I am a punctuation pedant - and proud

By Sarah Gee on Jan 19, 09 03:38 PM in

One of the joys of travelling around the country is seeing what makes the headlines in different parts of the UK. Last week I read an article in a Cardiff newspaper about an advert for a local college on the side of the Pontypridd to Cardiff Stagecoach Bus which read "can't find what your looking for". The paper then helpfully pointed out that there was an apostrophe and the letter 'e' missing on the word 'you're'. Thanks for that.

I should confess that I am a fully paid-up member of the Lynne Truss fan club and do get extremely irritated by poor punctuation, grammar and syntax, and careless typos. Recent signs on my local high street offering "Cut price CD's" and better still "Potatoe's" (not in the same shop you understand) had me mentally reaching for the Tippex. My English teacher always told us that the rule about apostrophes was "If in doubt, leave it out". Not foolproof, but certainly less irritating in the days where there was no spellcheck on a computer to point out your foibles (in fact, there were no computers in our school).

I know that I sound like a grumpy old woman when I say this but I do think it's linked to the increasing use and acceptance of text 'language'; I have met a number of young people who genuinely do not know the difference between 'no' and 'know', which I suspect may land them in trouble in the future.

This morning there was a discussion on Radio 4 around a suggestion that all exams in should be in multiple choice format as asking students to write essays was too stressful for examiners. Too few students are unable to create an argument and answer the question in prose, which means that examiners are finding it increasingly difficult to seek out the points being made by the pupils and thereby award the marks accordingly. Surely there are still professions which demand good writing skills? Journalists, advertising copywriters, fundraisers and lawyers all have to be able to create a cohesive and convincing argument in writing. Can that really b dun in txt msgs?

A relatively recent addition to my repertoire of amusing signs was in a pretty posh hotel in York. Not only were they kind enough to direct me to the 'WC's' but they also pointed out that, in case of fire, there was a 'Disabled Refuse' by the lifts. I hope that they meant refuge.

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3 Comments

dp said:

Are you sure that's the correct spelling for the branded correction fluid?

I too heard the man on R4 and the steam valve in my ears popped when he started talking about how much more efficient multiple choice exams are, and that they're necessary because so many students are rubbish at writing essays. I do wish Mr. H had come back with something like 'if they are so rubbish, perhaps it's the standard of teaching/marking that needs improving!'

I say that partly because I did multiple choice SATs and aptitude tests at school, but didn't learn to write a structured essay til PG study required it. Had structured argument and reasoning been part of the curriculum as a young student, it's likely I'd have performed significantly better in several areas and got on a bit more efficiently.

As for people knot noing what diffo twixt homonyms, I don't worry, because it's better than some of the other alternatives.

PS: does Disabled Refuse refer to a noun, verb, or collective action?

January 19, 2009 5:32 PM

Sarah Gee said:

I stand corrected; it should have read Tipp-Ex. I'm blaming my stationery catalogue which lists it as Tippex but Wikipedia has come to my rescue with an extremely detailed article, which I feel compelled to share.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipp-Ex

January 20, 2009 12:09 PM

Richard said:

For something entertaining along similar lines, check out this recent posting from the home of Samuel Johnson. Lovely...
http://mrswoffington.blogspot.com/2009/01/dictionary-disaster.html

January 28, 2009 10:31 AM