ABSOLUTELY!

[Phmode]

...and then they will borrow gazillions of pounds from the international community, squander it on the unemployed and leave yet another note for the next sensible chancellor, saying 'Don't bother looking for the money, there isn't any left!'

Brian (who doesn't do sex, religion or politics but ferkrissakes, if effin labour get in, he is takin his pension and emigrating)

[TomL]

We haven't spoken about religion yet 

[Costas]

I will try to state my position as the single opposition here, since up to know I'm the only foreigner.
I hate it when I hear foreigners and others abuse my language equally as you too or ever more.
But you have to agree with me that the way our and yours youth abuses the language is unacceptable.
The immigrants and their way to understand , write, or communicate using a language often studied in the streets or in the cargo hall of a merchant ship is equally and even more unacceptable.
I too hate the way they both abuse language, somehow I justify to a degree the immigrants but will never excuse our children, the first have an excuse the late have no excuses at all.
The fucki.. (and excuse my language) Internet and the equally f.... cell phone way of writing and messaging language contributes to an even more language destruction and abuse.
Please excuse me for trying to enter in a discussion where I maybe lack or forgot certain, far adequate better and correct English verbs, my writing has no intention to compare me with native and from reading all posts very well educated persons, its only a written statement.
And I absolutely agree that we all need to write and speak better. I promise to try harder.

[midlife crisis]

indeed

[gibbo]

I'm feeling a bit educationally challenged on this post  Doh!!!  You're all far superior in the English language for me to even comprehend what you're on about, but I'm picking up a few pointers here and there. 
I'm always learning something on this new site even with the Evil Webmaster breathing down your neck. 

[Phmode]

....and if I could speak and write in only half the languages you do Costas, then that would still be twice as many as I can today!

I wrote on the old forum about swimbo's granddaughter who was a straight grade 'A' student, including English, now studying for her degree in animal management at agricultural college. She wanted a summer job last year to supplement her evening and week-end restaurant work (so a diligent and hard-working young lady, obviously).

She needed to get a c.v. together and swimbo gave her a template and off she went to her bedroom grumping and grumbling about 'officialdom'. Twenty minutes later her entire life had been scribed into a suitable format and with one notable exception, swimbo was impressed. What was wrong with the c.v.? There was a total absence of anything resembling punctuation; no capital letters, no sentence breaks, no paragraphs. Not even her name or address were capitalised or correctly laid out.

Needless to say, she sulked off back to her bedroom for an hour but eventually the work was done.

'Why? I can't see the point, we don't have to do that at school!' Or rather: why i cant see the point we dont have to do that at school

This is a grade 'A' student remember, who actually speaks beautifully, now at uni studying for a degree. The school where punctuation was optional is not some failing, special measures inner-city comprehensive, rather a highly sought after school in a monied part of the Cotswolds.

I don't actually know anyone, yoofs included, who speaks without punctuation. Everyone pauses, stops. Starts again; changes tack!

And just don't start me off on the fact that children in dirt-poor villages in Africa and deepest, darkest rural China are fighting to get into a school to learn; and primarily to learn English. Most kids in Britain, by comparison, couldn't give a toss.

Brian (whose words, for once, fail him, even if his punctuation, knocked into him by Mrs. Roberts all those decades ago, doesn't; and even then it sometimes does)

Legal Disclaimer

As we said in the beginning of this thread, there is a not very subtle difference between the jottings in forums (fori?) and the formal written word and I am sure there is no criticism intended on the part of anyone in here, certainly not mine.

[Dusty]

Book recommendation for those who think that punctuation is an unnecessary affectation: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eats-Shoots-Leaves-Lynne-Truss/dp/0007329067/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427023688&sr=1-1&keywords=eats+shoots+and+leaves

and for those who, like me, are fascinated by the origins and development of English: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Etymologicon-Circular-Through-Connections-Language/dp/1848314531/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427023794&sr=1-1&keywords=etymologicon I love dipping into this book! It's "absolutely" fascinating.

[Costas]

I wish we all had the means to take cross-cultural communication courses. that could easily save all people from misunderstanding.
The new era that we now live in, the open frontiers, the internet that actually contributed greatly in that destruction of frontiers, the world commerce, the transportation means that are available to all have changed the way people interact.
The English language was the easiest way for communication since it was familiar and at some point known at some degree with almost all people in the world.
I do agree with all of you that these do not give us non native speakers the right to abuse such a language and must (not should) must learn it as much better possible. We like it or not this is the language to communicate and we must learn it. I do respect my moms decision to turn me to English, the fact that I do speak another 4 languages does not at all contribute to the actual fact that main communications language even when in Turkey, Italy or else where, this is the language I can turn to for a lifesaver, its the best and easiest way to communicate.
English are the language that helped me open my eyes see the word, learn. This is personally the most appreciated aspect.
Allow me to close with this note: Often it is not what you say or write, but how you say it and how you write it, that counts. The success or failure of any relationship , at home, on the job, in the internet, in a site, or on a date , depends on conversational signals like voice level, pinch and intonation, rhythm and timing, and simple turns of phrase, or in the case of written words the ability to handle and the knowledge of the language used for that communication.

[Phmode]

Well written that man!

Brian (who can also confirm that Costas speaks Greek and when touring the museum in Athens, could even translate the ancient Greek scripts; not many Brits could do that with any original version of our own language)

[KLC]

I will always remember my old English teacher telling me a golden rule. When you have finished writing anything speak it out loud and if you run out of breathe it needs punctuation.

I had to attend a presentation from some 14-15 year old pupils recently and was shocked at the lack of expression in their voices.

They were reading from prompt cards and the lack of expression in saying how "excited" they had been spoilt the presentation.

Perhaps the art of reading, speaking and writing is being lost on our keyboard taught Youth?