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From: junkmail@moreira.mv.com (Alberto C Moreira)
Subject: Re: Quality of education  Was: ...
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Date: Wed, 2 Apr 1997 00:32:02 GMT
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In article <01bc3edf$f60b5c20$b468289b@KGILBERT.LO.ZD.COM>, "Kevin Gilbert" <Kevin-Gilbert@ZD.COM> wrote:
>
>> Which one would help you learn to write "could have gone" instead of
>> "could have went"?
>> 
>If the point was communicated in an understandable manner (I believe you
>understood my point), then what difference does this make?
>
>When a billion people on the internet are typing their every thought at
>100wpm+, the "old rules" no longer count. What matters is conveying the
>thought. It can be done through a statement. Slam. Bang. Pop. Crash. He
>went postal. :-D

The difference between a typo and a blatant blunder made out of 
ignorance and lack of culture does not depend on how fast one types. 

>      Spelling isn't as important as conveying the message. Grammar isn't
>as important as conveying the message. Correct use of the language isn't as
>important. What matters is the purpose of the communication - the message.

If you don't spell right, the message may be garbled. If you don't use 
right grammar, the message may be garbled. If you don't use the language 
correctly, the message may be garbled.

>        There are English teachers who are reading this and cringing. 
>        What will happen when students use voice recognition? If you've heard
> Dr.
>Daggat talk, perhaps he mentioned his thoughts on this subject. Voice
>recognition is growing in Europe for the creation of documents. It will
>only be a matter of time before it catches on in the US. Try this sometime.

Voice recognition will place restrictions above and beyond what grammar 
and spelling let us do today. After all, computers are a lot less 
flexible than people. If you can't build a phrase that a human 
understands, don't expect your computers to.

>Record everything you say for an hour and have someone type it up. The way
>we speak is almost uncomprehendable to the way we read.

Only if we don't have culture. Actually, the size of that gap will be a 
sure measure of one's own cultural gap.

>        The rules are changing, my friends. And life "ain't got" easier!

The rules aren't changing at all. If anything else, there's more rules 
now than there used to be.



Alberto.







