TorquayFans.com | Torquay United Fans Forum

grockle wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 14:40 IMO English is a "live" and "evolving" language, unlike Latin. As long as the prose can be understood by the majority, does correct use of grammar really matter? Whereas spelling someone's name wrong consistently is an insult to them and their families.

Arrywithnobrain wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 11:43 Hot on spelling but not too strong on grammar: presumably you watch Countdown and play Scrabble as a substitute for inadequate education ...

Teigngull wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 16:48 Couldn't make today's game, finances wouldn't stretch that far, good crowd though considering that's 4 at home on the bounce great support guys.
Coyy

Arrywithnobrain wrote: 05 Jan 2019, 16:25 If words are used incorrectly it is not possible to know that the same meaning is ascribed to the written word by both parties. Teigngull may have wished to use the word "disposed" instead of the word "dispatched" or he may have been using the chosen word in ignorance of its meaning: this is conjecture which of necessity detracts from the point of him choosing a particular word to convey a specific meaning. Spelling on the other hand is generally less important (refer back to earlier writers of our 'live and evolving language' such as Chaucer and Shakespeare and you will observe that they frequently spelled the same word in several different ways - indeed the Bard was unsure how to spell his own surname.)

If I addressed you as "arsehole" it would be insulting to you, as it could scarcely be a typographical error, but if I inadvertently wrote your nom-de-plume as "grockkle" it would not denigrate either you or your family, and could be either the result of heavy fingers on the keyboard or a deliberate use of an alternative spelling or merely a simple mistake.

The point that appears to have passed you by is that Teigngull was being critical of someone else for incorrect spelling whilst misusing the language far more blatantly himself: less a Professor of English and more an erstwhile inattentive scholar (or a metaphorical pot calling a kettle black if you prefer).

Incidentally it could be an interesting theoretical argument that Latin is still "live" and "evolving", as it is an important ingredient of the English language as well as the cornerstone of several other modern languages: that might be the basis of a far more worthwhile half-time discussion than questioning the frequency of the letter r in Mr. Johnson's abbreviated forename.