Rant

It is a while since I have had an on-line rant, I have been quite placid now for a some time, but I feel the need, the pressure is building up and the needs to be released.   I try not to get irritated, but every so often something comes up that I feel I just cannot let go past.

SO what is my target for opprobrium today, politicians? journalists? Estate Agents? Girls in leggings? members of the Church of England who can't accept women as Bishops? no, it is none of these, although I am sure that a modern enlightened Mikado could a punishment to fit their crimes, no it is my fellow bloggers.   

I like to read what you are writing, what you are thinking, I love the Internet, and the way it enables us to self publish our thoughts to find the few (or for some the many) who are interested in what we write.   Given that the object of art is to communicate we bloggers are artists of the highest standing, we make our thoughts available to all of mankind, we lay ourselves open to criticism and comment, many of us actually welcome comment on what we craft.   Blogs can be subject specific, they can be diaries, they can be campaigns that change the world, they can be important or trivial, but please, please can they at least make an attempt to be grammatical.   I  can't spell, I know this and for the first part of my career I avoided jobs that would require me to write so that I would not have to admit to my dyslexia ( why is that such a difficult word to spell?). We now have spell checks on our computers, whether it be Google, Microsoft, apple or blogger the spell check is there.   However it will no tell you when you have spelt a word wrongly but have by accident hit another word. For example if you meant Latin but typed Lantern the spell check will not tell you.   I can see how this can happen, understand and forgive.  

But there is NO EXCUSE for typing your when you mean you're they are totally different words with totally different meanings.   Here is a tip for my fellow bloggers for the next week, every time you mean you are type that rather than you're once you are in the habit, you will remember that Your is the first person possessive, and therefore means something totally different.   You're and Your may sound the same but do not mean the same, any more than whether, and weather or whet and wet or maybe even which and witch.

Please, please, PLEASE remember that the purpose of language is to communicate, and when you use the wrong word you you fail to communicate.


(I am particularly proud of opprobrium)