Why do we argue

[Ray]

... in response to Why do we argue, posted by Joeylikey on Nov 27, 2005

When someone attempts to portray himself or herself as an expert on a particular country, its people, or its culture, then I think they should be expected to be able to spell the name of the country correctly. Otherwise, I agree with you. Who gives a rat’s ass about someone’s spelling or grammar skills?

Ray

[jediknight]

... in response to Re: Why do we argue, posted by Ray on Nov 27, 2005

one doesn't even have to portray themselves as an expert on the people or culture. i think that anyone looking to find a wife in another country, out of pure respect, should know how to spell that country's name, just common sense.

no one should really care whether you misspell a word here and there, we all do it either because we type too fast or just don't know the correct spelling and don't bother to spell check, who cares? we get out point across which is the important thing but as far as spelling COLOMBIA is concerned, this is like wanting to find a wife from there but not knowing where colombia is, whether its in central or south america, there are just some basics that every guy should know before starting their journey.
JK

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Re: Why do we argue, posted by jediknight on Nov 27, 2005

Hi JK,

I wouldn’t consider misspelling “Colombia” a sign of disrespect or a lack of common sense. Yes, it would be nice if everyone knew how to spell it correctly, but it is a common error for many of us English speakers who aren’t familiar with the country. For the newbies with little knowledge of Spanish, it is understandable that they wouldn’t know that Christopher Columbus (English) is spelled differently in Spanish, hence the country name Republic of “Colombia”.

“Columbia” is such a common word in the U.S. and Canada that it isn’t surprising to me that so many folks have trouble with the spelling. Consider the following examples:

British Columbia
Columbia River
Columbia University
Columbia College
Space Shuttle Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Broadcasting System
District of Columbia
City of Columbia, South Carolina
City of Columbia, Illinois
City of Columbia, Missouri
City of Columbia, Tennessee
City of Columbia, New York
City of Columbia, Maryland
City of Columbia, Mississippi
City of Columbia, Pennsylvania
Etc., etc., etc…

I don’t see anything wrong with correcting a new guy for spelling “Colombia” wrong as long as it is done in a constructive way. I think the problem comes in when it is done in a sarcastic tone as if to say “if you can’t spell it then you shouldn’t even consider going there”. Why not cut some slack to the new guys on the spelling thing? :-)

We get a lot of guys on the Asian Forum also who can’t spell “Phillipines” or “Philipino” but it really isn’t a big deal in the greater scheme of things, is it?

I would agree however that one should learn to spell Colombia correctly before getting on the plane to travel there because a spelling error could cause some unforeseen problems. I recall an incident a few years back where some poor guy was flying from Los Angeles to Oakland, CA, and he got into the wrong boarding gate at LAX. He boarded the plane with no problem but about 3 hours into the flight he began to become concerned. He asked the flight attendant if the flight was delayed and she said that actually they were right on schedule. When he protested that that was impossible, she looked at his ticket and realized the mistake immediately. He had accidentally boarded a flight to Auckland, New Zealand. It must have been the most exciting thing to happen in Auckland in a long time, because I recall that the mayor presented him with a key to the city and he spent some free time there for a couple of days on the house with a free return flight to California.

Ray

[jediknight]

... in response to R E S P E C T, posted by Ray on Nov 27, 2005

[This message has been edited by jediknight]

if someone makes a mistake the first time it's understandable, learn from your mistakes and move on. i think that someone should learn as much as possible about another country if they plan on finding a wife there, even knowing how to spell the country's name and not just so they don't end up on the wrong flight but because it's the right thing to do. at the very least do some research, show some interest, just like people do research on a company they really want to work for before going on an interview so they don't look like idiots, so should guys going to latin america.
JK

[Ray]

... in response to it is a big deal, posted by jediknight on Nov 27, 2005

…to me, but then again, I’m not planning a trip to Columbia (OOPS!) :-)

If you want to consider guys with weak spelling skills as looking like idiots, that’s O.K. with me, but personally I think it’s kind of trivial. How about the guy up above who misspelled “medillin” in the subject line of his post? Does he look like an idiot too because he can’t spell the name of the city? Does that necessarily mean that he knows little or nothing about the city or that he hasn’t done any research or shown any interest in the place? I don’t think so.

My whole point is that there are more important things to judge a person’s character on than his or her spelling skills. I know some people who can’t spell worth a bean and I certainly wouldn’t consider them to be idiots.

OBTW, “latin america” should have been capitalized in your post above. But I don’t think it is a big deal. Do you??? LOL!

Ray

[jediknight]

... in response to It’s not a big deal…, posted by Ray on Nov 28, 2005

[This message has been edited by jediknight]

the topic was not on whether words should be capitalized, it's whether a country's name should be spelled correctly. also, where in my post did i say that guys with weak spelling skills look like idiots? i said that people who don't do any reseach prior to a job interview or flying to a foreign country will look like as idiots. i wasn't referring to a persons spelling or typing skills, re-read my post. i said these mistakes are no big deal. what i'm referring to is the spelling of only one word, colombia, not whether a person generally has trouble spelling. if the poster above doesn't know that medellin is spelled with an e instead of an i, no big deal, he's probably spelling it the way he's pronouncing it, a common mistake.

however, if anyone is told that they are making a mistake and they continue to make it more than a few times, refusing to learn then that person is someone who shows lack of interest, respect, who doesn't care and will come off as an idiot. this would be the same like not remembering your girlfriends/wifes name or knowing how to spell it. there are so many names in latin america that are not common here, how would a girl feel if you didn't learn how to pronounce it or spell it correctly? how would she feel if you consistantly misspelled Yiselle with a G or Monika with a c because that is the way we spell it here? i think you would come off as someone who doesn't care enough to learn, an idiot, not favorable traits. bottom line is it does have to do with repecting someone other than yourself.
JK

[Ray]

... in response to Re: It’s not a big deal…, posted by jediknight on Nov 28, 2005

O.K., I’ll play your game to illustrate my point since you didn’t get it. You said “what i'm referring to is the spelling of only one word, colombia…” Guess what? You just spelled Colombia wrong. Colombia should be capitalized. Does that make you an idiot? Are you disrespecting the people of Colombia by not spelling it correctly with a capital “C”?

