Question on English Language to British Members

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I would not dream of speaking the way I write here in common parlance (there is a good example - I don't think I have ever uttered the word "parlance". And nor do I intend to do so anytime soon).

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I always advise people to write better than they speak. I think it does take some practice and skill. IMO, avid readers tend to have a larger vocabulary base.As a secretary, I have read and corrected many letters, papers, memos, etc. written by people with college degrees. There are those who can write and those who can't.Besides the avid readers, those who take more English classes in college than the required usually do a better job.I find that most people have a problem with tenses and words that sound the same but spelled differently. Example: their and they're - your and you're. These are not pushed in the schools. I had to retrain my husband on tenses in his speech.Whether I use larger words in speech, depends on who I'm talking to. I used the word "foibles" once and my family gave me the deer-in-the-headlight look.When we speak, we don't have to worry about punctuation. When someone dictates a letter, there are times I have to reword the sentence because it can't be punctuated properly or doesn't read well.Here at EvC, I can use language that isn't generally used in day to day conversation. Again, it depends on who I'm conversing with.I find it enjoyable, especially when some non American terms pop into the conversation. More words to stump the family. My niece is an advanced student in high school and an avid reader, so I do like to stump her. Keep her humble. She didn't know what foibles meant.

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Scripture is like Newton’s third law of motionfor every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
In other words, for every biblical directive that exists, there is another scriptural mandate challenging it.
-- Carlene Cross in The Bible and Newton’s Third Law of Motion

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at EvC, I punctuate as I would speak, not as I would if I were writing gramatically. ...

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Does this make my writing better or worse???

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IMO, that is writing better than one actually speaks.From what I've read of your large posts, your writing usually flows well. You don't give me a headache. There are some people whose work is not a pleasure to read.If the work flows and is easily understood, then IMO, the punctuation used is doing its job whether it's grammatically correct or not. Even perfect punctuation can't help poor writing.I usually notice missing or too much punctuation when the sentence doesn't flow or doesn't make sense.The whole point is for others to understand what we write and hopefully enjoy reading what we write. Edited by purpledawn, : No reason given.Edited by purpledawn, : No reason given.