Monday, March 22, 2010

Reposting a Literal Rant

Okay gang, I know those of you who have followed my blog for a while will recognize this as a previous rant - BUT - spelling errors are rampant on Facebook. I don't ask my FB friends to be particularly articulate for my humble sake - but I am beginning to wonder about our ability to properly communicate the written word. I don't want to believe that Americans are dumb. Reading and writing correctly are important indicators of our society's intelligence! Okay - enough of me and my soapbox...the word in question this time is "definitely." Now, this is a more complicated word than others I've seen butchered...so I'm going to repost a rant I made about a word that should be SO SIMPLE to spell, but eludes so many.

I've really tried to ignore the inability of some people to spell words correctly. I've tried to be understanding that not everyone was privileged to have the secondary education that I enjoyed. But the blatant misuse of ONE WORD IN PARTICULAR is very troubling to me...and I'm afraid that before long, no one will remember how to use this word correctly. It's the word LOSE.

Does anyone remember that word? Because I haven't seen it in a LONG TIME. Seems like people are "loosing" things a lot...and it's driving me INSANE.

So, quick lesson for you all: you LOSE something, which means you have misplaced it or got drunk the night before and flailed it asunder. You didn't LOOSE it...that word means to make something "less tight." Unless, in some strange event, you lose your belt after loosening it, then you are allowed to use those words in the same sentence. Just in that instance.

You are "losing" the battle. Oh, and we seem to have the spelling of the word "lost" down okay - can we maybe draw on that knowledge, to remember the base word has ONE, and ONLY ONE "o?"

You don't LOOSE an election - you LOSE it. I know it's tough, this English language, with all the bizarro rules. You are used to pronouncing the singular vowel in a word structured like "lose" with a STRONG vowel sound, right? It's got that "e" at the end, with that funky consonant right before it. So, it doesn't seem right - "lose" is one of those words that defies the rules.

But that's why I like "lose." It's unique. It doesn't follow the crowd. So, please, for the love of the poor word, use "lose," okay? Please?

13 comments:

Matthew Mientka said...

My favorite joke is to describe someone as a looser. :)

Smart people like to believe that everyone else is going downhill so this might be good news for some folks. Remember that you have skills and that you are elite.

-- Matthew Mientka

Anonymous said...

And speaking of making things less tight....

--M@

Kila said...

Thank you. That was worth a repost :)

Can a loose person lose their loser status?

Junebug said...

I'm with you on all the spelling errors that run rampant on FaceBook, but what can you do? I want so much to correct folks but it probably wouldn't help at all. I do cringe though. I have made a few funny comments a time or two but the people never respond. So?

dawn said...

Spelling errors or incorrect usages annoy me too. I do have a problem with the word 'defence'. I write 'defense' and I get an underline so I change it to 'defence' and it is apparently correct, then someone on FB gets all high and mighty and gives me the gears for the way I have spelt it. So checking the dictionary I have on the computer, it is spelt with the 's' but spell check doesn't like that. Perhaps spell check isn't all it is cracked up to be either and not a good defense when people say, "I don't need to learn to spell; that's what spell check is for".

Lisa said...

Well, spell check can't distinguish between no and know, see and sea, and other homonyms which trip up FB and other forum contributors. Yes, misused homonyms do bug me :/

Memphis said...

I used to be an excellent speller, but for some reason, the older I get the worse my spelling has become. Punctuation, too. I can't remember where the hell to put the comas anymore so I just overuse them like mad.

Swampy said...

No kidding !
Those ARE tough words to keep straight and I, too, want to LOOSE my temper over it.

Check back over to my Reese/Ree post to see who mentioned your name on the comment page. It will give you a giggle.

Pamela said...

ha ha.

I am finding spelling is more difficult as I age, too. I'm wondering if what "they" say about dying brain cells is really the truth.

Hey. Another use use of the word Loose Women. I heard all that when I was a kid.

So I didn't grow up to be a Loose Woman. BUT, apparently I'm Losing Brain Cells.

Desert Songbird said...

The one I see butchered repeatedly is YOUR and YOU'RE. No one seems to use YOU'RE when they mean "you are." They misuse YOUR instead. Ugh! I wish I could slap these people. Hard and repeatedly. With more than a wet noodle.

Are they just too lazy to type the apostrophe?

C... said...

Desert Songbird those last three phrases are fragments not sentences. ;) LOL

karisma said...

Well I see I am a little late to this party but one that annoys me down here is my kids saying "trot" instead of trod. They pick up a lot from American TV shows and tret or trot seems to be the right way to say tread or trod. Don't get me started on spelling I am getting so used to the way you people spell I am starting to doubt my own spelling! LOL you do have a habit of dropping "u" a lot.

dogcote said...

My favorite joke is to describe someone as a looser. :)





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