You said that people going to Colombia should know how to spell it and if they have been corrected on the spelling and still continue to spell it incorrectly, they show a lack of interest and respect, and come off as an idiot. Why can’t that be applied to Latin America also? It seems perfectly logical that if someone is going to Latin America to find a wife, they should at least know how to spell Latin America, right? So, why do you continue to spell “latin america” wrong even after you have been corrected? Does that make you an idiot also?

You also implied that it’s no big deal to spell Medellin wrong, but it IS a big deal to spell Colombia wrong, Why is that? It makes no sense. Either you should know how to spell the name of the place where you are going or you shouldn’t have to. Which is it?

See what I mean about this trivial spelling thing? Aren’t there more important things to worry about? I believe this was the point of the original post in this thread, which I agree with :-)

Ray

[jediknight]

... in response to Well, is it a big deal or not?, posted by Ray on Nov 28, 2005

since you don't get it maybe i need to go a little slower. the  original post was on spelling colombia with a "u", not about using capital letters.

but since you are fixated on the use of capital letters as a weak argument and posed a question i'll let you in on something...this is the internet, this is an informal arena, people write on this board quickly so its acceptable to spell everything in lower case. we are not writing formal letters to anyone. every now and then we might throw in a capital letter to stress a word or abbreviation so your point about spelling latin america incorrectly is not valid and illogical since its acceptable to write in lower case. we do things here that we wouldn't do in a formal letter, such as use faces ,abbreviations (btw, lol,rotfl, etc), omit an apostrophe, period, or comma here and there, use run on sentences, so that is why i don't bother to capitalize, nice try though.

as far as medellin, again, take the time to re read my post slowly since you clearly have a problem with comprehension. i said if the poster doesn't know of his mistake then it's no big deal. if that person has not been made aware of their mistake then how can they correct it? however if that person has been corrected and refuses to learn, then that person has a problem.

i will agree with the original post that there are more important things to worry about. since you don't have any good arguments and keep trying to change the subject i'll end this here.
JK

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Well, is it a big deal or not?, posted by jediknight on Nov 28, 2005

Did you ever stop to consider the possibility that some others may think that YOU have a problem because you don’t capitalize the word Colombia?

Of course spelling includes the proper use of capitals, so instead of making silly excuses for your own poor spelling and grammar skills, perhaps you should think twice before using the “idiot” label on others. All of the arguments that you have used to call others “idiots” can be used against you for making the same kinds of mistakes. Your own posts are full of spelling errors, so please stop putting others down for their honest mistakes. Until your own language skills are absolutely perfect, you have no room to attack others.

I would strongly recommend that you try listening to what others have to say instead of worrying about some silly spelling errors. You may just learn something valuable from one of those “idiots” :-)

Peace,

Ray

[Craig]

... in response to Re: Re: Why do we argue, posted by jediknight on Nov 27, 2005

N/T

[Montrealer]

... in response to Why do we argue, posted by Joeylikey on Nov 27, 2005

Congtratulations on your marriage and your upcoming baby.

Mazel Tov!

Did you purposely visit SA to find a latin woman, or were those trips to 8 countries just vacations that helped you fall for latin women?

[Joeylikey]

... in response to Re: Why do we argue, posted by Montrealer on Nov 27, 2005

I started to travel to SA about 8 years ago. I have a friend who went into the Peace Corps. His assignment was Paraguay. He always told me that I wouldn't be sorry if I traveled there. He said the women are beautiful. Well, he was right. I have been hooked on SA ever since. Just the culture is amazing.

My friend was supposed to do only two years with the Peace Corps, well he hasn't come home yet and it's been over 8 years. I've never had a bad experience traveling around, maybe I'm just lucky.

With all the traveling it was pretty obvious that I would fall for the Latin Women. Everything is so different with them. Their morals, attitude, and general feeling about life. How could you not fall in love with that.

[Montrealer]

... in response to Re: Re: Why do we argue, posted by Joeylikey on Nov 28, 2005

Couldn't agree with you more about their morals, attitude and general feelings about life.  Finding those virtues in North America is extremely difficult to impossible.  Combine all that with the beauty of the latina body and you just can't go wrong.

So far I've only been to Mexico, Panama and Colombia in central/south America.  I plan to see alot more, but after I'm married and have someone to share the experience with.

What's your favorite city/country to go when you want a vacation, whether it be alone or with your wife?

[Joeylikey]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Why do we argue, posted by Montrealer on Nov 28, 2005

Besides Colombia, I think my favorite country was Paraguay. Beautiful country and the people are great. My friend worked out in the countryside. So I was lucky and experienced the other side. Even if they are extremely poor they are the hardest working and nicest people I have ever met. Women are just as beautiful as Colombia.

Now, I'm sure I will  be visiting Colombia a lot more. My wife would like to see her family once a year. That's fine with me. I like Cali. It's a beautiful city.