Doesn't anyone speak English anymore?

I can understand omitting punctuation and capitalization given the right circumstances. For example, in a text message that's only one sentence long, why would anyone waste the extra effort on a capital and a period? The meaning can be inferred almost without error.

I can also understand misspelling words, or possibly even making up words, to make a point. Like spelling the word "dog" as "dawg." It's a cultural reference. There can be implicit meaning in misspellings like that and therefore they become necessary to communicate those meanings. Made up words like "sheeple," while obnoxious, are just ways Americans shorten complex thoughts and ideas into single words. That's totally cool. It doesn't bother me at all.

But I'll be damned if I don't get on Facebook at least twice a day and see someone use "they're", "there", or "their" incorrectly or spell "affection" with an "e" instead of an "a" or so horribly abuse tense you have no idea if they're talking about today, tomorrow or fifteen years ago. I mean, come on! Everyone on my friends list has gone through grade school and many of them are in college, writing papers, preparing to be the voices of the next generation and they can't figure out if they should say "I drank some water" or "I drunk some water." How many of us mocked George Bush Jr. because he couldn't speak standard American English? How could anyone expect him to when they can't do it themselves!? The hypocrisy in infuriating.

I openly admit that I have a hard time spelling words. Looking through my blog posts, though, you'll probably notice that spelling errors are few and far between. It's because I use spellcheck. It's hard not to use it. Even when I'm just making a post on a friend's wall, a little red line pops up under any misspelled word. It constantly reminds me that you don't spell "business" without an "i." How is it then that so many people misspell English words online every single day?


The simple answer is that they don't care. That, however, is an explanation that I simply do not understand. How can someone not care that they just proved to everyone connected to them online that they are not intelligent enough to use the language they were raised speaking when they post, publicly, an obvious abuse of grammar or spelling? Wouldn't any red-blooded American have a problem with showing the ignorance of a five-year-old? Apparently not.

Maybe my opinion is of little consequence. Maybe I'm a hard ass when it comes to grammar and spelling. However, being able to adequately and accurately communicate your thoughts and ideas has got to be one of the most crucial signs of intelligence. Without that, what are you?







Oh. That's right. A doofus.