Correcting people's grammar - acceptable?

SailorSam

Mupette wrote: »

Sheer pettyness.

I live with MS, a brain disease that has destroyed my memory my language and spelling.

I people want to correct what i write carry on, I have far better things to do with my life, and if you still want to get stroppy then walk in my shoes and then come and apologise to me after

I have diplopia (double vision) and when i'm typing i'll often hit the wrong key. I always have to proofread and re-type before posting, but there have been times i've made mistakes, and it annoys me that we have the same couple of posters who make a habit of pointing out what are very minor mistakes.

suki1964

Newlyboughthouse wrote: »

The vast majority of people aren't living with MS/dyslexia, yet most people can't seem to get it right. I know there are some that are living with dyslexia/brain diseases and I wouldn't dream of correcting them if I did usually correct people, and wouldn't think anything of a grammatical error that they made.

But we don't have it etched across our foreheads that we have these problems

So tbh you wouldn't know if the person you are correcting has a problem or is just lazy or uneducated

Pollycat

Mupette wrote: »

I live with MS, a brain disease that has destroyed my memory my language and spelling.

SailorSam wrote: »

I have diplopia (double vision) and when i'm typing i'll often hit the wrong key. I always have to proofread and re-type before posting, but there have been times i've made mistakes, and it annoys me that we have the same couple of posters who make a habit of pointing out what are very minor mistakes.

Maybe the OP should keep these 2 posts in mind as she 'seethes inside' and struggles not to correct the next mistake she comes across on the forum.

Newlyboughthouse

Pollycat wrote: »

At school :wall:- where I learned and presumably so did you.

Posters on here don't 'need to learn' - as long as the meaning is clear.


So why ask the question then?
If it mattered to you that much, you would correct people anyway.

Yes, as long as the meaning of the post is clear.
For the sake of clarity - I'm talking specifically about people posting on public fora.

'grammar police' don't belong on here.
Take your worries elsewhere.


School. :wall::wall:


So how do you determine which posters do have MS/dyslexia and which don't? How would you decide who should be corrected and who should not be?
Maybe you could give me the winning lottery numbers with your crystal ball.

How do you know the person you sneered at in your opening post doesn't suffer from some illness that makes writing coherently difficult?

Why are you using a 'banging your head against a wall' emoji? I think you missed my point. Most people in this forum HAVE LEFT SCHOOL so it is too late. IMHO using correct English is still important, ESPECIALLY in public fora, and most people don't care any more, including you. I despair.

SailorSam

Newlyboughthouse wrote: »

Why are you using a 'banging your head against a wall' emoji? I think you missed my point. Most people in this forum HAVE LEFT SCHOOL so it is too late. IMHO using correct English is still important, ESPECIALLY in public fora, and most people don't care any more, including you. I despair.

Perhaps you could find an English 'writers forum' where you'd be more comfortable.

Pollycat

Newlyboughthouse wrote: »

Why are you using a 'banging your head against a wall' emoji? I think you missed my point. Most people in this forum HAVE LEFT SCHOOL so it is too late. IMHO using correct English is still important, ESPECIALLY in public fora, and most people don't care any more, including you. I despair.

If it's that important to you, start correcting people when they've made a mistake then.

But get ready to be pulled up if you ever make a mistake.

Why are you so worried about 'winning friends' on a pubic forum anyway?

You are wrong about me not caring about using correct English - I do care. But I care about the way I write, I don't obsess about anybody else's perceived lack of care.

The difference between you and I is that I don't expect other people on pubic fora to keep to the standards I impose on myself , just as I don't expect my friends and family to send me texts that are perfectly composed.
As long as I can understand what they are saying, I personally don't think it matters.

SailorSam wrote: »

Perhaps you could find an English 'writers forum' where you'd be more comfortable.

Great suggestion, Sam. :T

coolcait

Pollycat wrote: »

It's not an English exam, it's an informal public forum with people of different backgrounds and different levels of education.

However, there's not necessarily a link between background, or level of education, and ability in English. Many people who have had a higher education still make some of the more basic errors in English. Others, who left school, as soon as they could, have an excellent grasp of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Similarly, many people who speak English as a second language have a far better grasp of the basics than many native speakers.

The way to ensure 'dumbing down' doesn't happen is in schools.

I think it's too late for that. Thinking about real life, where I have a good idea of the background and level of education of the writers, the clearest pattern I can see is that ability in English is age-related. The older the writer, the more likely they are to get the basics right. In my view, that is linked to the fact that the approach to teaching English has changed over the years.

