Spelling and writing style
Is it just me… or do TCKids spell and write fairly well, perhaps better than the average? A sampling of posts here yields a majority of well-written, well-expressed thoughts, and at least in what I saw, none of the typical internet writing of today (like using @ for an a and 3 for a backwards e). Wonder if it has to do with learning more than language, as well as being forced to express ourselves in varying contexts, reading more… any other ideas?
Licia Rothermel
Born in Argentina, of German background (parents spoke the language at home), now living in U.S., spent a year in Hong Kong. Planning to travel again, as much as possible, and live overseas again. Currently studying nursing.Related Posts
12 Comments to “Spelling and writing style”
February 4th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Hmmm. I’m inclined to think that TCKs that we usually read are people who are inclined to write. There are a lot of TCKs who don’t necessarily decide to write about their thoughts, or at least on the mediums we’re used to.
So I’m willing to accept that there may well be TCKs who aren’t very good at writing, because I did meet some while growing up.
That said, if you feel there’s a general trend… The majority of the time, TCKs grow up in international schools, which generally get great funding and therefore provide assumingly good education. They also tend to come from families where the working parents are capable enough to be trusted to send by whatever organization to another or a variety of countries. So they’d also grow up in an educated household.
That, and Internet chat trends are… well it’s cultural in a way, isn’t it? We don’t have to take it.
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February 6th, 2008 at 8:23 am
well, i can’t type worth a fart. and i can’t spell on top of that, and i am lazy to spell check. those three things combined makes me wonder how and why anyone would read what i write, but i keep plugging away.
i HATE those internet abbriviations, if you notice, i don’t even use the dreaded ‘lol’ or her cousins ‘lmao’ and ‘lmfao’. i do use OMG fromt ime to time though….hm.
anyway, when i first got a cell phone (held off until i HAD to get one) i refused to use the abbriviated text to write messages. but then my boyfriend moved to the states and money was tight and texting cost money and we texted (is that a word?) a LOT so eventually i did have to start substituting ‘to’ with ‘2′.
i do not, however, and will never, understand substituting words with words of the same about of letters. like using ‘@’ for ‘a’ what is the point?
and i will never, EVER use ‘da’ for ‘the’.
but to answer your question, yeah, i think dan is right, that and for those of use who grew up before ipods, reading is pretty much the only thing you can do on a long trip. especially all those hours in transit…
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February 7th, 2008 at 7:19 am
I agree with what Uncle Dan said. TCKs by their very nature tend to be good writers/spellers/etc. It definitely has to do with the quality of the education they receive, and it probably also has to do with the fact that EXPRESSING ourselves is one of the single-most important things we need to do well… because we are in a constant state of “confusion”, being pulled in all these different directions all the time. If we’re not able to sit back, think, process all this madness, and THEN express it, we would be completely helpless! TCKs naturally start writing journals/blogs/emails in order to express themselves further (if not to others, then to themselves!) and I believe this contributes greatly to their good writing & spelling skills!
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February 7th, 2008 at 8:21 am
It wasn’t *exactly* what I said… Haha.
I figure there are a lot of TCKs who don’t necessarily spell or write well. I know this because I met a lot of them. They just don’t express themselves on these websites, for whatever reason.
If someone *were* to discover that it’s at least a majority trend, then yes, I figure that education and circumstance are the reason. But it’s by no means universal.
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February 7th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I attribute my good writing/spelling skills, yes to a good education and parents that encourage and like to study themselves.
But also, at least for me, I think there is a proper place to write these things (’2′ instead of ‘to’, ‘cuz’ instead of ‘because’, etc). I usually write like this when I have to type fast, on a chat or something. But here I prefer to write properly, because it looks better (in my opinion). If I had the choice I would always write correctly, but sometimes it’s just more practical.
And thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment, since I write a lot here!
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February 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
i disagree, i think tcks can spel better then averege
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February 7th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I think that some TCK CAN spell and write very well, but I tend to believe that we express ourselves verbally a lot better.
We do speak better and probably have an above average use of language and concepts…but spelling and proper syntax…that I am not so sure about…
our constructions can be awkward or clumsy to say the least
At least mine
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February 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
I guess I was agreeing with the “education and circumstance” part of what you said.
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February 7th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
All I can say is the general level of writing and content is much much higher in this forum compared to the forum of the online game I play - and people are a billion times more polite here. I mean I don’t think I can even make a comparision with regards to the ‘politeness’ part.
So nice to be able to have civil discussions where people are being caring about each other rather than trying to nail each other all the time.
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February 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Hmmm- lots of interesting things abound here and I would have to say that there is a bit of truth in what everyone is saying.
I myself, have a bit of a writing dyslexia, as I think (sigh!) is rather self-evident from the comments I have posted thus far (double sigh!), and so my spelling is a bit of a disaster but in my mind, (and generally before I have taken the time re-read VERY carefully everything I have written) I consider myself a very proficient writer. hahaha! I write a lot, but I must admit that I am probably better at speaking.
But seriously, I do think what happens is that there are some rather elegant and simultaneously quixotic forms that pop up in terms of the style of writing. I notice this when I write because I can see on paper or rather, the computer screen, the other language influences which come into play.
Also, I would have to agree, that the type of schooling, education an/or up bringing we get not only affects the way we communicate, hence, language but also the way we write….minor dyslexia aside. haha!
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February 8th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Oh- one more thing about spelling: chatting with real time messenger or Skype, ummmm, yes, well how do I put it….a spelling nightmare that proliforates through every fingertip that taps on the keyboard. Yikes!
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March 13th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I’ll second that. I have found few forums where just about everyone knows how to play and share their toys without pulling hair. =)
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