Does anyone write by hand anymore?

[Saggy]

The other day I had to write down my information for some guy in a car accident ( not my fault, some guy hit and ran and slammed me into him ), and I had to rewrite it like five or six times for it to be legible enough for the man to read it. Even then it looked like a kindergartner's hand writing.

 

I never really did learn good penmanship in school, and never really applied myself anyway, so I never did that much handwriting. Then I got into computers, and gradually they started to become more and more common in my life so my poor handwriting has just never been that much of a problem. Still kind of bothers me that anything I write looks like a child wrote it, though; I'm just waiting until I'm older and can tell people that I'm a doctor.

 

 

So what about you guys, do you still practice this lost art?

[Creed Bratton]

Writing is "lost art" according to you? In my country it's a completely normal thing. I am yet to meet a person who doesn't carry a pen just in case.

[Bartleby]

My penmanship is awful as well, and that could be because I write with my left hand though I'm naturally right-handed (guess it's something I picked up when I was little). I'm in the same boat as far as never really bothering to improve it in school. I don't think it's a big deal though, when I do need to write things down at work or something, most times it's legible to whoever reads it.

[Slynke]

All day long. I write dates on everything for work, for example. Honestly I don't see how you could go a day without having to use a pen, at least to stroke a check. As for my penmanship, I write extremely neat, so it's very legible.

[Typhus]

I write letters to my friend at University. I think it's a lot more personal, and meaningful, to give someone a hand-written letter.

[lord sh...t-head]

Lost art?

DUDE,you are joking........rite?

[Rhoda]

I don't find handwriting to be a lost art, though it's easy to assume so considering all the dependency on computers and keyboards to log important work and leisure details. I'm always writing so I've always got a pen and a small notebook handy in my back pocket. I'm always jotting and drawing on my hand too, which just gives off the impression I don't wash.

 

Sure, it's lost it's edge but I wouldn't say it's lost. Titanic's bountiful relics perhaps, and even there you'd find a pen of some sort.

[McLovin2404]

Most of my work is on the computers. Only time I write is when I'm signing off some documents with my signature.

 

There have been times when I can't even read my own writing. Almost like a doctors scribbling when they write you up a prescription...only they can read the secret message.

[Oxidizer]

Does fingerpainting your own penis count?

[Max_Powers]

I tend to scribble down notes and reminders a bit. Just sloppy cause its rushed, but I sure do write a lot.

 

Regarding projects/academic related sh*t, it's all typed nowadays.

[Typhus]

Does fingerpainting your own penis count?

Was that really necessary?

And I wouldn't say that handwriting is a lost art at all. But with the advancement of technology and text speak, the government must always be mindful that they are meeting their literacy targets.

Children need to be taught how to speak and write correctly.

[Swarz]

My handwriting used to be illegible to everyone but moi.

 

Then, I started taking witness statements at work - sworn legal documents which are used in all manner of Courtrooms from the lowly Magistrates up to Coroners (Highest Court in the UK), and are read by the defence, prosecution, magistrates, judges, and (even worse) my bosses.

 

Suddenly, I found my handwriting improved...

[Saggy]

Heh, you guys are taking the "lost art" statement a little too seriously, but if you're asking if it's a lost art to me personally, I'd say yes, because I never really took on handwriting and just haven't had much of a need for it over the years.

 

Anyway, I'm not talking about notes and checks and such stuff, but letters and you know, actual expression, like what we're doing here. I mean, it took me all of three minutes to type this post, if I were doing it by hand I'm not sure how long it would have taken me, but I would have needed to stop at some point to let my hand rest.

[Seachmall]

 

Children need to be taught how to speak and write correctly.

We are, there is nothing to say dat dis aint propa speeking. Languages evolve, there is no incorrect way of writing or talking just new ways (which are always perceived as wrong by the older generations, what would Shakespeare think if he read the terrible works of Brian Friel?)

 

My handwriting is terrible however I do know one guy whose writing is so elegant and consistent you would be forgiven for thinking it was a French script font!

[ilya]

.

Edited December 6, 2017 by Grae

[Typhus]

 

We are, there is nothing to say dat dis aint propa speeking.

Apart from common sense.

White kids speaking like stereotypical black gangbangers. Pathetic.

U aint gang* innit blud?

[Seachmall]

We are, there is nothing to say dat dis aint propa speeking.

Apart from common sense.

Which is anything but common and varies from generation to generation.

 

Language doesn't degenerate, only people's perceptions of it.

[Oxidizer]

 

Does fingerpainting your own penis count?

Was that really necessary?

As necessary as this topic is, yes.

[Typhus]

We are, there is nothing to say dat dis aint propa speeking.

Apart from common sense.

Which is anything but common and varies from generation to generation.

 

Language doesn't degenerate, only people's perceptions of it.

You're right. That is the general rule. But every so often there is an exception to the rule.

And even the most liberal, progressive person must see how absurd the speaking habbits of children have become. What gets me is how they speak in a way that is completely alien to their own culture. It's not a reflection of their life but the music and films they've been exposed to from some foreign land.

Cultural traitors.

[The-King]

My writing has and always will be absolutely atrocious, I've always tried to write legibly especially given the recent influx of AP Courses I've been taking. Nothing helped, maybe it's because I write and eat left handed and do everything else with my right hand. Even as an artist of sorts my writing is the exact opposite in terms of quality.

 

I've always preferred typing to writing simply because it makings my writings fully legible.

[Superb]

I used to be good at handwriting, but as years went by my writing went worse, untill many people struggle to read it. I don't know what went wrong.

