Is spelling/grammer important?

[kirite]

I understand from the testimony of the Polish girl and Japanese boy in my school that english is a bastard of a language to learn from the outside. Is it really that bad?

Yes.  English has a tendency to make no sense.  For me I'm Chinese and I can't pronounce half the stuff I'm typing xD.

[Tanner-kun]

The Spanish built missionary's along south America and california were they forced people to learn their religion and language. When we were part of the 13 colonies we spoke English and so when we broke away to start the USA we kept the language and spread out across north America over to California were most people speak both Spanish and English but still mostly English. And not that its of much importance to the topic but Texas was its own country untell it joined the USA. I ♥ Texas.

[dilbertschalter]

The Spanish built missionary's along south America and california were they forced people to learn their religion and language. When we were part of the 13 colonies we spoke English and so when we broke away to start the USA we kept the language and spread out across north America over to California were most people speak both Spanish and English but still mostly English. And not that its of much importance to the topic but Texas was its own country untell it joined the USA. I ♥ Texas.

Texas was formed by a bunch of American settlers and was never much of an independent country in truth.

As for English, it's easy in some ways, but spelling is ridiculous, because the rules aren't close to as uniform as they are in other languages.

Yet it isn't the world language, simply because English is easier.

Easier? The reason English is the world language is because of the vast influence of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries and the US in the 20th. Ease has little to do with it.

[Callid]

As for English, it's easy in some ways, but spelling is ridiculous, because the rules aren't close to as uniform as they are in other languages.

Yes, yes, yes.
I once made a simply phonetic writing system, and English looks terrible in it, German doesn't (it's actually written with its own set of letters, but since this is not available, I'll transcribe it):


English has a terrible orthography.

íNlíS hés á têRíbÉl ÔRtógRéfî.


Die deutsche Orthographie ist entschieden einfacher.

dî doitSé órtôgrâfî íst ént'Sîdén ainfáXá.


S=sh/sch;   N=n of ng;   X=German a-ch;   x=German i-ch;   R=English r;   r=German r;
a ´ shortens the vowel;   a ^ lengthens it;   capital vowels are darkened;   underlined vowels are diphtongs;   a ' divides two letters that are spoken solely.

[Abs.]

Yes.  English has a tendency to make no sense.  For me I'm Chinese and I can't pronounce half the stuff I'm typing xD.

Kirite how long ago did you immigrate to Canada?

[GinRei]

As for English, it's easy in some ways, but spelling is ridiculous, because the rules aren't close to as uniform as they are in other languages.

Thank you for spelling that correctly.  I was expecting a horrible pun.

[Akonyl]

As for English, it's easy in some ways, but spelling is ridiculous, because the rules aren't close to as uniform as they are in other languages.

Thank you for spelling that correctly.  I was expecting a horrible pun.

if people ever misspell ridiculous, I just direct them here:
http://how-to-spell-ridiculous.com/

most useful site you didn't expect to exist ever.

[Tanner-kun]

A hole website just for the word ridiculous.

[Conia]

As for English, it's easy in some ways, but spelling is ridiculous, because the rules aren't close to as uniform as they are in other languages.

Thank you for spelling that correctly.  I was expecting a horrible pun.

if people ever misspell ridiculous, I just direct them here:
http://how-to-spell-ridiculous.com/

most useful site you didn't expect to exist ever.

This website is Rediculous!

Sorry, I had to say that...

[dilbertschalter]

As for English, it's easy in some ways, but spelling is ridiculous, because the rules aren't close to as uniform as they are in other languages.

Thank you for spelling that correctly.  I was expecting a horrible pun.

if people ever misspell ridiculous, I just direct them here:
http://how-to-spell-ridiculous.com/

most useful site you didn't expect to exist ever.

That's sort of weird. The way I say it, the first two vowels are both "ɪ", which shouldn't get confused for a letter other than i very often. Is there another common way of saying it?

edit: forums don't show IPA symbols, the sound I'm referring to is that i in "bit" or similar words.

[GinRei]

A lot of people say it as "reh-dih-kuul-us" as opposed to "ree-dih-kuu-lus" (or rii, depending on your preference for spelling), hence the mispelling.

[mangaluva]

Frankly, most people who speak english as a first language can't spell it... I have endless horrible memories of my first-year English class, where people had to ask for definitions and spelling of "Mysterious", "Library", "Frail" and "Book". (No, I never saw how they misspelled "book". I was too afraid to know.)

[Abs.]

@mangaluva I assume the horror in your story is in the fact that by "first-year," you mean university (but I really hope it was high school, which would be bad enough as it is.)

[Tanner-kun]

Even I can spell book.

[mangaluva]

@mangaluva I assume the horror in your story is in the fact that by "first-year," you mean university (but I really hope it was high school, which would be bad enough as it is.)

No, first year of high school. I'm not in Uni yet. (However, some of the fifth-year classes here still don't have basic spelling ability, to which I long to ask; why take the Higher?)