another O/T - spelling

[TightEnd]

One of my big problems, is I use commas when they are unnecessary, as a result my sentences become magnum opei, instead I should punctuate more accurately with use of full stops in appropriate places.


Another thing who out there honestly uses ; correctly?

not many, including me!

[Yogi-Bear]

Its more misuse of words that annoy me.

Like pear and pair.

Wether and weather.
 
I find it makes the sentence harder to read. You have to go back over it. A mis-spelt word or two doesn't annoy me. But mis-use of a word does. If you know what I mean. I always try to spell everything correctly but as Robert occassionally points out to me I have a Tendency To Overuse A Capital Letter At the start of a word a Little Too Often.

Yogi

[matt674]

Another thing who out there honestly uses ; correctly?

not many, including me!

i use it all the time

see!!!

[AdamM]

but that was covered earlier in the thread. I use te correct there/their and the right to/too because I think they're very easy to get right. however there doesn't need to be different spellings because context takes care of it.
its there fault
and
It's their fault
are just as clear if you let go of the traditional spelling. it can only mean one thing.

I just wish we could strip away all the unecessary stuff from the language.
Knee to nee
phobia to fobia
programme to program
etc etc

[AndrewT]

One of my big problems, is I use commas when they are unnecessary, as a result my sentences become magnum opei, instead I should punctuate more accurately with use of full stops in appropriate places.

Another thing who out there honestly uses ; correctly?

not many, including me!

Not many people use the semi colon nowadays - even I tend to use the hyphen as a way of connecting sub-clauses (see?). It's a shame as it's such a fantastic punctuation mark.

BTW, ten out of ten for effort in attempting to pluralise magnum opus, except the plural of opus is opera :-(

[TightEnd]

I beg to differ (with a former editor: help!)

it's magnum opei.


* ducks*

[matt674]

i'm with Andrew T on this one - i always understood it to be opera...

[TightEnd]

you are wrong...

or maybe I am  >:?

but I've just cross referenced.....it's magnum opei.....

[-bw-]

I can confirm AndrewT is correct

Believe it or not, I once on a £100 bet on this

[matt674]

i'm going to have to get my oxford english dictionary out when i get home....

only another 2 hours of work to go  

[Robert HM]

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mplurals.html

"Yet another group of Latin nouns in -us follow different rules. If you're still taking notes, these form another subset of the third declension. Typically in these cases the singular does not include the full root. The plural of genus is genera (not genuses and certainly not geni). In English the plural of opus (meaning a creative work) is opera (or opuses). In Latin, opera was originally the plural of opus, but in both Latin and English, opera can correctly be treated as a singular. In English the plural of opera (the thing that ain't over till the fat lady sings) is operas. When opera is used as a singular in Latin (where it meant more of less the same thing as opus), the correct plural is operae, but this is rarely if ever used in English."

[RED-DOG]

I didn’t have very much schooling, I taught myself to read because I enjoyed reading, so now I am very well read and have a wide vocabulary. I had no use for writing and so I didn’t learn to write, my spelling is terrible and my handwriting is indecipherable, thank heaven for keyboards and spell checkers.

My problem is, I have suddenly come to love writing, I admire writers so much, the written word can convey so many things, and it is a beautiful tool in skilled hands

It’s so hard to try to learn something like this when you are my age, but I ache to do it. One of the hardest things for me is punctuation, when does a sentence end, when do you start a new paragraph?

I think standards should be maintained, why deprive future generations of an art form that is so accessible that most of you can afford to take it for granted

[jammer]

I'm with danmonkey, this poll is daft - I wanted to vote for both options! Language is a form of consensus, and a dictionary just a yearly snapshot of the current held consensus. Part of the reason English has become the world's most prevalent language is because of its ammenibilty to evolve, while maintaining cogency. As such, the two options specified aren't mutually exclusive.

Buy If you get your meaning across, well then hey, are mispellings any different to abbreviating your words when you speak. So hey whats the problem? As long as communication is successful job's done! But then why does it wind so many people up?

Well, for many it's about respect for the person you're addressing. There is an accepted consensus of the language, and poor spelling make's it appear that you can't be bothered to get it right, that you'd rather force the reader the extra effort of working out the meaning, instead of getting it right yourself. Obviously this might not be true, but unfortunately that's the effect - which hence comes across as rudeness. And of course, this sort of interaction, is all part of what the makes the world go round

My personal hate: people mispelling lose with loose. gdammit, your belt or a lady of poor reputation (none on blonde of course) is loose, it ain't difficult...

[TightEnd]

bugger!

I have since looked up "magnum opei" on google and it certainly is the common use

one classical education (Latin and Greek "O" levels, yes I am that old) wasted....

[matt674]

o (m)
s
t
mus
tis
nt

thats about all i can remember from my latin classes

oh and the phrase "Cerberus est canis" because it was the first latin phrase we were taught at age 11