## Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by mcsproot » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:07 pm

Just for curiosities sake.
If someone talks with proper capitalisation/spelling/grammar and uses less/no internet terms (maybe haha or hehe instead of lol), is that similar to 'talking down' to someone who does uses more 'typical' IM mannerisms?
23 year old guy from the UK.
Send me a private message on the board if you want to add me to your MSN, Yahoo, or anything else.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by fabolous1024 » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:33 pm

No, why would it be?
It would be like if someone came up to you and started speaking in a very 'ghetto' manner (I don't know if this concept is highly American, so my apologies if this doesn't make sense) and you spoke to them in your usual proper manner. That's just how you're use to speaking, how you were raises to speak. Just because someone comes up to you and speaks to you in a different manner, it doesn't mean you need to change how you speak to them.
In my opinion, the REAL disrespectful problem is when people take the internet 'speak' so far that you can no longer understand them. They aren't putting the effort to make sure what they're saying is actually understandable and THAT''s disrespectful.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by Chase Ricks » Sun Oct 16, 2011 4:37 pm

All capitals is the equivalent of shouting when iming or pming. I simply block out such users.
From whence I came and whence I went heaven said I was too evil and sent me to hell. Demons and devils succeeded in breaking my soul.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by tyman » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:23 pm

I think there is a place for text abbreviations and that is mostly in texting. On a forum like this or facebook, I agree with fabolous1024. People should use their words because it sometimes is too difficult to understand what they're saying. The same goes for punctuation. Leaving out a comma or a period can change the whole meaning of the sentence. As far as spelling goes, we have spell checks on just about every technological device out there. If someone can't spell, they can at least push a button and correct their mistakes. We all make mistakes and hit the send button before we check things, but we should care about mistakes. The older we get, the more knowledge we should have. I wouldn't expect an 11 year old to write, type or spell like a college graduate. If they do, our education system is in a lot more trouble than we think.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by Chase Ricks » Sun Oct 16, 2011 5:27 pm

Indeed. I never had to use a spellchecker until high school because there was no need. Then I met my first Macintosh Apple computer network. "shivers" After the mess was cleared, I had to use my memory and dictionaries for the rest of my school years to survive doing poetry, essays letters and stories.
Last edited by Chase Ricks on Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
From whence I came and whence I went heaven said I was too evil and sent me to hell. Demons and devils succeeded in breaking my soul.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by Kyle » Sun Oct 16, 2011 8:29 pm

There's nothing pretentious about using proper grammar and punctuation. It amazes me when I see someone I know graduated from college writes like they're in elementary school.
I don't expect everyone else to use proper grammar and punctuation, it's just what I do. But I would like it if more people tried to at least make sense and made the effort to not misspell every other word.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by fabolous1024 » Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:35 am

$5 says you all were VERY careful about your grammar in these postings. Except shane, clearly. Afdter you wrote your message, did you run spellcheck?
Teehee. Now THAT'S talking down!

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by Chase Ricks » Mon Oct 17, 2011 1:38 am

Been busy. Correcting those minor mistakes now. Besides I do not even trust it on my own computer.
From whence I came and whence I went heaven said I was too evil and sent me to hell. Demons and devils succeeded in breaking my soul.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by sarobah » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:24 am

The essence of good expression is effective communication.
If one can exchange ideas efficiently with non-standard spelling and grammar, thatâ€™s fine.
But the reason we learnt the conventions of spelling and grammar in school was not â€œrules for the sake of rulesâ€ but to make it easier for us to communicate with each other.
Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by bookl0ver » Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:19 am

whats im mannerisms? oh u mean posh?
DIRECTIONER FOR LIFE!
NIALL HORAN'S FUTURE WIFE
Also addicted to slash. ^,^

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by Games_Bond » Mon Oct 17, 2011 4:44 am

> The essence of good expression is effective communication.
> If one can exchange ideas efficiently with non-standard spelling and grammar, thatâ€™s fine.
> But the reason we learnt the conventions of spelling and grammar in school was not â€œrules for the sake of rulesâ€ but to make it easier for us to communicate with each other.

