In Reply to: I think that she was very excited posted by shubbaz on Friday, 31. October 2008 at 07:00 Bali Time:
I didn't read the first post until I saw all the brown stuff being thrown everywhere.
Then I couldn't resist putting on my waders and back-to-front collar and get in amongst it
Some observations:
This young lady is obviously at least 17 years old and has enough maturity for her parents to let her and her friend go out drinking into the wee hours.
She also obviously also had the time of her life - but very hard to understand what she did.
Ozzy was shocked by the spelling and lack of grammar and most of the posters lambasted him/her for this.
It was noticeable, however, that most of these people used correct spelling, grammar and even capital letters while defending this young lady's right not to, with phrases like " who cares."
Young people today are so lucky as all they have to do to improve their grammar and spelling is to add a spell check which automatically picks up errors. What a great tool to have.
Question. Why not use it?
While I don't wish to put this young woman down I would say that there are thousands of children on this Island who would give their left whatever for the kind of education Australia offers free, as this is the only way out of the poverty that has trapped their families for generations.
Young lady, don't take this personally as it's not aimed at you - it's about countless thousands of young people who don't care about how they write or spell English and countless thousands of adults who tolerate and even encourage this attitude.
I know this is a travel forum but does that mean that native English speakers should have worse English than Indonesian or other nationalities where English is their 3rd or 4th language? I don't think so.
We all laugh at and try to get to grips with instructions which come with Chinese appliances.
The reason that the English is so bad is that it is not their native language.
Do you really want Australian written instructions to read like Chinese ones? Defend bad English and that what you will have.
The good Wahine popped over to Ace this morning and got a bottle of American made marble floor restorer. When I read the instructions I was surprised to find several incorrect tenses and spellings ( I'm talking incorrect American English spellings)- so it's already started over there.
Australians are known worldwide for their sporting prowess and are rightly proud of your teams and individuals who strive for excellence.
Should the same rules apply to your cricketers and rugby players?
The cricketers have their backs to the wall in India and the Wallaby's meet the All Blacks in Hong Kong tomorrow.
Lets assume that the cricketers crumble without a fight and the Wallaby's don't even bother to come out to meet the All Blacks in the second half.
What would Australia say? Who cares. It doesn't matter. Mediocrity is
the way to go mate.
I don't think so.
Not a travel topic I know, but it's crunch time for young people coming on the job market with employers retrenching and older people holding on to their jobs. It's going to be tough out there so being able to write a job application just may be important.
So here it is. Native English speakers should be able to write reasonably clear English by the time they are in their mid teens and if they can't, don't defend the indefensible.
OK. I've taken off my glasses and promise I won't move or flinch.
Let the rock throwing begin!