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Kerrigan · Jun 10, 2005, 03:56 PM

Journalists are usually accused of having the most perverted taste in writing, considering that their profession requires them to be brief and showy. Frankly though, I think that bloggers are becoming even worse than journalists when it comes to lowering the standards our written language. I enjoy reading blogs like Joystiq, Engadget, Gizmodo, and the rest, but a lot of times the way that the bloggers write their posts makes me cringe. They try and show off their wit in nearly every sentence, and they use unorthodox ways of getting their point across. For example they "strike through" text that is not supposed to be there, but they leave it up for us to read anyways. Between blogs and txt msging I think that English is really getting bastardized.

Stradlater · Jun 10, 2005, 03:59 PM

English has and will always be a bastard.

PacHead · Jun 10, 2005, 04:08 PM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

For example they "strike through" text that is not supposed to be there, but they leave it up for us to read anyways.

Um, Hello ? That's on purpose, and sometimes pretty funny.

As a matter of fact, It would be cool if this forum allowed that feature. Some places allow that.

[strike]TEST[/strike]

Eug Wanker · Jun 10, 2005, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

Journalists are usually accused of having the most perverted taste in writing, considering that their profession requires them to be brief and showy. Frankly though, I think that bloggers are becoming even worse than journalists when it comes to lowering the standards our written language. I enjoy reading blogs like Joystiq, Engadget, Gizmodo, and the rest, but a lot of times the way that the bloggers write their posts makes me cringe. They try and show off their wit in nearly every sentence, and they use unorthodox ways of getting their point across. For example they "strike through" text that is not supposed to be there, but they leave it up for us to read anyways. Between blogs and txt msging I think that English is really getting bastardized.

Were you trying to show off your wit, or has your English been b4st4rd1z3d too?

Big Mac · Jun 10, 2005, 04:32 PM

At least people are writing more. Prior to the Internet, was your average Schmoe writing very much - aside from academic settings? I know many of us were watching far more TV than we watch now. Most any exposure to the written word should theoretically increase writing proficiency. And I personally do not see any evidence suggesting the Internet is corrupting English. Most all of the blogs I have perused recently are written intellgiently, but, then again, I am no master of the blog.

ASIMO · Jun 10, 2005, 05:11 PM

Automotive journalists are some of the best writers.

My tangent of the day.

Kerrigan · Jun 10, 2005, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

Were you trying to show off your wit, or has your English been b4st4rd1z3d too?

Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.

Stradlater · Jun 11, 2005, 02:12 AM

Originally Posted by Kerrigan

Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.

He made a valid point, despite your asinine assonance.

parallax · Jun 11, 2005, 05:18 AM

Heaven forbid we write in an unorthodox fashion and continue to /evolve/ our language!

English, however convoluted it is, is incredibly rich and textured. It didn't become that way by just sitting around and refusing change. English has millennia of evolution behind it -- what makes you think that shifts in English right now are going to destroy the language?

I agree that most blogs are poorly written, but this says nothing. Centuries ago had we handed out quills and parchment to every person and gave them time to write (pretending for a second that more than a small fraction could actually read and write), do you think the quality would have been any better? Fact is, you try to make the general public achieve some sort of standard and you are bound to be sorely disappointed. We don't need blogs to tell us that. Personally, I think style is such a nebulous concept that it's pointless to argue about whether current trends are "good" or "bad". I'd rather complain about the country doing poorly in math and science.

Big Mac - Although it is true that people are writing more, I don't know if there's any evidence that their writing is improved by it. It doesn't look like there's any good reason for bloggers to try to improve their writing style. There's no feedback cycle and there's no commitment involved in writing a blog. Going out, buying a journal, and putting your thoughts down in pen is, however marginally, a bigger investment. The reason why blogs are so popular is that they're so easy. You don't learn anything from something that's easy.

It's about time English had a spelling reformation like German did. (There are a few netspeak abbreviations that bug me, though. "Thx" for thanks always gets me. If you're really thankful, the least you could do is spell out a couple more letters. Bah....)

BasketofPuppies · Jun 12, 2005, 02:42 AM

Different writing styles for different purposes.

The rules we learned in English class cannot and should not apply to journalists.

Journalism-style writing is designed to get information to readers as quickly as possible, and in order of importance (most to least) so those readers can get an understanding of the stories no matter how little or much of them they read.

Blogs... who cares? They're about as credible as talk radio.