Why the obessession with spelling/grammar?

[Prodigal_Son]

I just love Prodigal_Son. He's silly and that's what I like about him. Can you believe he actually had the nerve to tell me I couldn't join him on one of his Israel tours because only righteous people could go?

ps..I know he's reading this.

I just call 'em like I see 'em, lady.

[beefche]

/me contemplates starting to use the word irregardless.

That word is like nails on a chalkboard, Dravin. You have now officially hit my list.

[SMG]

/me contemplates starting to use the word irregardless.

/me gets a headache and wonders why her eye just started twitching.

[pam]

Watch it bucko. Uhhh that was to Prodigal..you two were too fast.

[Prodigal_Son]

Watch it bucko. Uhhh that was to Prodigal..you two were too fast.

Are you gonna ban me now? I'll have to start my OWN forum. It'll be just like this one, but I'll title it a more apt: www.strainingatgnats.com

[LostSheep]

I just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhowi just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhowi just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhowi just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhowi just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhowi just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhowi just dont see the problm with typeing as fast as i can so i can get to the next post and improve my posting score after all i want to be nomber won on teh list so that i can be the best ever on this forum so if anyone wants to yell at me and hate my bad english thats fune what do i care they're probably jus sitting at home alone with nothing better to do anyhow

Sad thing is, I read it all

[pam]

Sad thing is, I read it all

[Tarnished]

I have my degree in English, however I have never been heavy handed about using proper grammar, maybe it is because I never really perfected all the rules of grammar myself or maybe it is because I focused mainly on literature when I was in college. That being said when people can't spell their way out of a box it does become quite distracting. However, I have never seen the point in making a big deal about it. Maybe it comes from working with people who have English as their second language, maybe it is because I have tried to learn other languages and appreciate it when people who speak that language give me the benefit of the doubt. I will admit though that my pet peeves are as follows:

1. When people use a different word for the word they meant to use like using "sense" for "since"

2. When someone with next to no grammar skills mocks someone else for making a grammar mistake. Kettle meet pot...

For the most part I just use my puzzle solving skills to figure out the strange linguistic codes that seem to pop up on some forum boards, and if those skills fail me then I figure the post really wasn't that important and skip to the next one.

[Dravin]

That word is like nails on a chalkboard, Dravin. You have now officially hit my list.

I know.

/me gets a headache and wonders why her eye just started twitching.

Don't worry SMG, you and Beefche are safe, it is after all a pet peeve of my own.

[beefche]

Holy Me (well, I AM a cow)...how did you remember that??? I laughed out loud on that!

[Vort]

So, I've noticed on the forums that I've belonged to that there seems to be at least 1 person who is hyper-sensitive to people using correct spelling/grammar. Why?

For the same reason some people are hypersensitive about folks chewing with their mouth open or blowing their nose in public. To some people, bad spelling and grammar just seem like bad manners.

I'm just wondering what the big deal is? If I can understand what the person is trying to say, I rarely correct them.

I only correct people on three occasions:

• I'm teasing them, in which case I will often "correct" things that aren't actually wrong.
• I can't understand what they mean, so I tell them my best interpretation.
• I think they're being a jerk somehow, maybe a bully or something like that, so I decide to be a jerk back at them.

Not that I ever do #3, of course.

[Dravin]

Holy Me (well, I AM a cow)...how did you remember that??? I laughed out loud on that!

I'm hurt beefche, we shared a pet peeve, that creates a special bond. Did it mean nothing to you? How could I not remember!

Edited December 2, 2009 by Dravin

[pam]

blowing their nose in public

I never understood why people get sensitive about this yet I know they do. I'd rather see someone blow their nose than to keep with the big gulping sniffs or wiping their nose on their sleeve or worse letting it just drip.

[beefche]

Sorry, Dravin. I just had 2 cups of my Sleepytime Herbal Tea and well, I'm sleepy. It was a bonding experience! Irregardless of my sleepiness, there is no excuse for failing to strengthen our bond. Please forgive your bovine friend.

[Wingnut]

• I think they're being a jerk somehow, maybe a bully or something like that, so I decide to be a jerk back at them.

That's about the only time I actually do it as well. Or when a person has a snotty and superior attitude but spells everything incorrectly.

