I read a funny column a couple months ago in the Toastmaster Magazine (http://www.toastmasters.org/). Yes, I do believe good speaking is just as important as proper spelling, punctuation and grammar in printed material. Copywriter John Cadley’s piece titled “So, Um, You Know, Here’s, Like, My Column, Ya Know?” describes his view on the devolution of the English language brought about by the texting, emailing and tweeting generation. According to Cadley, in this new electronic world, “the rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation are not simply ignored; they’re beaten with a stick. Language has no intrinsic beauty.” He can’t believe that intelligent young men and women of this generation can do so much with technology, be successful in school and yet still have difficulty spelling basic words like “restaurant.”

He continues to paint an image of his recent nightmare involving a popular celebrity from MTV’s Jersey Shore series. Maybe the cast of the show are popular, but there’s no way that they are role models, right?

I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of shortening our sentences and abbreviating our words while frantically trying to get off the last few letters in the car before the traffic light turns green. I have to admit that I probably do that more than I’d be willing to share with the local police officers. I even remember encouraging my mother to “loosen up her text messages” after receiving her perfectly punctuated, grammatically correct and complete sentences. Maybe it’s not a problem with the younger generations but a problem with the older generations creating technology that allows us to send awful messages.

So, um, at least I feel better knowing that I can still form a sentence, like, without using extra filler words, you know?

Read the full column by John Cadley here: So, Um, You Know, Here’s, Like, My Column, Ya Know?

The remainder of that issue of the Toastmaster Magazine can also be accessed here: Toastmasters Magazine June 2011

P.S. The online article has several typos. Most of them are extra spaces or missing spaces. Rest assured that the original printed copy had none of these typos. I wonder if Mr. Cadley knows that his perfectly punctuated article was “updated” for the online generation.

There’s a park near my house with a large field where my daughter and I kick the soccer ball and fly kites.  Unfortunately, I must always remind her to be on the lookout for dog droppings.  The park has a free plastic bag dispenser specifically for dog owners, so I don’t understand why there are still so many “landmines.”   Maybe the park should just remove the plastic bag dispenser and replace it with this sign.  It cannot be any clearer.  I will send a message to the local parks & recreation people.

A couple weeks ago CBS News covered The Great Typo Hunt guys once again. Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson talked about their Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL) and took the audience on a short trip in Dallas correcting typos on billboards and signs armed with their typo correction kits.

Check out the full video here: CBS News

For more info about the authors, check out their website: GreatTypoHunt.com