Does anyone write by hand anymore?

[Seachmall]

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live a generation or more into the future, it should be obvious that we aren't going to go by what is hundreds of years out of date, or by what "might maybe possibly be" someday in the future.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.[/color]

By the next generation I'm referring to the 8 to 15 year olds of today, among which that form of writing is readily accepted.

[Gundog]

Always. I never type, except on here.

[SWEETSAPRIK]

 

By the next generation I'm referring to the 8 to 15 year olds of today, among which that form of writing is readily accepted.

There are lots of things that the "8 to 15 year olds of today" readily accept, much of which they'll outgrow. But fine, let's assume that they continue to talk like that after they have grown some, it still won't change the fact that your statement was incorrect. There is a proper and an improper way to speak and write, and as of now that is not it.

[Seachmall]

 

By the next generation I'm referring to the 8 to 15 year olds of today, among which that form of writing is readily accepted.

There are lots of things that the "8 to 15 year olds of today" readily accept, much of which they'll outgrow. But fine, let's assume that they continue to talk like that after they have grown some, it still won't change the fact that your statement was incorrect. There is a proper and an improper way to speak and write, and as of now that is not it.

Only relative to a fixed comparison. Language is not fixed. You seem to think that the "as of now" English is somehow more correct because it's more widely accepted, which is only because evolution of anything doesn't happen over night (that's the definition of evolution: a gradual process).

 

Relative to Shakespeare Brian Friel's writings may be "incorrect" but I'm sure we'll all agree relative to today's "standard" English (which his writings are) they are elegant.

 

Relative to "standard" English txtspeek is incorrect. However in general terms no language is incorrect, as I said before: "language doesn't degenerate, only people's opinions do".

Edited May 23, 2009 by Seachmall

[Mark]

Not sure about other nations education systems, but it was mandatory for us to always write our coursework and (of course) exam papers. The only exceptions were for dyslexic people etc.

 

I write every day as part of my job. I've noticed I can't write with joined up handwriting at all now, I purely use allcaps. Makes it easier to read I must admit. Means I can't write anywhere near as quick any more but hey ho, it's better for anyone reading it, which is what it's intended for.

 

One thing I am shocked at is the level of grammar when people are typing or writing. People missing capitalisation, punctuation, downright being crap at spelling, crap at grammar etc. Nearly everyone I work with (with a few exceptions) can't write for sh*t, let alone do anything mathematical. Then again, I am working in retail!

 

 

[Rebel]

I write things down quite often. I don't see how you can see it as such a lost art. Everybody writes things down every single day. I used to write so much when I was in school that it was a privileged whenever we got to use the computer rooms & even then they made us use pen and paper for most things. I really like writing down things, hell I'd love to write letters and such given the chance and send them off in the post.

[XMike]

I can write pretty nice when I try, however I can't remember the last time I had to write something legibly, I usually just write down notes fast and if I can get the idea then I'm good.

[Saggy]

By the next generation I'm referring to the 8 to 15 year olds of today, among which that form of writing is readily accepted.

There are lots of things that the "8 to 15 year olds of today" readily accept, much of which they'll outgrow. But fine, let's assume that they continue to talk like that after they have grown some, it still won't change the fact that your statement was incorrect. There is a proper and an improper way to speak and write, and as of now that is not it.

Only relative to a fixed comparison. Language is not fixed. You seem to think that the "as of now" English is somehow more correct because it's more widely accepted, which is only because evolution of anything doesn't happen over night (that's the definition of evolution: a gradual process).

 

Relative to Shakespeare Brian Friel's writings may be "incorrect" but I'm sure we'll all agree relative to today's "standard" English (which his writings are) they are elegant.

 

Relative to "standard" English txtspeek is incorrect. However in general terms no language is incorrect, as I said before: "language doesn't degenerate, only people's opinions do".

I'm not a big fan of linguistics or literature, so I haven't read Brian Friel's writing to understand the comparison.

 

However, I think that you're incorrect. There are now, and have always been, proper and improper ways to speak. Even when we were all speaking old English, people had their slang and colloquialisms. Some of those have been adopted into regular speech today, but the actual structure and context in which they were used has deviated enormously from the original.

