differences

[ZenMaster_Flash]

No point arguing the merits of the counts.

All that you need to focus on is the simple

fact that the True Count for RPC is double

that of Hi-Lo. Doh !

Halve it in one direction and double it in the other.

You'll not need advanced degrees in mathematics.

[Tarzan]

There are a lot of people who should care. To give a case in point, a friend of mine was interviewing someone for a job in a law office to assist the paralegal types. The applicant was a recent college graduate with no work experience. They wore casual clothing to the interview, held their cell phone in their hand for the entire interview, apparently were incapable of reading cursive handwriting (critical for the job) and last but not least used noticeably improper grammar during the course of the interview. The applicant was completely baffled as to why they didn't get the job.

[Freightman]

And while we are on the subject of English, why do girls not wear dresses any longer. Now they all wear hip hugger blue jeans that make them look like they have a tire around the middle and sport tattoos and plumbers cracks. Oh for the days of the lovely curvaceous voluptuous woman!

Absolutely concur - better fantasizing too.

[ZeeBabar]

There are a lot of people who should care. To give a case in point, a friend of mine was interviewing someone for a job in a law office to assist the paralegal types. The applicant was a recent college graduate with no work experience. They wore casual clothing to the interview, held their cell phone in their hand for the entire interview, apparently were incapable of reading cursive handwriting (critical for the job) and last but not least used noticeably improper grammar during the course of the interview. The applicant was completely baffled as to why they didn't get the job.

sometimes, if the person interviewing is himself a red neck or limited, he will likely hire the person he is most comfortable with. Lol.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

ZeeBabar,

You stated:

" ... if the person interviewing is himself a red neck or limited,
he will likely hire the person he is most comfortable with."

That is precisely the type of childish gibberish that is thoroughly
unproductive and leads to people "flaming" you.

Tarzan's commentary is an object lesson, especially suitable for youngsters.

[DSchles]

"But is there really anyone who should care?"

Yes, anyone with half a brain who doesn't want to sound like a functional illiterate when attempting to speak his own, native, language. If you ask anyone who conducts interviews for major corporations what the number one turnoff for disqualification of a candidate is, he or she will tell you that it's someone who can't speak well and articulate his opinions/ideas clearly and succinctly in correct English. Do you want to listen to someone presenting an idea that represents his company's position who starts out: "Me and my colleague. ..." I don't!

Don't go there.

Don

[DSchles]

Tarzan, I made my post, above, before I just read yours. Obviously, you're 100% correct. People who argue, "What's the difference if we speak like idiots," generally fall into two categories: those who, themselves, speak like idiots and so are likely to excuse the defect in others, and those who, while capable of utilizing correct grammar, feel that it simply plays no important role in society. They would be wrong.

Don

[ZenMaster_Flash]

I cannot agree more than I do with Don S. and Tarzan.

In virtually every culture across the world and throughout time

there has never been a more important factor in determining

how we assess and perceive others than the "way" they speak.

I have always assumed that re: ZeeBabar ENGLISH is not his primary language.

However, I would not hesitate to ask ZeeBabar what it is that he "feels" when he

is conversing in his native language with someone who is a functional illiterate or

an irritating sesquipedalian like myself ?

Kindly note that I did not complete the final sentence with (the first person singular)

"I" or "me"

[Freightman]

That's certainly true and there is another dynamic playing out in society now. There is a huge number of foreigners in the U.S. now and a great many of them are using our language incorrectly and are not being challenged by others that do use the language correctly probably because they don't want to offend or because it just seems like a hopeless endeavor. Please don't misconstrue this to infer that I have something against foreigners. I don't. But basically unless they are in a high level profession that demands excellent proficiency in language such as law or broadcast journalism it is generally accepted. Even in some relatively high level professions such as programming improper English runs rampant. Spanglish, Tagalesh, etc. It's all pretty much accepted. Most employers don't make demand on their employees and most of the foreigners themselves could care less about proper English. That is our reality.

Your both right and wrong. Allowances should be made for individuals where English is not their mother tongue. I have 1 customer where the accounts payable girl is both receptionist and bookkeeper. Her English is more than passable, though not perfect, and with a heavy Chinese accent. This girl is absolutely terrific. Her excellence shows itself in her customer service attitude as well as her protection of her employers best interests - and she is really hardworking.

She is actually somewhat of a plain Jane - something g tells me her attitude easily flows into her private life, and she will be a terrific wife for someone in her lifetime, in other words, the type of person who will always be on your side. Clearly, I think highly of her, and she is deserving.

[fjrider]

There is another point of view coming from academia regarding native born American speakers. For example there is an island off of the coast of South Carolina where a very different dialect with English as its base is spoken. There are the Cajuns who speak a very different form of English if they're not speaking Creole. There are many other dialects in America. There are those who say that these dialects enrich our language and culture and should be totally accepted throughout our society. That those who speak them should not be forced to conform to what is considered to be standard English. This debate has been raging in academia for years.

LOL. Sounds like a gruesome fight.
I think there are a few here that will run towards the sound of poof-fire. Into the breech sesquipedalians!

Just funnin', don't beat me with a thesaurus.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

drunk,

You are referring to the Gullah people.

They do NOT speak Cajun.

My spouse, like Michelle Obama, has Gullah roots.

SEE: ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah

[Halbruno]

Yay DSchles! In a past lifetime I taught ESL. I often cringe at the things I hear on tv or from co-workers etc. American English is in decline. I don't remember people saying when I was young "Where're all the people at?" or "It don't matter!" Ouch! Maybe I had a sheltered life? Another consistent error is the non-use of the past participle such as "He would have went..." instead of the past participle "gone." Similar examples are "ate/eaten" and "drank/drunk." When I hear someone say the non-word "conversate" I want to scream!

It seems to me that now there are more poor speakers of English than proper speakers. These people will have kids and teach them their poor speech patterns. Kids are not taught English as a language in school. They are not required to analyze the grammar, sentence structure etc. Very little emphasis is put on it. What they learn from their parents never gets corrected.

Btw, sometimes I watch Maury Povich just for kicks. I roll out of my chair hearing the mistakes people make on tv! It is as if they are speaking another language! I have to wonder how did US English get so bad? The Brits really look down on us!

[DSchles]

Thanks for writing. Nice to see I'm not alone to lament the sorry state of language skills in our society. And, the way an entirely new generation now communicates, by shorthand, in texting, it will only get worse. Funny how people here can spend days posting 50 messages to a single thread, on the BC or PE of a particular count, but can't write two consecutive sentences without making all kinds of egregious and embarrassing grammatical and stylistic mistakes.

Don