If you think about it, if people are coming out of higher education, including teacher training, writing 'would of' etc, then they won't be able to correct it when pupils write it. Worse, that's what they will teach as the 'correct' version.

But an informal public forum is not the place to teach people.
You teach your kids the correct word to use, where to put a comma, how to spell a word - not strangers on the internet. It's not your job.

If someone types 'loose' when they mean 'lose', I would say 99% of the time the meaning is clear from the context of the rest of the post.
Do you have an example where a post would not make sense if these two words were interchanged?

The examples I gave in my earlier post were obviously made up - albeit they do reflect my views.

However, I chose the examples of 'loose/lose'; 'except/accept'; and 'defiantly/definitely' because there have been a number of occasions on MSE where I've seen one of those combinations used - and I've had to read the post several times to be (fairly) sure which meaning the poster was actually aiming for.

I don't remember the exact posts, and even if I did I wouldn't put them forward for scrutiny.

I think that there is a interesting point at the root of the subject of this thread - to what extent is the English language 'evolving', and to what extent are people simply unaware that they're getting it wrong?

I can see the demise of the apostrophe as evolution. I can see the demise of the past participle as evolution. If we say "I danced, I have danced" then why not say "I wrote, I have wrote" rather than "I have written"? (Although, in that case, why not say "I write, I writed, I have writed"?)

That was a very painful paragraph to write! :-(

However, 'would of' etc are simply wrong, IMO. I can understand that they come from people writing down what they hear, but there is no sense to 'would of', 'should of'.

As for correcting people's usage of English on a forum, there are some cases where it seems more wrong not to correct them.

For example, on the employment board, if a poster asks for comments on a statement which they intend to send to a prospective employer. Or, on this board, if someone shares a letter which they intend to send about an issue which is important to them.

Unfortunately, the document the poster has shared has quite a few errors in it.

Although I wouldn't go through it saying "well that's wrong, that's wrong, that's wrong", I might offer suggestions on different ways to word it - and I've seen other posters take a similar approach.

I would actually feel that it was more cruel not to comment under those circumstances.

meritaten

If somebody did post a draft letter they intended to send, to the 'Authorities' for eg, then of course I would point out any grammatical or spelling errors. As I assume that is what they were asking for help with. Although, I am no 'expert', I have had a university level education and none of my tutors ever pulled me up or marked me down for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
I must admit though - I do NOT take the same care when posting on here that I did in writing my assignments. Why? frankly, I don't care enough. and I am not looking to get an A+ in 'Postwriting'.

Oh dear - there were at LEAST three errors in the last paragraph!!!!!! am I going to change any? no, the meaning is clear is it not?

missbiggles1

meritaten wrote: »

If somebody did post a draft letter they intended to send, to the 'Authorities' for eg, then of course I would point out any grammatical or spelling errors. As I assume that is what they were asking for help with. Although, I am no 'expert', I have had a university level education and none of my tutors ever pulled me up or marked me down for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
I must admit though - I do NOT take the same care when posting on here that I did in writing my assignments. Why? frankly, I don't care enough. and I am not looking to get an A+ in 'Postwriting'.

Oh dear - there were at LEAST three errors in the last paragraph!!!!!! am I going to change any? no, the meaning is clear is it not?

What a terrible indictment of our education system.:(

adindas

There are increasing number of people making posting from their mobile devices. Typing as short as possible is the way to go, as long as people could still comprehend the message. Sometimes when you reply the message, the automatic correction does not work. Some people in this forum have dyslexia, etc ...

Also the MSE forum is not a language forum. If you have passion towards the language then volunteering to become a language tutor might be the way to go. There are a lot of foreign students looking for proofreading for their courseworks or dissertations, there are many genuine refugees need english teachers to help them settles in the UK. If you are willing to volunteer, many people including me could definitely help you with that.

Newlyboughthouse wrote: »

Everywhere I look, I see terrible spelling and grammar. It is shocking. Check out the post in Pets and Pet Care titled 'out of hours vet', for example.

Question: is it acceptable to correct perpetrators? I feel that I can't without fear of being accused of being the grammar police or a grammar nazi. So I just seethe on the inside.

However, I can see the population getting dumb, and feel such corrections should be made. Otherwise, eventually, 'to' will be accepted as 'too', or 'loose' will be accepted as 'lose' etc.

Thoughts on a postcard...