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Incorrect use of the language
Published: November 13, 2006
A recent debate on a forum turned into a lambasting [mine] when I asked another member why he failed to spell a word correctly. The thread was promptly moved by the moderators to an open discussion section and so it began.
I can't be alone I'm sure but I need reassurance I'm not the only one this gets to.
"Loose" and "lose" are two completely separate words
I noticed this trend a while back, mostly on forums, which is forgivable as people use slang, shorthand and other witty phrases and terms that mean something else. This trend is now making its way into publications and more seriously commercial websites' copy.
My public beating was in part my fault because I didn't convey my intentions or expressions effectively in the post. This created a hostile attitude to most posters who then took it as a mark of a lack of their intelligence.
Some people explained to me it was laziness, some that said, "it's a forum, so what?", others just insulted me. I'm very insensitive to insults and criticism but always look at the constructive angle and I struggled to find any in their responses, only support for what appears to me to be a poor understanding of the language.
Following on from a previous article I wrote about writing good web content, correct use of the language is very important. Incorrect spelling lowers the value of the document in the eyes of not only the search engines but most importantly of all, the readers.
Languages are notoriously difficult to master and certainly mixing up your "theirs" and "there's" is understandable but every effort needs to be made to ensure the copy of a website is grammatically correct and spelled correctly. To me, "loose" and "lose" are as different as "monkey" and "spanner".
Since my question wasn't answered appropriately in the forum [nothing I can repeat here anyway], can anyone else tell me why "loose" and "lose" are so often misused?
It's not even listed in the commonly misused words and phrases compendium!
I'm fully aware that I'm opening myself up for analysis so feel free to pick up the errors (and there are) and post them, help make this a better blog.
Useful?
Assistance?
Comments
Dan says:
It's never a great idea to take people to task publicly for their writing, especially when that writing is on forums or blogs where errors are understandable if not forgiveable. Very few of us are above scrutiny, and I didn't have to look hard on this site, for example. Your top article, Ajax and SEO, starts:
AJAX, for those that haven't heard the term, is a new age way of bringing software like usability to the web. It uses existing technologies but usefully pulls them together to create powerful online applications. The most famous examples of AJAX, or Web2.0 is Googles Suggest feature and Googles Maps tool.In a nutshell, its a means of using asynchronous JavaScript and XML to query a remote data source and render the content without refreshing or reloading the page.
That should be "software-like usability", and "Google's Suggest feature", "it's a means", and probably "those who haven't heard".
Nothing destroys authority on a subject quicker than poor use of the language.
Too true.
Graeme says:
It's a pet hate of mine and whilst i agree that when posting on forums or in casual email spelling, grammar and syntax don't matter so much, webistes are a public and professional representation of you and your business. if you know that your spelling, grammar or syntax are not the best, get them checked first. the 'loose', 'lose' example just looks unprofessinal.
A great reference site has just been posted over at Digg with regards to this article.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html