Originally posted by howardbradleyThis is very interesting. It's neat to learn different philosophical-grammatical perspectives. It is indeed confusing!
I must have been (unknowingly) influenced by Biber, D et al who think that English only has two tenses.
I think this all goes to prove just how confusing a language English really is...
Having studied some Latin, I've always been intrigued that English basically has subjective, objective and genative declensions, and those only for pronouns (e.g., I, me, my). Regular nouns simply aren't declined at all (The house sat on a hill; I walked into my house; The house's shutters are red). As a result, word order is critical in a way that Latin doesn't require.
I know a little Spanish and can stumble through German, and the former has similar word order rules, whereas the latter is more free. I wonder how other languages compare (especially non-European languages, if any one knows any and can comment).
Nemesio
Originally posted by ivangriceThis is a very interesting subject , and it has been studied to great details. To my knowledge all studies agree that there are no correlation between low IQ and poor spelling and/or grammar in languages as English/French/Spanish/Dutch.
Is poor spelling and/or grammar indicative of a low IQ?
However there seem to be a very strong positive correlation between your mastery of Danish and your IQ.
So ?? Want to increase you’re rating and improve you’re posting ?? Start by learning Danish.
It seems that if you can write well, you are intelligent. But I can find no other inference regarding language knowledge and intelligence that works (e.g. poor writing doesn't imply low intelligence).
As an aside, I have worked most of my career in software, and it seems that most people in this field are intelligent but cannot write well. I cannot explain this generally. I have also noticed that most emails are very poorly written. So I wonder, why write at all if you think your writing is difficult to understand? And doesn't poor writing indicate a lack of consideration of the reader?
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I am dyslexic which means I spell very poorly. This has nothing to do with my intellegence, a measure of my problem solving ability. I would counter this argument by suggesting that those who think collegues who can not spell must be somehow educationally slow may be themselves the ones with the low IQ?
Andrew
Originally posted by latex bishopAnd I would once again make the point that I am talking about *general* relationships here. Of course there will be specific examples (dyslexia being one that was mentioned in an earlier post) that do not fit into the general relationship...
I am dyslexic which means I spell very poorly. This has nothing to do with my intellegence, a measure of my problem solving ability. I would counter this argument by suggesting that those who think collegues who can not spell must be somehow educationally slow may be themselves the ones with the low IQ?
Andrew
The question of how many "tenses" English has is a matter of some controversy among linguists. Biber falls on the "two" side of the question, but I know others who don't discriminate against the periphrastic (phrasal) "tenses" in favor of the "conjugational" ones. 🙂 The notion of "tense" is not, IMHO, well-defined. In your more "standard" (only in the sense of being more like the ancestor) IE languages, conjugation is THE defining criterion. Languages like Modern Greek retain a LOT more of the IE tense/aspect conjugation system than languages like, e.g. French, which still retains more than, e.g., Russian and when you get to languages like English the original IE verbal system is hardly recognizable. IMHO, the "controversy" (such as it is) is both futile and nearly meaningless.
On spelling and grammar usage in English, I would say that the ability to write well and express yourself clearly may be indicative of intelligence (whatever that is), but inability to write clearly is not indicative of any specific failing. It certainly does not help make a good impression, though. 🙁
Best Regards,
Paul
Originally posted by ivangriceIn my case it is indicative oif a bad typist.
Is poor spelling and/or grammar indicative of a low IQ?
I don't think it is indicative of a low IQ. I know many brilliant people who can't spell very well. I would say that the main reason people are no longer very good at spelling or grammar is that they don't read any more.Reading is how you learn to read and write.
Originally posted by prnI assume IE = Indo-European.
The question of how many "tenses" English has is a matter of some controversy among linguists. Biber falls on the "two" side of the question, but I know others who don't discriminate against the periphrastic (phrasal) "tenses" in favor of the "conjugational" ones. 🙂 The notion of "tense" is not, IMHO, well-defined. In your more "standard" (only in ...[text shortened]... failing. It certainly does not help make a good impression, though. 🙁
Best Regards,
Paul
Originally posted by nemesioThat's interesting. Is 'dive' a defective verb in your ideolect? If not, what is its past participle?
For my part, I never say 'dived,' I think.
Both 'sneak' and 'dive' are regular weak verbs in British English, though 'snuck' is starting to creep in.
Do you know of any other languages which make a similar simple past/perfect distinction to English? There's very little overlap between the two in English, but in the other languages I know the nearest equivalents are often interchangeable.
Originally posted by elvendreamgirlI agree with you, spelling and for that matter grammar do not mean
In my case it is indicative oif a bad typist.
I don't think it is indicative of a low IQ. I know many brilliant people who can't spell very well. I would say that the main reason people are no longer very good at spelling or grammar is that they don't read any more.Reading is how you learn to read and write.
that someone is or isn't brilliant. Brilliant also should be defined a little
more as well. I have a friend who is a brilliant chess player; however,
away from the board he is to put it nicely sort of simple.
Kelly
Originally posted by elvendreamgirlAnd is reading symptomatic of a high IQ?
In my case it is indicative oif a bad typist.
I don't think it is indicative of a low IQ. I know many brilliant people who can't spell very well. I would say that the main reason people are no longer very good at spelling or grammar is that they don't read any more.Reading is how you learn to read and write.
Has anyone addressed the different levels of thought. I seem to remember in one of my old education classes that there were several different levels of thought: observation, recognition, reasoning, something something. Does anyone remember what they were? Does anyone know which level spelling and grammar are on?