Comments on: Confirmed: Most English-Speaking Adults Don’t Speak English Very Well

By: erinfimmel

erinfimmel — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:26:46 +0000

So true. I went to school in a blue collar 'burb, but came from a white collar famliy. “Why do you talk so posh?”, “Are you smart or something?”…. urrrrggggggggh.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 22:23:27 +0000

Hmmm. I guess I just couldn't wrap my head around not understanding who hit whom, etc. Anyway, not surprising. Yesterday in my Sociology 101 class, some girl asked if Marx's theory regarding Alienation had something to do with “aliens.” While she asked this question she gestured upward toward the sky to indicate the E.T. type, not illegals. I almost lost my mud. I honestly question the standards of UCLA. It ain't like it used to be.

By: evilbeet

evilbeet — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:54:19 +0000

It's not at all incorrect. It's fine in the English grammar. The point of the article is that adults don't understand the MEANINGS of those sentences. Like, they don't know who actually hit whom after reading a sentence like that written in the passive voice.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:59:51 +0000

Admittedly, I am ignorant. What is wrong with saying “Paul was hit by a car” or “I was hit by Tom”? Is that incorrect? I am not being snarky–I'm being totally serious. 'Splain, Lucy.

By: Shannonhumphreys

Shannonhumphreys — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:11:02 +0000

I wish I found these results surprising. I really, really do.
The unfortunate reality is that I know entirely too many people who do not have even the basest understanding of the English language.

By: Edward T M.

Edward T M. — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:52:32 +0000

“… they have never, in their adult lives, been willing to ask someone to explain to them how to process an integral part of the English grammar.”

For me it was never a matter of willingness. It was a matter of being raised around people who are gravely anti-intellectual. To be educated, or to even have the appearance of such, aroused great suspicion and fear among the people I have worked with in the past and especially my own family. Sad, but true.

To want to educate yourself and/or to improve yourself in a blue-collar environment is the equivalent of having a “kick me” sign on your back - only you're the one who put it there. The scorn and resentment of the uneducated is palpable and volatile and can lead to people getting ostracized their friends and family, fired from their job and can, at times, lead to physical violence.

I know it sounds exaggerated and unreal, but I have seen it, witnessed it and lived it. I am the only person in my family to have gone to college. It is never discussed. Ever.

Just my two cents on what makes people stay where they are.