 

I mean, to me it sounds like you're assuming that in the future, our communication will adapt to incorporate "dat" and "dis", but they'll always be considered the equivalent of "that" and "this" and language and grammar will adapt accordingly. So you will never here, "Yo, dawg, dat ain't yo soda, give it!", it will ultimately become, "Yo, dat is not your soda, dawg. Please give it here. "The usage of "dat" and "dis" or any other mispronunciation of a pronoun does not modify the structure and grammar of the language it's used in, they just introduce more vocabulary.

 

I don't think changes in grammar take much longer than a few generations, but I can't really identify any that are in modern use today that haven't already been around for a while. I suppose there's not a great amount of people that can remember that it's, "This person and I," and not, "Me and this person," and that's pretty much what I see as types of things that aren't going to be long lasting when incorporated into language. Using "dat" and "dis" in place of pronouns, or any substitution just seems like it would take a very long time. I mean, perhaps with texting, "you" will turn into "u" ( doubtful ), but what's to say about the transition from "ye" to "you"? f*ck me if I'm an etymologist ( and I don't feel like Wiki'ing ), so I can't really speculate further than that, but I'm pretty sure that the amount of time it took people to stop saying "ye" and start saying "you" was pretty long, and I'm not so sure if we're at the point now where we're going to be in line for another replacement any time soon.

 

The interesting dimension that I see in it though, is that more of the world today is learning to speak English and communicating with each other, so I think that if there is going to be any dramatic changes like that it might be something from today's usage, but I still think it will be hundreds of years before we start seeing conventional pronouns and language features start falling out for their colloquial counterparts.

 

 

[1066ant]

My writing is mostly readable, although if I have to write more than a page quickly it gradualy degerenerates. After about 3 pages it gets almost signature like and I have to stop for a while. Hellish when I'm writing an essay or something.

My writing also varies between sharp and angular and soft and loopy at complete random!

 

If I take time I can also write quite well, although no-where near as well as many people. Having said that neither of my parents write particularaly neatly, mums writing is too abstract for to read, looking like a load of long, short scrawls.

 

I also saw a letter writen by an older gentleman who's writing was nothing short of superb, clear, well punctuated and writen in flowing script. His signature was equally impressive!

[FullMetal]

I can write good, and some people find that my handwriting is beautifull... but normally, when taking notes, it looks horrible. It starts out nice/good and everyone is able to read it... and mostly ends out in curly penstrokes that even I have a hard time trying to transcribe.

 

Still, barely write things down outside university.

[Mister Pink]

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?

Good topic.

 

Yeah, I used to have problems after the long summer holidays in school getting back into the swing but now it's all typing for me.

 

In college, all our assignments must me handed in, typed. The only time I use a pen is when we are taking notes but they're usually handed out printed already.

 

Funny, cause I was only pondering this recently.

[Seddo]

It's all about the pen.

 

Depending on the pen i use my handwritings neatness can vary.

 

My handwriting is pretty average not scruffy but not overly neat. Plus i don't join all my letters up only a few, i've always been like that since school.

[nlitement]

If someone wants to give a good impression of themselves with a keyboard, all they have to do is write properly.

 

If someone wants to give a good impression of themselves by hand, they have to write properly AND draw the letters pretty.

[asimov]

I've got writing often called "chicken scratch" by people I know. Before starting Uni I worked for 2 years out of school and the only things i would ever write were telephone numbers, dates and my name.

[Girish]

It's all about the pen.

 

Depending on the pen i use my handwritings neatness can vary.

haha, also, I write pretty well if I put the cap on top of the pen. I normally use thin pens and that way, it feels a little bulky on the top and I feel comfortable like that. I also apply a lot of pressure and I prefer pens with dark inks. No fountain pens though.

[Benjimino234]

E-mail, Texting

 

but yeah haven't written a letter by hand for years!

