Guild Wars 2

I don’t fuss over every little typo and error people make on forums, I promise. But this one has grown to pet peeve levels.

Most are typing it correctly as “ley” which has been the spelling in pretty much every fantasy novel ever. A few persist in using “lay” despite the “ley” version being what’s in the game.

Please spell it right? Please?

Glad to get that off my chest. As noted in the title, it’s a very minor concern.

Loose instead of lose. That’s my particular nitpick.

Also quiet instead of quite.

Heh, recently I’ve seen a few posters using “resin” instead of “reason.” But in the context of Mordremoth and vines, I’ve found that mistake more amusing than annoying, as I enjoy puns.

i also laugh when people say things make them “literally insane”. so are you in a mental hospital now?

There is a t-shirt that says “the misuse of literally makes me figuratively insane”

Theif.
literally shudders

Been noticing a lot of “whit” on the forums lately. It’s “with.” You’re not ordering a Philly cheesesteak!

I’ve seen a lot of “mother kitten” this and “mother kitten” that, but seriously don’t these people realize they’re cats once they’re at a fertile age?

proviticus.4183:

I’ve seen a lot of “mother kitten” this and “mother kitten” that, but seriously don’t these people realize they’re cats once they’re at a fertile age?

No they are mollys (or queens if in heat, nursing, or mothering).

I’ve gotten to the point lately that if I hit 2 non-typos (like loose above – that’s obviously not a typo but using the wrong word) in the first two sentences, that post is getting skipped.

“Teh” vs. “the” is fine with me, for example, because I know that was hurried typing.

The other “auto-plonks” are those that have no punctuation at all. Here’s a little bonus for the folks that do that: . , ; – …

There, those should come in handy in the future.

This is neither SMS v.1 nor Twitter – you CAN use more than 140 characters.

How about alot – instead of a lot… I skip most of the misspelled and horrible sentence structured posts most of the time on any forum. Not that i’m the best person at all to judge, but some people don’t even try.

ohhh, I just saw one I have to add – AND I saw this same mistake posted by an international news organization the other day, for goodness’ sake: it is “SHOULD HAVE” OR “SHOULD’VE”, NOT “SHOULD OF”.

There, I feel better now.

Lasica.5068:

proviticus.4183:

I’ve seen a lot of “mother kitten” this and “mother kitten” that, but seriously don’t these people realize they’re cats once they’re at a fertile age?

No they are mollys (or queens if in heat, nursing, or mothering).

I had never heard of this before. TIL. I shall accept people saying mother molly (?) or mother queen (?), but still think mother cat is the most appropriate

munkiman.3068:

How about alot – instead of a lot… I skip most of the misspelled and horrible sentence structured posts most of the time on any forum. Not that i’m the best person at all to judge, but some people don’t even try.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

I’ve seen ‘wierd’ instead of ‘weird’ many times. And although English isn’t my first language, I’m quite positive the latter is the correct way to spell the word.

It can sometimes be difficult to remember the correct spelling for some words. There was an exercise with a long list of these words (‘whit’/‘with’, ‘Jhon’/‘John’…) in one of my English schoolbooks.

I try to check my posts for any spelling or grammar mistakes and I’m sure everyone (at least the non-native English speakers) does the same. Try to understand us, guys!

Samuli.7852:

I’ve seen ‘wierd’ instead of ‘weird’ many times. And although English isn’t my first language, I’m quite positive the latter is the correct way to spell the word.

It can sometimes be difficult to remember the correct spelling for some words. There was an exercise with a long list of these words (‘whit’/‘with’, ‘Jhon’/‘John’…) in one of my English schoolbooks.

I try to check my posts for any spelling or grammar mistakes and I’m sure everyone (at least the non-native English speakers) does the same. Try to understand us, guys!

An overwhelming majority of posts that apologize and say “English is not my first language” communicate more clearly than I do

proviticus.4183:

Lasica.5068:

proviticus.4183:

I’ve seen a lot of “mother kitten” this and “mother kitten” that, but seriously don’t these people realize they’re cats once they’re at a fertile age?

No they are mollys (or queens if in heat, nursing, or mothering).

I had never heard of this before. TIL. I shall accept people saying mother molly (?) or mother queen (?), but still think mother cat is the most appropriate

Not sure if you’re being silly, but you do know “kitten” is the censor replacement on these forums. I’m sure you can imagine what it’s censoring

Pixelpumpkin.4608:

munkiman.3068:

How about alot – instead of a lot… I skip most of the misspelled and horrible sentence structured posts most of the time on any forum. Not that i’m the best person at all to judge, but some people don’t even try.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

Ha! I actually just started reading her stuff. That’s a good one!

munkiman.3068:

How about alot – instead of a lot… I skip most of the misspelled and horrible sentence structured posts most of the time on any forum. Not that i’m the best person at all to judge, but some people don’t even try.

