last of these, it fails in a big way.

[HBB]

I think she mean Mike Lyons, Mike!

[sevenhelz]

Yeah, I did. I have no idea how old trumpetmike is, but having spoken to mikelyons before I can safely say he is not of my generation.
Sorry for the misunderstanding :)
xx

[Okiedokie of Oz]

As a teacher, I have read about txt being universally accepted a language. So you'd think us old fogies would just shut up and let you young'uns do it. But then again, more people speak Klingon than English these days.....how would you all feel if the sci-fi fans all started speaking Klingon?

It's a case of speaking a language that is going to be accepted by the most people. The Catholic church abandoned Latin mass for similar reasons. Because tMP covers an amazing collection of people and places, the one language we all speak with near-equal fluency is English.

[demelza]

Please read this quickly. I recieved this email from a Friend and was astounded

i cdnoult blvelee taht I cluod aulacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mittaer inwaht oredr the ltters in a wrod are, the olny iprmatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raedit wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas thghout slpeling was ipmorant!!!

[James Yelland]

Even if the older generation didn't find it offensive their poor tired minds are obviously befuddled by text-speak; so it's only courteous to respond in kind with standard english.


The majority of employers tend to fall into the category of 'the older generation' too. They usually adopt the old-fashioned idea that the people who they employ are a reflection upon them and their company. So using standard English has practical benefits as well - assuming that you want to be employed.

[mikelyons]

Yeah, I did. I have no idea how old trumpetmike is, but having spoken to mikelyons before I can safely say he is not of my generation.
Sorry for the misunderstanding :)
xx

You can go off some people, you know :p

However, first of all:

so called fonetic is misleading in that it is not really phonetic at all

secondly

Part of the problem with it is that it doesn't conform to the 'first and last letter' algorithm, so it is much less easy to read than ordinary misspelling.

Thirdly, although it is more compact than standard English, it really just encourages laziness, which I have always tried to discourage in the young. If they start off lazy, then it's much harder to get them out of the bad habits later, wouldn't you say ;)

[sevenhelz]

the olny iprmatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raedit wouthit a porbelm

unless you are dyslexic.
xx

[JessopSmythe]

.... every time he uses phonetic spellings ..... rule against using txt language ....

Surely these are two seperate questions!

There is no possible way that you could describe "txt spk" as phonetic.


Representing the sounds of speech with a set of distinct symbols, each designating a single sound: phonetic spelling.

If you remove half of the letters, there is no possible way that it's going to look like it should sound.

As for the mixed up letters thing, It still needs all of the correct letters to work properly. Therefore you need to know how to spell the words in the first place before you mix them up.

Finally, "txt-spk" is for use on mobile phones where both bandwith and display space are severely restricted. Using it on the web is just plain unnessecary.

Perhaps (we can hope) that as mobile phones become more advanced, the need for all the abreviated nonsense will die out.