Saturday, November 10, 2012

Pet Peeve #52 - Y cnt u spel wrds out?

I know I'm getting old.  I can tell from my last two posts.  Oh well, here goes.

I cnt stnd it wen ppl rite lik ths, evn wen they r nt txtng.

Okay, truth be told, I can't stand it when they write like that even if it's just when they text.  This just proves how old I'm getting, because 90% of the American population under the age of 25 seems to write like that anymore. Now, if you are under 25 and don't do this, don't worry, I love you and give you your "props" in the last paragraph  (I used the word "props," see how cool I am?  Okay, maybe not.  Maybe I'm just "all that and a bag of chips,"  as they used to say back in my day).

Now, mind you, I'm NOT the grammar police and I'm certain my writing makes English teachers cringe, but at least it appears as though I put forth some effort by spelling a majority of my words correctly. Fortunately for me, there is also spell check.  I don't think our youth know about this handy feature.

To sum things up, whenever I attempt to read a status update or text from a majority of today's youth, I feel like I need to get out my Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring. (see that reference, once again proving I'm old).  I want to reply, "YOU ARE 24 YEARS OLD, DAMMIT! LEARN TO SPELL!"

Of course, not all of our youth do this, which makes it all the more delightful when I correspond with a young person who actually writes out all of their words.  No shortcuts, no slang.  I want to reach through my electronic device and hug them.  Then call their parents and thank them for doing such a good job.

Peace out.