For the record, I correct my own grammar. In my head. Even when the incorrect grammar was in my head. For example, I'm currently uploading a video to post to my blog. Wondering how long it would take, I looked at the status of the upload. It was at 10% not long after I started it. In my head, I said "It's moving pretty fast." And then I corrected it to "It's moving pretty quickly."

So if I'm petty about your grammar, know that I'm petty about my own as well.

[Wingnut]

In the time that it took to come here, post that, and switch back to my video, it finished uploading. Yay!

[Dravin]

Sorry, Dravin. I just had 2 cups of my Sleepytime Herbal Tea and well, I'm sleepy. It was a bonding experience! Regardless of my sleepiness, there is no excuse for failing to strengthen our bond. Please forgive your bovine friend.

I just looked at the post date and realized it was close to 5 months ago.

You're lucky, while we are commanded to forgive men their trespasses the scriptures are silent on the matter of cattle, I will however not throw away something so precious as our pet peeve bond over something so trivial. I forgive you.

[beefche]

Thanks, Dravin. I'm happy now, so maybe I should try out for that Happy Cow pageant--you know the ones with the commercials "Happy cows come from California!"

[john doe]

I'm curious, jd. Do you correct people when speaking to them? I'm thinking especially of the Hoosier accent--probably is pronounced prolly; Washington is pronounced Worshington.

My brother didn't graduate from high school so his spelling is horrible. But, I don't correct him. I just ask him what he means if I am unable to decipher the word/sentence.

My children, yes I do correct them. I have a daughter who constantly uses certain words or phrases in the wrong tense. She needs to understand that proper language usage will help her advance and sound more intelligent when speaking in a professional or public environment. And yes, I also let my co-workers know when they talk like hicks. But they know me, I don't do it to people I don't know.

[john doe]

I'll be the first to admit that I am the king of the run-on sentence. Sometimes when I get on a roll with a point I just can't stop myself. And then sometimes I'll make it worse by adding subpoints parenthetically in the run-on sentence. I'm sure it annoys some people here.

[Moksha]

When it comes to such things we should all remember the words of President Bush, "What me worry". If I think to use the spell checker to correct both my posts and those I am quoting from, it is done as a courtesy. If it is not done then we should defer to President Bush.

.

[LostSheep]

Holy Me

LOL

Nice...Ok, I'm getting tired...I think I'm gonna go count myself to help me get to sleep.

[Jamie123]

Where are your parents?

They was here sir, but they isn't here now.

"They was here but they isn't now?" Where's your grammar, child?

At home watching TV!

[beefche]

My children, yes I do correct them. I have a daughter who constantly uses certain words or phrases in the wrong tense. She needs to understand that proper language usage will help her advance and sound more intelligent when speaking in a professional or public environment. And yes, I also let my co-workers know when they talk like hicks. But they know me, I don't do it to people I don't know.

I'm glad to know you correct your kids, actually. That's your job!

When I went to BYU, I discovered I had an accent. Never knew it. So, I worked hard to get rid of my Hoosier accent. When I came home for the summer, my best friend corrected my pronunciation of "friend." "It's 'frind', not 'frend', said she. Made me laugh to think I was teased at BYU for my accent, then teased at home for losing it.

[Wingnut]

I'll be the first to admit that I am the king of the run-on sentence. Sometimes when I get on a roll with a point I just can't stop myself. And then sometimes I'll make it worse by adding subpoints parenthetically in the run-on sentence. I'm sure it annoys some people here.

Don't you mean...

I'll be the first to admit that I am the king of the run-on sentence; sometimes when I get on a roll with a point I just can't stop myself, and then sometimes I'll make it worse by adding subpoints parenthetically in the run-on sentence...I'm sure it annoys some people here.

When I went to BYU, I discovered I had an accent. Never knew it. So, I worked hard to get rid of my Hoosier accent. When I came home for the summer, my best friend corrected my pronunciation of "friend." "It's 'frind', not 'frend', said she. Made me laugh to think I was teased at BYU for my accent, then teased at home for losing it.

Spoken accents don't bother me too much (you used the example of probably vs. prolly), but I really hate it when people spell out their accents unnecessarily. If you're deliberately trying to convey southern drawl or something, that's one thing, but seeing people write out prolly when they mean probably annoys me.