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Maybe it's that English is a difficult language, with lots of rules that aren't always consistent..."i" before "e" except..."
Pronunciation is just as inconsistent: Why is it "mouse" and "house" in the singular, but "mice" and "houses" in the plural? Why not "hise"? We own two hise, one is in the mountains. It bugs me when people say "fishes" instead of "fish" for plural.
I'm plannning on a potato salad, with tomatoes on the side. Or, should I change that to "potatoe" ?
English is my second language, and I agree with your assessment that immigrant kids seem to have a better grasp of English than native born kids. Maybe they concentrate more on the rules? Maybe their native language skills help them learn? Sometimes immigrant kids have knowledge of more than one language, which also helps.
But the problem with that theory is that most of us of a certain age DID learn to read and write English/American English fairly well. It's gone downhill in the past few decades.
Personally, I think it's linked to the fact that so relatively few people read anymore. If they do read, it's short bites of this and that on the Internet, not entire books. People who read are simply more intelligent overall, and when you see the words and sentences regularly, you tend to be able to write them better.
Personally, I think it's linked to the fact that so relatively few people read anymore. If they do read, it's short bites of this and that on the Internet, not entire books. People who read are simply more intelligent overall, and when you see the words and sentences regularly, you tend to be able to write them better.
When my 10th & 11th grade students would inquire about how to improve their vocabulary for the SAT/ACT, my recommendation was for them to read as many of Charles Dickens' works as possible during the summer.
While most of them did read--to at least some extent--few of them regularly read anything that was capable of vocabulary-building. When they did follow my advice regarding Dickens, it usually led to better verbal scores, as well as a new-found love for good literature.
Personally, I think it's linked to the fact that so relatively few people read anymore. If they do read, it's short bites of this and that on the Internet, not entire books. People who read are simply more intelligent overall, and when you see the words and sentences regularly, you tend to be able to write them better.
I saw a news feature where a freshman college student stated that he had never read a book cover to cover. Guess that's the current situation.
I saw a news feature where a freshman college student stated that he had never read a book cover to cover. Guess that's the current situation.
Unfortunately, that has become more and more commonplace.
In addition to my more diligent students who sought advice on how to improve their verbal test scores, I frequently volunteered my "Dickens" advice to other students who REALLY needed a boost in their test scores. On more than one occasion, I received the following response:
But...I don't like reading books!
(As if not liking to read excuses one from doing so.)
And, to that sad statement, my reply was:
And colleges don't like admitting students who don't like to read books!
But, since some schools are essentially Open Admissions institutions at this point, clearly those non-readers will find an open door somewhere--usually at one of those For Profit diploma mills that advertise intensively on TV and radio.
From the CO forum on C-D "yes I've drove threw snow out west".
Somebody should have asked him how far he threw it.
If pressed for details regarding what it was like to drive in that western snow, that person would likely have told us that, "The whether is verry bad its too feet deep and slippery and that lead me to go lightly on the excelerator and use the breaks alot. If I didnt do that I would prollyloose traction".
While I am not skilled at modern illiteracy, I think that I did a decent job of faking it in the preceding sentence.
Please feel free to correct me if necessary.
Last edited by Retriever; 12-01-2012 at 05:24 PM..
I am listening to a fire briefing on the news right now. For the 3rd time the guy said EXCEDRA instead of etcetera. Has anyone else heard people say it that way? That gets to me like EXpresso does.
Somebody should have asked him how far he threw it.
If pressed for details regarding what it was like to drive in that western snow, that person would likely have told us that, "The whether is verry bad its too feet deep and slippery and that lead me to go lightly on the excelerator and use the breaks alot. If I didnt do that I would prollyloose traction".
While I am not skilled at modern illiteracy, I think that I did a decent job of faking it in the preceding sentence.
Please feel free to correct me if necessary.
Haha, I love it!
May I edit? I think I can make it better!
"The whether iz verry bad its too foots deep and sliparry and dat lead me 2 go litelee on da excelerator and use da breaks alot. If I didnt dew dat I wood prolly loose trackshun.
On another forum, a member is looking for a job and entitled his thread, "Job Recruiter's."
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We own two hise, one is in the mountains. 
