Sunday, February 13, 2011

Demise of the English Language


A farmer found an advertisement he brought up on Machinery Talk. I thought his post hinted at the demise of the English language.

"This was pointed out on the British Farming Forum. New Holland has published the T7 series brochure on their Euro website. However someone forgot to review the document. They have a couple of user testimonials. However on page 10, someone left the note "Fake testimonal needed". Was I the only person naive enough to think they would ask real users what they think about the product?? Haha."

That is quite an editing blooper, especially among farmers. We can be relentless yet forgiving and have been more attached to the work end of food production than the print end of it.

Two of the best things I got from my public education was my instruction in English and typing. My science instruction was good but didn't match with my mathematics instruction. I got caught or left somewhere in the middle. They never found all the good in me, I had to find it on my own. Wow, that sentence just struck me, myself as I have never thought of it that way.

I have tried to make an easily understandable lesson plan as young teacher to a very readable blog as an older farmer. I read tons of material and have to put it in a understandable, readable form I can understand and share with others. I am a sharing person because I learned quickly that is how you move along in society. There is great need to make the complex simple throughout life.

Whoever wrote and printed up the New Holland brochure missed more than I did. A farmer found the brochure and put it up on the Web for all to read. I hope and work to do better than that and please call me out when I don't. That is why all blogs I trust have a comment section and why I use it. The writer doesn't know what you are thinking unless they get feedback.

Spelling mistakes is one thing, typograhphical errors are another but printing a brochure with modern day text style social communication writing is pretty bad. Is it unforgivable?

Today, it is. Or is it?

My English teachers should cringe when I make a mistake I should have found.

This is where the social network really falls short in communication. The network provides ultra fast ideas and sharing, but are they communicated in a way all can understand?

Ed

1 comment:

  1. I have to admit the english language is "evolving", and not always in ways I like. For all the spell check we have now I don't ever recall seeing so many spelling and grammer errors in newspapers and articles. Some of the shortcuts I see nowadays are just annoying.

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