[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22512744

Can you punctuate better than the average child?



I got 9/10.

[GypsyGoth]

7/10

[Omah]

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

7/10

Was "gerund" a problem .....

[lostalex]

I got the first 3 wrong so I gave up. This is for British English anyway so it's probably racist against Americans.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by lostalex

I got the first 3 wrong so I gave up. This is for British English anyway so it's probably racist against Americans.

British English = Proper English .....

[Ramsay]

6/10
better than the thought lawl

[Niall]

6/10. But the point is that such tests on grammar are ridiculous anyway. As I was doing that quiz, those sentences which were wrong were perfectly understandable anyway. Linguistic change and the context of new generations in relation to grammar is that which causes these discrepancies. No-one is wrong, only different.

[Shaun]

The sibling one was ****ing ridiculous, and would never ever be said by anyone.

I got 8 correct, missing that and the last one.

[Marcus.]

2/10

0-3: Colon confusenik

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Niall

6/10. But the point is that such tests on grammar are ridiculous anyway. As I was doing that quiz, those sentences which were wrong were perfectly understandable anyway. Linguistic change and the context of new generations in relation to grammar is that which causes these discrepancies. No-one is wrong, only different.

So why is texting banned on this forum .....

Surely, it's only linguistic change in the context of a new generation being different, causing discrepancies .....

[Niamh.]

I got 8/10 although I will admit a couple of those were lucky guesses

[Jords]

3/10 oops

[Niall]

Originally Posted by Omah

So why is texting banned on this forum .....

Surely, it's only linguistic change in the context of a new generation being different, causing discrepancies .....

Using grammar in a non-standard way is different to the use of text speak (a dialect that developed out of convenience due to technological constraints). Just because someone uses a semi-colon in the wrong place, or splits an infinitive doesn't mean that the standard of grammar is getting worse.

It suggests to me that maybe the rules are becoming more archaic and are simply on the way out. I think we should be worrying more about the testing obsession that's become a part of our schooling system, rather than if a child knows whether to use 'may' or 'might' in a sentence. People will learn grammar eventually, we shouldn't worry about it so much.

[Vanessa]

I can't find the quiz.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

I can't find the quiz.

Spoiler:

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Spoiler:

Thanks, Niamh.

[Vanessa]

6 out of 10. Not bad.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Vanessa

6 out of 10. Not bad.

It's really good considering English isn't even your first language

[Vanessa]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

It's really good considering English isn't even your first language

That is why i struggled with this test. I would have got 10 out 10 if it was italian grammar.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by Niall

Using grammar in a non-standard way is different to the use of text speak (a dialect that developed out of convenience due to technological constraints). Just because someone uses a semi-colon in the wrong place, or splits an infinitive doesn't mean that the standard of grammar is getting worse.

It suggests to me that maybe the rules are becoming more archaic and are simply on the way out. I think we should be worrying more about the testing obsession that's become a part of our schooling system, rather than if a child knows whether to use 'may' or 'might' in a sentence. People will learn grammar eventually, we shouldn't worry about it so much.

The problem with your statement is that people DON'T "learn grammar eventually" and "the standard of grammar IS getting worse" - ask any employer .....

Once the rules are on the way out then what used to be a common language becomes, as it used to be, a myriad of dialects .....

[Kizzy]

5 out of 10, You would have to have an English language degree to know half of those haha!

[Omah]

A young man, waiting for his date is ushered into the sitting room to keep company with father who after eleven pints is semi-comatose. Desperate to impress, t'lad (cos that's how they speak in Yorkshire) tries to engage conversation by admiring the gleaming copper coal scuttle.

"That's a grand scuttle, Mr. Rodgers, for coal"

"Tha what son?"

"Ah said, for coal"

"Oh, ah thought tha said summat".

[Livia]

8/10. I didn't get 3 and 8.

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Omah

A young man, waiting for his date is ushered into the sitting room to keep company with father who after eleven pints is semi-comatose. Desperate to impress, t'lad (cos that's how they speak in Yorkshire) tries to engage conversation by admiring the gleaming copper coal scuttle.

"That's a grand scuttle, Mr. Rodgers, for coal"

"Tha what son?"

"Ah said, for coal"

"Oh, ah thought tha said summat".

[Niall]

Originally Posted by Omah

The problem with your statement is that people DON'T "learn grammar eventually" and "the standard of grammar IS getting worse" - ask any employer .....

Once the rules are on the way out then what used to be a common language becomes, as it used to be, a myriad of dialects .....

Yes because once people no longer have the collective understanding of the semi-colon, English will of course unravel and die out.

This happens all the time, people worry about the language crumbling and tearing apart at the seems when it well.. isn't it. It's just change, not decay. Change does not mean standards are getting worse, they're just shifting.

300 years ago, there were two different types of 's' that had to be written depending on the word. Do you suppose that the loss of that grammatical rule is a sign of grammar standards worsening too?