[Hurricane5]

SagaciousKJB, you feel the same as I do... writing seems like a lost art, personally. My penmanship is well enough, and I like to write, but the last time I actually sat down and composed a letter was so long ago, I can't remember. I can barely remember the last time I received a handwritten letter.

 

With all the other means of communication options out there now, writing seems to be a lost art to me. Scary really.

[SaintJimmy]

I'm still at school...so yeah. But by the time that Christmas Break is over, I find myself struggling to write properly - it takes me a couple of days to get back into the jist of it.

[nerner]

I used to have really bad handwriting, but then I had it drummed into me during the first few years of senior school, and now my writing is at least legible.

[ChanandlerBong]

My writing is awful. It looks horrible and sometimes I even have trouble reading it so I have no idea how other people do. I just can't be bothered to try and improve it. I don't see handwriting as being a terribly important thing. Unless you have a job where you would write a lot.

[Exkabewbikadid]

I can't remember the last time I wrote a complete sentence out by hand. Sure, I sign checks and things, but those are merely scribbles. My hadwriting has always been sh*t, but I largely don't care because exceptional penmanship isn't someting that would have ever made a f*ck bit of difference in my life (apart from whatever poor impression I made on any calligraphy dykes I may have unknowingly encountered, but it's not as though I'd ever desire such recognition and approval from those assholes anyhow).

 

So I would agree to an extent that taking pride and concern in the elegance of one's own hadwrting has bcome somewhat a thing of the past, namely for those in positions that simply don't require one to wrtie a bunch of sh*t out by hand for other mouth breathers to drool on.

[Jay]

I was looking over some past highschool exams the other night and my handwriting then was 100x better than what it is now. Now it is fairly legible and quite nice, but in highschool it was amazingly good.

 

But I'm the same as most - little practice/need for handwriting means legibility suffers.

[alx-ndr]

no... I write using my left testicle.

 

I do find it hard in exams because I word process most of my coursework and assignments =[

[nerner]

In most jobs handwriting is not very important at all, except if you are a banker or a doctor, or a translator. In english you can generally get away with writing sh*ttily, but in symbol languages, one line out of place can completely f*ck up your sentences.

[Saget]

Everyday. I have a vast collection of pens, pencils and a mechanic pencil.

 

I write nearly everyday in college, to take notes, copy stuff from the blackboard, bla bla. And this is not just notes as some might assume, it's pages and pages of stuff. I also write at home, mostly little notes.

Not to mention the drawings I have to do.

 

Even though typing is INFINITELY faster and more accurate than handwriting, I'll never leave it behind. To me, there's nothing like a 2B lead or a good ballpoint pen sliding on a piece of paper. Mmm

[!!GC!!]

I've got extremely neat handwriiting. Far too neat, i believe.

Its so neat that it looks like a females handwriting, but im always getting compliments about it.

 

I was taught penmenship pretty sternly in primary and intermediate so its just gone from there.

It always baffles me as to how some people just weren't taught to write properly.

How old are you, Sag?

Ok, i just got off my ass and looked at your profile.

I guess you at the age where you just cant be f*cked writing at all?

Edited May 25, 2009 by !!GameCH33TA!!

[Slamman]

Nice sig ^

 

I do, I use eBay and mail out payments, so I don't bother printing either! haha

My penmanship is still shoddy, after all these years. Only thing I do good is sign my name, and it's always different it seems

[!!GC!!]

Cheers

 

Also, i have a question indirectly related to writing.

How many other people here are left-handers?

I am. So, those who are, do you get the trouble of smudging you work that you have written as you go further along the line? This pisses me off so much and when i try to avoid it, my writing becomes worse and worse.

[McLovin2404]

Yeh I've noticed that with my younger brother, he's land-handed. At the start of a sentence, his writing is neat but as he approaches the end of the sentence, the writing is slanted and sometimes I can see characters that I've never seen before.

[Overmorrow]

Yeh I've noticed that with my younger brother, he's land-handed. At the start of a sentence, his writing is neat but as he approaches the end of the sentence, the writing is slanted and sometimes I can see characters that I've never seen before.

Are they fun and loveable? Possibly coming soon to the WB?