TWO CENTS: PROPER ENGLISH

Time for Two Cents Tuesday with Jen over at Tutu's Bliss

Boy am I giving my two cents today!

Although off topic, I definitely have an opinion.

I was talking about this very topic on the phone last night with Shan when I thought "this" could be my two cent topic!!

Proper English

Now I know I do not always speak or type proper English and may to some have a southern drawl with various Okie phrases like "ya'll" thrown in. However, for the most part I speak properly and do NOT butcher the English language.

It drives me nuts!

I correct people all of the time.

I especially hate it when people say, "These ones or those ones"! It is like nails on a chalkboard!! It is "this one, these or those"! Tez says things like "you is, I'm is, mines, yous, I is...". This is not due to his special needs but rather it is due to his Mother and her fluent Ebonics. One of the girls at work TOTALLY butchers English to the point of speaking fluent Redneck. It just irritates the crap out of me! I don't understand why people don't even attempt to speak properly.

Why?

It is not that hard!

I constantly correct people like Tez, the girl at work, Hubs and the boys. I don't want people to think I am psychotic about it. I also don't want people to think my children are less intelligent because they can't form a freaking sentence properly (note: "freaking" is proper).

This brings me to what started my ranting ~ a simple text message!

NOW

I know there is abbreviating involved in texting. I am not an avid "texter"; however, I do abbreviate from time to time even though I must admit it bothers me to do so! I know ~ I'm weird!

This is the text message I received last night from my SIL under a picture of her little girl:

"What it dew? Mi party is diz sat at 3p! C ya there! Holla if yous need directions! Love u!"

SERIOUSLY!

ARE YOU KIDDING?

SHE IS INTELLIGENT ~ SO WHY?

CAN WE SAY GHETTO!!

Let me translate:

"What it dew?" = What's up? How's it going? What are you doing? (Would it have been so hard to type What's up?)

"Mi party is diz sat at 3p!" = My party is this Saturday at 3pm! (Mi and My have the same amount of letters so why don't you just spell it correctly?!?!? And "diz"....really!)

"C ya there" = See you there! (Not bothersome)

"Holla if yous need directions." = Call if you need directions. (Holla and YOUS..good grief)

Now what is so hard about typing "What's up? My party is this sat at 3pm. call for directions"

I used to see annoying things all the time when on his various family members My space pages so I just quit going to them.

"Da" for the. "Dat" for that. "Diz" for this. "Mii" for me. "Mi" for my.

Is it just me or is "ME" actually correct and shorter to type than "mii"?

I just don't get it!

There are people who just don't know and understand.

The ones that annoy me the most are those who have learned proper English but do not care or even attempt to use it!

Some of you may think it is an ethnic or geographical problem BUT I feel it is just pure laziness.

They take the same English classes I took but then they learn their language usage at home. As adults we can choose to speak better at least if we are out in public.

Everyone can!

Back when I used to watch Oprah daily, she had an amazing show with Bill Cosby and Dr. Poussaint. In this show, a Caucasian woman stood to ask about the frequent use of the "n" word and how to explain to her children that it is not a term to be used by "white" people but accepted throughout the African-American youth, the music and film industries. Dr. Poussaint said she needs to be forceful in telling her children what she thinks. "You tell them that it's a vicious, awful, demeaning word that has led to the killing, lynching and the demoralization and feelings of inferiority in black people—and that you can't make that word positive," he says. "It really damages our children. It's damaging all the way through. You should never justify it." Bill Cosby also said, "The same people who preach about Dr. King and his teachings are throwing the word around in normal discussions not realizing the man they hold so high, Martin Luther King, Jr., is probably rolling over in his grave at the disgrace of the black community using the word so freely and making it a cool nickname. That word stands for everything he was fighting against!" I really liked that show but don't know how I went off on that tangent. Probably get some crazy anonymous remarks now ~ oh well! Anyway what I was trying to say about that show is this.....It was brought up how people in the African-American or other minority communities are viewed by their peers as trying to act "white" if they speak correctly. Oprah said something like, "No I am not acting white. I am proud to be African-American. I am just speaking proper English and maybe YOU should try it!" I loved that moment!!

No one speaks correctly ALL OF THE TIME

but an effort would be nice instead of butchering our language without a care!