There's a great cartoon in P.D. James' latest. Police are investigating a murder scene. There's a body slumped across a desk with a knife in the back. On the wall is a taunting note posted by the murderer that reads,"Whose next? Only I no;"
And via the caption, the detective says, "This is criminal - two wrong spellings and improper use of a semicolon."
I can state, defiantly, that I am gonna want to hurt the next person who puts an "a" in "definitely." And using "then" instead of "than" actually causes me pain.
In my experience, everybody in LJ is so kind with comments, even when the writer deserves to have a dictionary.com shoved down his/her throat for crimes against the language. And one of the things I LOVE about LJ is that it gives people who really want to write an opportunity to practice. But is practice alone enough? I wonder, will these writers get better with time on their own, or is it the responsibility of those who know AND love the language to find a really constructive way to help them out?
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Date: 2009-12-31 12:53 pm (UTC)And via the caption, the detective says, "This is criminal - two wrong spellings and improper use of a semicolon."
I can state, defiantly, that I am gonna want to hurt the next person who puts an "a" in "definitely." And using "then" instead of "than" actually causes me pain.
In my experience, everybody in LJ is so kind with comments, even when the writer deserves to have a dictionary.com shoved down his/her throat for crimes against the language. And one of the things I LOVE about LJ is that it gives people who really want to write an opportunity to practice. But is practice alone enough? I wonder, will these writers get better with time on their own, or is it the responsibility of those who know AND love the language to find a really constructive way to help them out?