I think you're missing the humor in the "choice" of word misspelled. If you're going to criticize Fred's intelligence, you should take care to ensure that you spell intellectual correctly. Otherwise, it puts quite a damper on your argument. If I was getting heart surgery, I would want my surgeon to know how to spell the body part he is working on. Is it too much to ask that someone making a statement about someone else's intellectual level actually be capable of "intellectual"? Finally, considering I don't have the slightest clue what your primary language is and you seem to use complex English words quite well, your defensiveness about it being a second language is rather perplexing. That being said, I have no interest in taking this further off topic, I just thought the error was funny. Apparently, sarcasm is a one-way street on this list.
-Dan On Apr 3, 2011, at 1:47 AM, Virgilio A. P. Machado wrote:
When I misspelled the word intellectual I wasn't referring to certain people whose language skills revolve around being spell checkers. It is always a thrill to trample on somebody else's language, mostly when they can't utter a single word on any other except their own language, much less address you in your own language. Misspelling or mispronouncing any other language except my own? What, me worry?
At 06:14 03-04-2011, you wrote:
On Apr 3, 2011, at 1:02 AM, Virgilio A. P. Machado wrote:
intelectual
*cough*
-Dan
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I'm glad to learn that you're already feeling better. That post is a lot better than *cough*. There's no humor in the "choice" of word misspelled. It just so happen that I was "betrayed" by my mother tongue. That's how intellectual is spelled. That is a common mistake both in words or numbers. I didn't criticize anybody in particular. This is not a place for personal attacks, and that should not be a one way street. Unfortunately, in practice, it is, and I can bear witness to that. Please be so kind as to remember that next time you feel like coughing. It is terrible manners to cough on any list, and even worse on anybody's post. If spelling mistakes puts a dumper on an argument, there is a serious case of discrimination on this list against those that don't have a perfect command of the English language, and there are plenty. Please consider this other version of your example, a bit rough on the edges : "If I was getting heart surgery [in France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway (should I go on?)], I would want my surgeon to know how to spell the body part he is working on [in English]." Good luck. :-) I don't have to be defensive about English being my second language. Considering that I only have three years of formal schooling in English, and that it was over 46 years ago, I take it as compliment that I can perplex anybody with my English skills. Just think of what I could do using my mother tongue, with nine (three times as much) years of formal schooling completed also that long ago. I concur that this friendly and polite exchange might be off-topic, but it's certainly not off-list.
Please accept my best wishes of a complete recovery from you cough.
Warmest regards,
Virgilio A. P. Machado
At 07:26 03-04-2011, you wrote:
I think you're missing the humor in the "choice" of word misspelled. If you're going to criticize Fred's intelligence, you should take care to ensure that you spell intellectual correctly. Otherwise, it puts quite a damper on your argument. If I was getting heart surgery, I would want my surgeon to know how to spell the body part he is working on. Is it too much to ask that someone making a statement about someone else's intellectual level actually be capable of "intellectual"? Finally, considering I don't have the slightest clue what your primary language is and you seem to use complex English words quite well, your defensiveness about it being a second language is rather perplexing. That being said, I have no interest in taking this further off topic, I just thought the error was funny. Apparently, sarcasm is a one-way street on this list.
-Dan On Apr 3, 2011, at 1:47 AM, Virgilio A. P. Machado wrote:
When I misspelled the word intellectual I wasn't referring to certain people whose language skills revolve around being spell checkers. It is always a thrill to trample on somebody else's language, mostly when they can't utter a single word on any other except their own language, much less address you in your own language. Misspelling or mispronouncing any other language except my own? What, me worry?
At 06:14 03-04-2011, you wrote:
On Apr 3, 2011, at 1:02 AM, Virgilio A. P. Machado wrote:
intelectual
*cough*
-Dan
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foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
Prof. Virgilio A. P. Machado vam@fct.unl.pt Engenharia Industrial http://web.archive.org/web/20070824105539/www.ipei.pt/GDEI/ DEMI/FCT/UNL Fax: 351-21-294-8546 or 21-294-8531 Universidade de Portugal or 351-21-295-4461 2829-516 Caparica Tel.: 351-21-294-8542 or 21-294-8567 PORTUGAL or 351-21-294-8300 or 21 294-8500 Ext.112-32 96-577-3726 Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia/UNL (FCT/UNL)
(Dr. Machado is Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at the School of Sciences and Engineering/UNL of the University of Portugal)
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