[SWEETSAPRIK]

 

We are, there is nothing to say dat dis aint propa speeking. Languages evolve, there is no incorrect way of writing or talking

You aren't, and yes there is. Languages do evolve, but there still is a correct and an incorrect way to speak and write any language.

 

"dat dis aint propa speeking" is not the correct way to say or write anything in any language, and people who speak or write like that will sound just as f*cking stupid ten or twenty years from now.

 

I'm sorry, but there's a difference between a language changing over time, and a bunch of mushmouthed degenerates being too lazy, or too stupid to speak properly.

[Seachmall]

 

You're right. That is the general rule. But every so often there is an exception to the rule.

And even the most liberal, progressive person must see how absurd the speaking habbits of children have become.

Relative to your time; yes. But I'm sure Shakespeare would find Friel's writings absurd and near illegible.

 

What gets me is how they speak in a way that is completely alien to their own culture. It's not a reflection of their life but the music and films they've been exposed to from some foreign land.

Cultural traitors.

Culture is no longer local, it's universal. We see the same films and listen to the same music, they do impact our lives much like Grandma's stories of the war would have entertained and influenced the last generation.

"dat dis aint propa speeking" is not the correct way to say or write anything in any language,

Not in our current language, but perhaps in the next generation's.

and people who speak or write like that will sound just as f*cking stupid ten or twenty years from now.

But you just agreed that languages evolve, you are comparing txtspeek to our current language which, when passing judgement, is irrelevant.

 

Shakespeare sounds like bullsh*t to today's youth but was elegant only decades ago. Perceptions are, and have, changed. Your opinion of correct language is becoming outdated, get wit de timez man!

Edited May 23, 2009 by Seachmall

[Typhus]

You're right. That is the general rule. But every so often there is an exception to the rule.

And even the most liberal, progressive person must see how absurd the speaking habbits of children have become.

Relative to your time; yes. But I'm sure Shakespeare would find Friel's writings absurd and near illegible, and Aristotle Shakespeare's.

Do you dislike Brian Friel? Personally, I thought he was a very intelligent writer. I especially liked Translations.

But don't you see the difference between a logical, measured change in language and a change that only serves to reflect immaturity and laziness?

The change from middle English to our current dialect is significant but still capable of great artistry.

Can you really say that chav-speak is capable of any eloquence or deeper meaning? Any meaning beyond "I want to stab you" or "I have just stabbed you"?

[4thosebout2rock]

Honestly my writing sucks, I cant understand my own sometimes, Though my mom always said i wrote better before i learned to do tatched writing but i cant go back to the old way.

[Girish]

I'd say I'm average, but my handwriting is perfectly legible.

 

As for the 'lost art', I believe it is cursive handwriting. How many of you can still do that? I was pretty good with it in kindergarten and primary school, but as I progressed, my words started breaking up. There are only a few words left in my vocabulary that I can write in one single flow.

[voteneg]

My online/type speak is often poorer than my handwritten or verbal communication.

 

I could give less than two sh*ts about how well my writing comes out online, but if I'm handwriting something, you can be damn sure I'm watching my spelling and grammar conditions like a hawk.

 

All my handwriting is in cursive. My print is awful. My cursive looks better than a woman's. Then again I did quite a bit of practice in calligraphy. Ladies tend to like the fanciful handwritten notes as well, good penmanship for the win.

 

I always thought writing in cursive was much easier than writing in print, with cursive you can write quicker and more easily because you don't have to pick your open/pencil up. I find writing in print harder because (if you don't have lines) it's harder to write along an even plane.

 

 

Edited May 23, 2009 by voteneg

[Seachmall]

 

Do you dislike Brian Friel? Personally, I thought he was a very intelligent writer. I especially liked Translations.

The change from middle English to our current dialect is significant but still capable of great artistry.

No, quite the opposite which is why I used him as an example. By our standards he is an intelligent writer but Shakespeare may disagree and believe Friel has helped in the butchering of the English language.

But don't you see the difference between a logical, measured change in language and a change that only serves to reflect immaturity and laziness?

What you call laziness I call time-efficient. I don't think the reason behind the change matters either, at the end of the day it's all just opinion but to call it absurd is absurd. The German language when translated doesn't follow the same syntax as English, is it absurd? Txtspeek, Chavspeek etc. are just other languages that are based on English.

 

Modern day English may evolved for it's artistic benefits but priorities change, and rightly so.

Edited May 23, 2009 by Seachmall

[Edmachine]

My handwriting is kinda average. But, after one week of school holidays, I could barely remember how to write the next day . I wonder what will happen after 3 months of summer holidays. That's what computers do to ya. But I don't like to write anyway, and in the future, we probably won't need to write, so it's OK. I think.

[SWEETSAPRIK]

 

"dat dis aint propa speeking" is not the correct way to say or write anything in any language,

Not in our current language, but perhaps in the next generation's

You didn't say "there's nothing to say dat dis wunt b da propa wai of speeking IN THE NEXT GENERATION." In our current time, the time we currently exist in, the time you are posting from, there is a proper and an improper way of speaking and writing, and that isn't it.

 

Years from now all the languages we currently speak will almost certainly have changed, some more than others. Some words will be added, some changed, some will remain the same. When that happens there will still be rules deciding what is and what isn't correct usage. We don't live in the time of Shakespeare, and we don't live a generation or more into the future, it should be obvious that we aren't going to go by what is hundreds of years out of date, or by what "might maybe possibly be" someday in the future.

 

And while our languages will all change somewhat, I still feel very confident that the quoted line will not be the proper way of speaking or writing in our lifetime, nor in the lifetime of anyone alive today.