Really good summary right there, before I add my own two cents.
First, why do I say "two cents" rather than "two pennies", given I am British, am I "talking down" to the Americans? I hope not.
In Internet chat, I generally use English, interspersed with standard abbreviations. This is because text language in its purest form is illegible to at least 50% of the population. That said, I'll slip into whatever convention applies - and that is irrespective of whether online or in real life. The only one in text that really sticks out for me is, like Shane said, capitals. I have, once or twice unintentionally "shouted" at someone over the Internet, having first used Caps Lock to punctuate a proper noun or something and then forgot it was on. I have then had to apologise and explain I wasn't shouting, because the rule is that writing all in Capitals is shouting.
Like I said, there is, for me, a direct correlation between how I act normally and how I type. To illustrate what I mean I'll give some examples from different scenarios. Take as a starting point that I am a Scottish born Brit.
1. I noticed this with my last girlfriend. Her family spoke plain English. Around them, that was what I spoke. If I were to return home, my dialect would instantly shift into the way I speak with my family, who speak a mixture of English and Doric dialect. My girlfriend and her family would have been able to understand us, because they are Scottish and have been exposed to the dialect, but in their house I spoke English all the same. I wasn't talking down to them by coming out of my normal conventions; just being polite. Just like going on holiday and visiting Quebec - we spoke as much French as we could, which admittedly wasn't much, but at least we tried. We had a good laugh with one of the bus drivers because he kept asking us to speak to him in Doric, and he kidnae mak oot fit wi wirr spikkin aboot (phonetic spelling). Here's a video example from the excellent Outnumbered: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2sovaAAoeY
2. Certain circles. Here, I am talking about jargon. I mean, what would you be supposed to think if you walked past me with some of my select friends and I was saying: "So she kissed it, but I caught her out with a strip-squeeze and she had to bare her ace"? - All perfectly innocent, but taken out of context... It actually refers to a card game, which I teach - where I need to be a bit careful, because obviously the learners aren't so immersed. It is well known that a teacher might say "Put your hand on the table", and the student puts their 4 fingers and 1 thumb down on the table, which isn't actually what we meant them to do.
So, speaking in English (or whatever language) in IMs etc is, as far as I am concerned, normal and not talking down to someone. It generally depends on how long I've known them in an online sense; are they likely to know what the language means etc - just like I have to ask myself if it is appropriate to speak Doric in England. Genrally, if the person that is apparently being patronised thinks anything is weird about what the person is typing, they'll probably just tell them they can abbreviate rather than typing it all out.
Tyman also makes a good point - I'm very likely to abbreviate in text, because I only get so many characters per text and I don't want to pay for two. This of course being the very reason text language began in the first place.
My friend texted me asking: "What does idk mean?", so I told her: "I don't know." She texted back saying "Omg no-one knows!!"

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by xtc » Mon Oct 17, 2011 9:36 am

Surely English is a lingua franca and, if we spell and punctuate correctly, we will communicate more accurately. Surely it is not only efficient but also polite to try to help oneâ€™s correspondents to understand correctly what one intends to convey?
Colloquialisms are fraught with difficulties for even native speakers on opposite sides of â€œthe Pondâ€. Both the British and the Americans use, for instance, the words â€œfannyâ€ and â€œfagâ€ in very different ways. Standard English is more likely to be understood by readers without misunderstanding.
Yes, I did use a spell checker!
By the way, did you know that King Charles walked and talked an hour after his head was cut off? Punctuation matters!
Boxer shorts are cool,
but little speedos rule!
More by the same author: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=22729

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by tyman » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:22 pm

I must confess that I did go back and re-read my earlier post 3 times before I sent it! Obviously, everyone that has posted here has a pet peeve about punctuation, grammar, spelling and capitalization. We are "old school" and that's not a bad thing! When I see in my hometown what is coming up and who will be taking care of me in my retirement, it frightens me. Mind you, that is many, many years from now, but it still frightens me!

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by bookl0ver » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:25 pm

why u all so hyped up bout gramar and punctuation? we all post differently. altho americain slang bugs me.
DIRECTIONER FOR LIFE!
NIALL HORAN'S FUTURE WIFE
Also addicted to slash. ^,^

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by tyman » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:36 pm

It's hard to explain it to the young, booklover. We were brought up to respect the language and the proper use of it. In a way, I guess it's what made us civilized and intelligent. Anyone over the age of 25 or so sees the butchering of the English language, whether by speech or in written form, as a form of ignorance. I have had kids tell me, "I can talk proper when I want to." That begs the question, "why wouldn't you want to all the time?" It's a different time, my dear.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by bookl0ver » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:41 pm

i know. my nan alway tells me off if i say ain't or lol or like ere i were at school the other day and i rit." I say rit not write. without the e. but i do understand you're usede to talking like " +I was at school on tuesday and wrote a report on capitalsiation. The teacher gave me an excellent mark for it. So mother what's for tea?" But i'd say. "Mam i was at school the other day and writ sommat bout vaptilisation and the teacher gave me an allright mark. Oh whats for dinner?
DIRECTIONER FOR LIFE!
NIALL HORAN'S FUTURE WIFE
Also addicted to slash. ^,^

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by tyman » Mon Oct 17, 2011 2:45 pm

lol. If that keeps evolving, sometime in the not too distant future, we won't even understand what each other's trying to say. It seems like we are going backwards.

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by bookl0ver » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:00 pm

no i can be very civillised
DIRECTIONER FOR LIFE!
NIALL HORAN'S FUTURE WIFE
Also addicted to slash. ^,^

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by tyman » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:23 pm

I am glad to hear it, booklover!

### Re: Capitalisation in IM, talking down?

Post by sarobah » Mon Oct 17, 2011 3:36 pm

> xtc wrote:Surely English is a lingua franca and, if we spell and punctuate correctly, we will communicate more accurately.

> tyman wrote:If that keeps evolving, sometime in the not too distant future, we won't even understand what each other's trying to say. It seems like we are going backwards.

The printing press stabilized language for four centuries. Take English for example â€“ Shakespeare, writing at the dawn of printing, did not spell words (including his own name) the same way twice on the same page.
Itâ€™s more complicated in the electronic age. With the advent of electronic media, communication of all types has become more ephemeral. As for the English language, its spread around the world as the lingua franca has uprooted English from its original context and meaning. For instance, the non-phonetic spelling of â€œknightâ€ is rooted in the history of the evolving language, but that has no relevance to someone of a non-English-speaking background.
Then again, a thousand years ago â€œdownâ€ meant â€œup.â€
Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.