There is a strange effect that happens when I type and I'm wondering if it happens frequently to others or not as I've never really heard anyone else mention this.
When I type a post there is always a mistake. Usually more than one. I try to quickly read my post but usually I don't catch the mistake until after I've hit the button and I have to go back and edit the post.
I never make grammatical errors in my speech and I don't have any problems with spelling (as in knowing how to) and these mistakes I make aren't just transposed letters from typing too fast.
In the days when the only typing we did was on a typewriter if I made a mistake it was rare and was usually the transposed letter variety due to one key sticking or whatever.
Of course it was harder to correct errors on a typewriter so we were more careful and whatever we were typing was likely to be more important than a post on the internet.
My phone has a "feature" when you are texting that tries to "guess" what your next word is and will try to "help" you out. It's right sometimes and frequently wrong. I find it annoying so I disable that feature.
I think maybe the brain works in a similar way. When I type on the computer these days my brain and fingers are more or less on autopilot. I think my brain guesses what the next word should be and that accounts for the errors.
Sometimes I'll think "sometimes" and "somethings" will come out. That would never happen if I was speaking. It's not a mistake that I would consciously make.
Maybe I type faster and proofread less than some people? I also have to wear reading glasses now while at the computer but kick back in my chair when I'm posting and I don't always see a double letter or that kind of mistake.
I can't really tell if others have the same problem. There are some who do have bad grammar and others that I don't pay attention to whether they have edited their posts or not.
Do any of you find that your posts don't always look like what you intended to post? I'm just curious.
By the way, in proofreading this post I notice that the mistakes are generally things like typing "you" rather than "your" or not putting an "s" on a word or just things that I would never say or think. It's strange!
My native language is dutch but when I'm writing here in English I'm making mistakes all the time. Sometimes after the 3th editing I still see something that isn't what it should be :)
You have certainly confounded me with that final sentence!
Perhaps you should try speech-to-text software. It's clear that your mind works faster than your typing speed so if you took the typing out of the equation what ends up on the screen is what you meant to say.
Or for something truly radical why not make BLF the first "recordings only" forum where each post can only be a sound recording or a video. This will guarantee you'll put across what you want to say because, well, your're saying it!
I must say to several of you non-native English speakers; you do surprisingly well. Much better than I imagine myself doing, in Dutch, for example. scheven's above sentence is better than a lot of native English speakers seem able to do.
If I may, (stepping onto soap-box) I feel that on-line communication expediency is a poor excuse for bad grammar and diction. It's not about everyone being a Hemingway so much as it is at least an effort made toward being correct. Often, comments are written well beneath the actual intelligence of the commenter and perhaps less often, the opposite is true. Whether we admit it or not, overlooking misspellings and sloppy sentence structure impacts the message as well as the messenger.
Haha...even though I've now corrected the quoted statement "thinks" should be "things"!
My typing speed isn't the issue either. I type fast. My posts are longer than most I think so maybe I just throw a lot more information out there.
I've noticed that some usually just respond with one or two sentences and therefore it's easy to proofread in that case.
I'm sure if I read my posts literally and out loud before I submitted them that would fix the problem but that takes too long!
I'm usually just trying to make a point, obtain some information or get a good discussion going and then I leave the computer. I think maybe it's an issue of volume!
My text is always full of mistakes at the first time (and probably after fixing some mistakes there is some left). But well, I have just as good excuse as scheven_architect, English is not my native language either :p
But the big advantage when typing is that you can correct yourself... Since a few weeks I'm following some lessons with foreign students in my school and that forces me to talk English all the time. At moments like these i realize it's so important to use other languages as much as possible in order to fully grasp them.
Written and spoken English is constantly evolving. You only have to take texting as an example of a shorthand that has gained enormous popularity. It's not unusual for exam answers to contain "u" instead of "you", "f" instead of "if" and so on. Many would frown upon this but it is becoming more commonplace and it wouldn't surprise me if it becomes acceptable mainstream.
However, generally I agree with you Foy. There are some very gifted writers on BLF and it would be a shame for the forum if every thread ended up like this:
Post1 - Yo all - got the FraxFire t8 - its the bizniz!
Post2 - Lumens?
Post3 - Doood - it rawks lumens big time!
All posters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real posters, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
I've studied other languages but I've never (rarely) had the opportunity to use them so I have retained very little.
I used to work with a guy from Korea and his English was very good in general but he always made the same few mistakes in his writing (he would always ask me to proofread). I understand why he made the mistakes as he was following the grammar in part from his language.
That's usually the issue for those who are good but not perfect.
Just for fun (in case it's helpful) I'll rewrite your post from above to the way I would write or speak. (by the way your English is fine).
But the big advantage when typing is that you can correct yourself... for the last few weeks I've been taking some courses with foreign students in my school and that forces me to speak English all the time. At moments like these I realize it's so important to use other languages as much as possible in order to fully grasp them.
Long live volume! Isn't it great that on a forum primarily aimed at discussing all things torch, one can navel-gaze about the vagaries of written and spoken English, muse on why what we think doesn't end up as what we say and admire the quality of English of those for whom English is not their first language.
The part of our brain that does the thinking about what we want to say and the part of the brain that gets the message to do some typing are separate and in different parts of the brain.
Often, we are typing while we are still thinking about what we want to say.
In order to avoid some mistakes, we must think about what we want to say first...and then start to type.
Our friends who learned english in school always do that.
I often find that I have to go back and correct myself because I was rewording as I typed.
Yes! On another forum the post would first be moved to a sub-forum that no one reads, parts would be deleted as not on topic and very soon it would be closed as the responses got a bit off topic. :)
I have ultimate respect for our friends here with whom English is not their primary language-it's tough to learn.
What aggravates me no end is no caps, no punctuation, run-on sentences and illiterate spelling from those who should know better. It makes you look stupid and does not make a good impression. (on me) I ignore those kind of posts and pass them over after I fight the incredible urge to make a Hitlerian grammar-Nazi remark.
And balls to texting abbreviations-that should be a felony!