Guilty!

/15 chars

munkiman.3068:

proviticus.4183:

Lasica.5068:

proviticus.4183:

I’ve seen a lot of “mother kitten” this and “mother kitten” that, but seriously don’t these people realize they’re cats once they’re at a fertile age?

No they are mollys (or queens if in heat, nursing, or mothering).

I had never heard of this before. TIL. I shall accept people saying mother molly (?) or mother queen (?), but still think mother cat is the most appropriate

Not sure if you’re being silly, but you do know “kitten” is the censor replacement on these forums. I’m sure you can imagine what it’s censoring

I sure do like to keep people guessing, but having called me out directly I must reveal that I’m just a silly mother cat-er.

This one irks me. Defiantly instead of definitely. Arghhh. I see that quite often.

Aluminium. Flavour. Colour.

Get it right!

Pixelpumpkin.4608:

munkiman.3068:

How about alot – instead of a lot… I skip most of the misspelled and horrible sentence structured posts most of the time on any forum. Not that i’m the best person at all to judge, but some people don’t even try.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.ca/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

That’s great, I’m not perfect with my grammar but I do try. Thanks to this post I’ve been getting weird looks from my coworkers. I still can’t stop laughing.

Loose vs Lose is my favorite misspelling as it can change the entire meaning of a post.

Berkhof.5804:

i also laugh when people say things make them “literally insane”. so are you in a mental hospital now?

There is a t-shirt that says “the misuse of literally makes me figuratively insane”

Problem is that, due to a stark lowering of IQ to whomever is in control over Merriam-Webster, the word literally, no longer means literally :/

I quote the prophet Mike Judge:

My pet peeve is the use of ‘then’ when the poster means ‘than’.

Spelling and grammar come easily to me (not that I am perfect) but don’t ask me to add up a column of figures and get the same answer twice

I’ve long given up on then/than, they’re/their/there … unless it’s a guildie that knows I mean it kindly (or at least lets it become a running joke).

Also I am guilty of “wierd” because I think that both “weird” and “wierd” are legitimate spellings and typing the “wierd” version flows more easily on a QWERTY keyboard. I could well be wrong, though, as all the spellcheckers say so. Then again they don’t like me using British spellings such as “colour” so I will not blindly bow to their authority!

KarateKid.5648:

I quote the prophet Mike Judge:

electrolytes

its what mordremoth craves

GuzziHero.5104:

Aluminium. Flavour. Colour.

Get it right!

You know who invented the English language? The English.

Silly separatists.

Am I the only one that find it rather funny that someone is complaining about peoples usage of language while at the same time using capital letters for every word in the headline?

lordkrall.7241:

Am I the only one that find it rather funny that someone is complaining about peoples usage of language while at the same time using capital letters for every word in the headline?

Capitalising the initial letter for each word in a title is quite acceptable, and is even recommended style in some areas. One website I use suggests that the proper capitalisation of the movie is “The Wizard of Oz” for instance.

For the record, my pet spelling peeve is “then” rather than “than”. I know that one’s already been done, but it’s worth mentioning again. I also hate it when my iPad autocorrects to “it’s” when “its” is appropriate.

Rediculous, just rediculous. Alot of these mistakes are from from being care less and not paing attensun. Use you’re common since. Its easy too preview you’re post and than get it right.

Astral Projections.7320:

Rediculous, just rediculous. Alot of these mistakes are from from being care less and not paing attensun. Use you’re common since. Its easy too preview you’re post and than get it right.

I just died a little inside.

Thanks, Cormac. Yes, I capitalized because it’s a title. I do that on email headers, too. I would not capitalize a, the, of, and, etc.

KarateKid.5648:

Astral Projections.7320:

Rediculous, just rediculous. Alot of these mistakes are from from being care less and not paing attensun. Use you’re common since. Its easy too preview you’re post and than get it right.

I just died a little inside.

Then my work is done here. ^^

But remember fellow poster’s. Preview, check for grammar. Spel check is you’re fiend! U will loose nothing but time.

