Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Samurai Blur]

I am choosing not to post quotes as examples because I don't want this to turn into a "stop picking on me" thread, but I run across at least two or three posts a day, just surfing in my spare time, that misuse the words "then" and "than." Usually the posts will say, "I would rather carry cash then carry a debit card," but I ran across one yesterday that repeatedly used the word "than" in the wrong way. Ex: "I woke up and than turned my alarm clock off, than went to work."
I mean, seriously, why do I see this so unbelievably often here? Is the rate of teachers without an English degree really THAT low?
I realize that a lot of people don't want to pay attention to punctuation while typing, since they aren't being graded or anything, but is it so difficult to use the proper words at least?

[poeticjustice]

[Samurai Blur]

[madoka]

I'm in a cafe in Pasadena, CA right now looking at the following ad which I've copied verbatim:

"Prof. xxx tailors sessions especially to your needs. Topics: Personal Success, English Grammar & Writing for College & Business, Creative Writing, Editing, Resume Assistance, Accent Reduction, and more. 20 years of experience. $60 per hour. Let's can negotiate."

[D.D.]

I think most of us were brought here to teach conversational English. Who really gives a rat's .... about the fine details, when they are struggling with the basics. We are not here teaching English Lit.

[djsmnc]

If you dont like the English in this site than maybe you need to go somewhere else.

[.38 Special]

I feel for ya, Blur. I'm one of those freaks who fully punctuate text messages. I didn't graduate in English, however, but creative writing. I did complete all of my English Literature degree except for the Capstone (I choked and couldn't afford to stay on for another semester).

Despite this, I learned much more about grammar from teaching grammar as a tutor in university. I wouldn't take an English degree as any guarantee of writing competence. A great many high school dropouts have excellent command of the language.

That said, why ya gotta bust balls

[bassexpander]

My degree is in Journalism, and my minor is in English. Does that count?

[tenchu77491]

I majored in East Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese Studies. I don't make too many English mistakes. I don't really believe your degree signifies anything about your language ability.

[mc_jc]

I'm not an English teacher, but I was one for about 3 years b4 I got my current job at the US Army Garrison-Yongsan. I guess you can say that I wasn't cut out to be an ESL teacher, which is why I am a senior-level director of an agency onbase.

My question is; why do you care?
A lot of the posters are stuck in a classroom all day and the last thing they think about is their grammar when posting on an anonymous message board.
This is mainly a place for people to vent, rant and rave about their daily lives in "The land of the morning calm ". People do this despite the grammar and spelling mistakes they make.
Who cares if they misspelled a word or used the wrong homophone as well as make massive grammatical errors- to most on this board, they should at least be credited for getting their massage across.
Also, you have to remember that many posters on this board are not just from the US, so US grammar rules don't necessarily have to apply, especially when speaking/writing in slang. Also, there are many non-native speakers on this board, most of whom are Korean.

When I peruse this board, I don't do it to inspect each and every message for grammar/spelling errors, I do it to see what people have to say. If I were to inspect each and every post with spelling and grammar in mind, then I would be the most unproductive person here and I most certain would have to shoot myself .

[Lunar Groove Gardener]

The "then" v.s. "than" phenomenon is confounding.
It indicates an inherent lack of awareness of a simple distinction between the two words, and undermines one's credibility.
You should of thought carefully before posting though.
There are so many folks here that could care less.
To measure a teacher through improper usage on this bored could be disorientating.

[Tarma]

[cubanlord]

[ekul]

^^ I exactly, I have an English Literature degree and it didn't prepare me any more than my friends with computer science degrees.

I consider my spelling and grammar pretty atrocious much of the time but when I see posts like the OP making a mess of capitalisation, italics, over utilisation of quotation, inability to form paragraphs I just shrug. If you're going to pick up on peoples mistakes you better make sure you do it with the presentation, punctuation, spelling and grammar of a saint.

[Samurai Blur]