My husband, who was born in the US and mostly raised there (although English was not the language he spoke at home) is a terrible writer, although not as bad as the example PC gave. I've never been able to identify exactly why this is so since he's plenty smart, educated, and an extremely persuasive public speaker. I think it's connected in some way to not having English speaking role models at home.

I have encountered many, MANY smart, educated people who speak English as a first language who are very, very bad writers. Fortunately, this helps keep me in a job (I'm a technical writer, btw).

I've never been able to identify exactly why this is so since he's plenty smart, educated, and an extremely persuasive public speaker. I think it's connected in some way to not having English speaking role models at home.

It's odd because what I posted doesn't even resemble normal speaking patterns. If you can talk properly, shouldn't you be able to convert your speech into words, at the very least? Who would say "the many shops that they had to offer in the shopping alleys they had set-up"?

Fortunately, this helps keep me in a job (I'm a technical writer, btw).

Hee. This is why I have a job, too.

Who would say "the many shops that they had to offer in the shopping alleys they had set-up"?

People don't always write the same way they speak. Except the kindest way to look at the example P-C gave us is to assume that the author had to come up with something, anything in 15 seconds. (Admit it -- everyone had to finish an assignment while walking into class at least once during school.)

Even a once-over-lightly proofreading should have caught the double use of "authentic" in one sentence.

Even a once-over-lightly proofreading should have caught the double use of "authentic" in one sentence.

That was another favorite. They were authentic goods that were authentic!

It's odd because what I posted doesn't even resemble normal speaking patterns. If you can talk properly, shouldn't you be able to convert your speech into words, at the very least?

Yeah, I really don't understand this. It's like there's something that happens in the brain when the words come through the hands and not the mouth.

People don't always write the same way they speak. Except the kindest way to look at the example P-C gave us is to assume that the author had to come up with something, anything in 15 seconds. (Admit it -- everyone had to finish an assignment while walking into class at least once during school.)

Sometimes people who are great speakers in person don't write well because they over-explain in their writing. They're afraid without feedback they can't clarify if they see someone is confused, so they tend to be redundant and awkward.

People also write without rereading what they've written. By the time you get to the end of the sentence, you've forgotten what you said at the beginning, and if you don't reread, it's easy to repeat yourself.

My Aunt J could use a little health~ma. Her latest pap smear came back with an off reading, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but she's going to see another gyno for a second opinion and he's going to do his own pap smear.

~ma to your aunt, askye. If it makes you feel better, EVERY damn time I get a pap it comes back weird and I have to get another one. And I'm fine every time.

much, much ~ma to your Grandma. Poor lady. No one needs oral surgery AND a bad fall in such proximity to each other (time-wise). ~ma for the askye clan.

People also write without rereading what they've written.

I work with a woman who doesn't proof read. Says she doesn't have time. The stuff we write is used as the legal basis to deport someone. It really should make sense.