Pixelpumpkin.4608:

Theif.
literally shudders

Rouge …. lol

Astral Projections.7320:

KarateKid.5648:

Astral Projections.7320:

Rediculous, just rediculous. Alot of these mistakes are from from being care less and not paing attensun. Use you’re common since. Its easy too preview you’re post and than get it right.

I just died a little inside.

Then my work is done here. ^^

But remember fellow poster’s. Preview, check for grammar. Spel check is you’re fiend! U will loose nothing but time.

Aint nerbody got team fo dat.

Rainshine.5493:

Pixelpumpkin.4608:

Theif.
literally shudders

Rouge …. lol

rocks back and forth, sobbing

Oh, and here is another of my pet peeves.

Dung……….sigh. One, and only one thing comes to mind when I see that ‘abbreviation’.

This whole thread is a personal pet peeve of mine, being a non-native dyslectic English speaker I keep being amazed by the lack of understanding of the English speaking community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_language

This is the international, official GW2 site, meaning people from all over the world of all ages join in on both this site, as well as the game servers (which as you may or may not know are open to all participants, f/e I play on a US server as a EU player, because the ‘prime times’ line up better in regards to my playing hours). So, in a sense you should always keep in mind that there are thousands of people that do their utmost best to speak their best English, so that those that don’t speak ‘their’ native language can understand them. And while spellcheck might help (for as far as it’s not polluted, or for as far as people themselves know differences in ‘Their, They’re, There, Etc, words that might all show up as ‘correctly spelled’ in a spell checker. Checking grammar is of yet not an option, and when English is NOT your native language it is actually fairly common to keep thinking in your Native Grammar rules, and translating the words into English (for your reading pleasure).

Now, pointing out that something is continuously written wrong as part of educating people doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But I see all to often that this turns into some sort of mockery of the non-English speakers that make certain ‘mistakes’ as if they ’can’t spell’, while the real truth is, that English isn’t the language of the world, and those that do come here are more then likely doing their best to let themselves be heard.

Lastly, and this is where my pet peeve (besides the mockery in the undertone of the self-centered, that don’t think beyond their own borders) mostly comes from. As a non native English speaker I use context to understand foreign languages, as such I can understand what is being said (even in other languages like French, German and various ‘latin based’ languages.) From this my understanding is that if you are unable to read passed some minor spelling or grammar mistakes, and are only able to read ‘perfectly spelled, formulated’ language you are actually rather ‘bad’ at language…

Ah yes. This is why I said it was “very minor” as a concern, and that I “don’t fuss over every little typo and error.” This one is so simple to fix, the thread title alone tells someone unsure of the spelling what the correct version is.

Most of the consistent errors pointed out in this thread are perpetrated by native English speakers and writers, at that. No, no one should be mocked for making the errors. English is a complicated and baffling language. However, mocking the errors themselves does not automatically mean castigating the writer. I haven’t seen anyone in this thread calling people idiots or ordering them to learn to spell, only naming the consistent errors that grate on them.

If no one ever points out an error (keeping it non-demeaning, naturally), how will anyone else ever learn?

Arghore.8340:

This whole thread is a personal pet peeve of mine, being a non-native dyslectic English speaker I keep being amazed by the lack of understanding of the English speaking community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_language

This is the international, official GW2 site, meaning people from all over the world of all ages join in on both this site, as well as the game servers (which as you may or may not know are open to all participants, f/e I play on a US server as a EU player, because the ‘prime times’ line up better in regards to my playing hours). So, in a sense you should always keep in mind that there are thousands of people that do their utmost best to speak their best English, so that those that don’t speak ‘their’ native language can understand them. And while spellcheck might help (for as far as it’s not polluted, or for as far as people themselves know differences in ‘Their, They’re, There, Etc, words that might all show up as ‘correctly spelled’ in a spell checker. Checking grammar is of yet not an option, and when English is NOT your native language it is actually fairly common to keep thinking in your Native Grammar rules, and translating the words into English (for your reading pleasure).

Now, pointing out that something is continuously written wrong as part of educating people doesn’t have to be a bad thing. But I see all to often that this turns into some sort of mockery of the non-English speakers that make certain ‘mistakes’ as if they ’can’t spell’, while the real truth is, that English isn’t the language of the world, and those that do come here are more then likely doing their best to let themselves be heard.

Lastly, and this is where my pet peeve (besides the mockery in the undertone of the self-centered, that don’t think beyond their own borders) mostly comes from. As a non native English speaker I use context to understand foreign languages, as such I can understand what is being said (even in other languages like French, German and various ‘latin based’ languages.) From this my understanding is that if you are unable to read passed some minor spelling or grammar mistakes, and are only able to read ‘perfectly spelled, formulated’ language you are actually rather ‘bad’ at language…

That’s really not the problem. Many non-native speakers spell a lot better than native speakers. You’re not a native speaker, and your spelling is flawless. I’m not a native speaker either.

When somebody who is obviously struggling with the English language does their best to make themselves understood, nobody talks down on them. At least I haven’t see that on these forums.

Most of the things mentioned in this thread though are mistakes commonly made by native speakers who just weren’t paying attention in school and/or just don’t seem to care at all. It’s not the skill level that bothers me but the attitude.

Donari.5237:

If no one ever points out an error (keeping it non-demeaning, naturally), how will anyone else ever learn?

That is true, and like I said, it can be a good thing. Point though, that more then often I see it turn into a thread with an ‘undertone’ (aka. a between the lines sentiment) of a ‘learn how to spell’. F/e the ‘Idiocracy’ picture…

And I personally don’t know who makes these mistakes (out of carelessness or just due to lack of knowledge) and what their native language is. Like you, I react out of a pet peeve, with the argument that maybe you shouldn’t assume that the person is a native English speaker with a lack of care for their spelling. And as a (be it mildly) dyslectic person, I have more then often in my life been ‘accused’ of not putting in the effort, while I was actually doing the best I could…

So, yes, pointing out correct spelling of certain keywords in a thread like this (Ley and not Lay (even though phonetically the difference between an E or A is rather hard to make out in this particular word)), can be a good thing. Though personally I think a ‘PM’ to the particular person might work better, as opposed to nailing them to a public ‘shaming’ pole, which from my point of view can only turn into a ‘learn how to spell stupid’-thread, which, as you noticed are a personal pet peeve of myself. Mainly due to not being a native English speaker (and yes that means I have had these kind of conversations aimed at me, assuming I was a native speaker btw.), and being somewhat dyslectic (though I seem to have mostly grown over it) I have more then often been singled out due to my spelling, and been accused of carelessness and what not, while in fact I was doing the best I could.

From those viewpoints these kinds of threads are all but encouraging to keep doing your best to express your opinions on what should be an international platform. And more often than not they do seem to imply a certain disdain for the non-English, or at least a lack of understanding from the English community, in regards to the world they live in. Which (from my experience) btw. is far from the truth in most cases, but also, from those English I did interact with, a fair number could only express themselves in English …

So perhaps to most in this thread that share a certain ‘spelling pet peeve’-thing, try and learn a different language yourself, it can only increase your understanding of the language phenomenon, and perhaps give you a bit more insight into why people make certain errors, and thus have a bit more of a base ‘respect’ for even the most poorly constructed English instead of pulling the ‘idiot’ card at the first sign of a typo…

lastly, as you truly dive into language you will soon discover it is a living thing, now sure you may have a conservative view on the way people spell, but then again, I don’t see you spell like a ‘Shakespearian’… so clearly your spelling is all but ‘right’ and ‘conservative’, in fact, your spelling is so modern that Shake Spear would more then likely have a hard time conversing with you

Going back to the opening post, I must admit that when I have to sit cringing through the Marjory and Kasmeer dialog I do feel that ‘lay lines’ might be appropriate.

I dont no wot eny ov u giyz r torkin abowt. Inglish is ez. And as four gramma alot ov teh tyme its pointles.

Just except that sum peeple hav there own wey ov torkin, all write?

I didn’t even see “lay” lines…but I do often see “PRIMORDIUS” and that is starting to crack me up. It’s PRIMORD*US*. Not “primord*IUS*”

Astral Projections.7320:

Rediculous, just rediculous. Alot of these mistakes are from from being care less and not paing attensun. Use you’re common since. Its easy too preview you’re post and than get it right.

Astral, I don’t know whether to thumbs up your post or slap you silly.

Zaxares.5419:

Astral Projections.7320:

Rediculous, just rediculous. Alot of these mistakes are from from being care less and not paing attensun. Use you’re common since. Its easy too preview you’re post and than get it right.

Astral, I don’t know whether to thumbs up your post or slap you silly.

The thumbs up of course. ^^

In return I gift you one internet smile. Treasure it. Who knows when you’ll get another like it.

I was hoping this thread had something to do with the LS, but it doesn’t. Amazing.

Just read through the entire thread… As an English major growing up, this really made my day. Thanks OP for starting this thread. =)

It irks me when people pluralize things for no reason. Like “How much strengths do I need for the sword?” >.<