Correcting people's grammar - acceptable?

heartbreak_star

I forgot a brilliant one - I wrote to my mum's local council as apparently, according to their road signs, you could visit a "Warf".

It has since been corrected, which I'm really happy about as I ground my teeth every time I drove past it.

HBS x

Izadora

Pollycat wrote: »

You also choose - by your own admission - not to help people because their spelling, punctuation or grammar is not up to your standards:


FWIW, a wrong word used, misspelled word, apostrophe in the wrong place or any other error screams out at me too.
The difference is that I see past it and don't just ignore someone because they may not have had the same level of education.

A few wrong or misspelled words and erroneous apostrophes grate but I was actually referring to posts which are written in such a way that they're pretty much unintelligible. I was also stating that, wrongly, I'm likely to give less weight to someone's opinion if it's unintelligible rather than saying that I wouldn't help someone who needed it.

I've stated that I know that I'm in the wrong, suggesting that I see my reaction as nobody's failing but my own, but you still persist with the idea that I'm well above my station and would be cruel or dismissive just because somebody used "there" instead of "their".
Well done for being so magnanimous as to see past people's grammar though, you should be so very proud of yourself.

Pollycat

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

When it comes to signposts, menus, company websites, professional documents, etc, it is always acceptable to contact the writer/owner/publisher and politely point out the mistake so that they can correct it.

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I forgot a brilliant one - I wrote to my mum's local council as apparently, according to their road signs, you could visit a "Warf".

It has since been corrected, which I'm really happy about as I ground my teeth every time I drove past it.

HBS x

I think the above are absolutely reasonable things to point out as incorrect.

The landlord of our local pub used to do posters advertising events and he'd bring them down, pin them up, turn to us and say "OK. What is wrong with it this time?"

I also sat and watched a guy in the same pub who'd been commissioned to do some fancy sign-writing on blackboards. He was on a step-ladder leaning over the bar so a pretty awkward position for him.

He wrote 'Qualiy Beers' (literally).

I said "Doesn't 'Quality' have a 't' in it?"

He said "Oh !!!!!!!"

It would have been criminal to not mention it (and it would have irritated the hell out of me every time we went in).

But these are very different examples to correcting a poster on a public forum.

Pollycat

Izadora wrote: »

A few wrong or misspelled words and erroneous apostrophes grate but I was actually referring to posts which are written in such a way that they're pretty much unintelligible. I was also stating that, wrongly, I'm likely to give less weight to someone's opinion if it's unintelligible rather than saying that I wouldn't help someone who needed it.

I've stated that I know that I'm in the wrong, suggesting that I see my reaction as nobody's failing but my own, but you still persist with the idea that I'm well above my station and would be cruel or dismissive just because somebody used "there" instead of "their".
Well done for being so magnanimous as to see past people's grammar though, you should be so very proud of yourself.

Izadora wrote: »

I could've done but I wouldn't because, despite your opinion of me, I'm actually not a smug, self-satisfied tw*t. I already said that I know that I'm in the wrong for thinking the way that I do but I can't help the fact that something in my brain screams at me when I read incredibly garbled English. I do however choose not to take people to task over what they've written despite being annoyed by it.
No it wouldn't, quite the opposite in fact.

Why do you insist on attributing words to me that I've not posted about you?

Where have I referred to you as a self-satisfied tw*t or called you cruel?

If you are going to debate with me, at least do me the courtesy of not making up words that I've not posted.

I will stand by anything I have posted about you, but I will not be accused of posting imaginary words that I haven't!

If you think you're wrong to possibly give less weight to someone's opinion if it's unintelligible, why not work on changing that mindset?

Izadora

Pollycat wrote: »

Why do you insist on attributing words to me that I've not posted about you?

Where have I referred to you as a self-satisfied tw*tor called you cruel?

While you haven't used those specific words it was my interpretation of what you were saying, just as you considering me to be smug and in possession of a superiority complex were your interpretation of what I was saying.

Pollycat wrote: »

Of course, if I had used the wrong word, you could have made a song and dance about it.

I'm sure that would have made you feel much more superior ....

That, in addition to the earlier 'smug', is what led me to believe that you see me as a self-satisfied tw*t.

Pollycat wrote: »

You also choose - by your own admission - not to help people because their spelling, punctuation or grammar is not up to your standards

To withhold help because of inferior grammar would be cruel therefore, even though it's not something I would actually do, I thought it fair enough to assume that you consider me to be cruel.

Pollycat wrote: »

If you are going to debate with me, at least do me the courtesy of not making up words that I've not posted.

I will stand by anything I have posted about you, but I will not be accused of posting imaginary words that I haven't!

I'm sorry if my choice of words has annoyed or offended you but I don't see where I've made any accusations, I was merely stating what I believe your opinion of me to be based on what you've written.

Pollycat wrote: »

If you think you're wrong to possibly give less weight to someone's opinion if it's unintelligible, why not work on changing that mindset?

I have tried and I continue to try to change the way I think but, having grown up with a brother who would pick me up on split infinitives and give me a look of utter disgust and disappointment if I got less/fewer wrong, it's something which is pretty deeply ingrained.
I don't pick people up on poor grammar or try to belittle them for the fact that they didn't grow up being told it was something important but I don't know that I'll ever reach a stage where it doesn't make me cringe slightly.

p.s. If you'd ever seen anything which my boyfriend had written you'd know how much I've improved with being able to accept that some good people have poor grammar - although I did draw the line at letting him send a Christmas card from both of us with "Lot's of love"...

p.p.s Yes, I'm aware of the fact that my grammar's still very far from perfect.

suki1964

Whilst I'm no grammar expert, and my spelling isn't the best, and I do have dyslexia, I do try my best to get things right.

Its a lot easier with a keyboard then pen and paper for sure

I do cringe when a post is written so badly that my eyes bleed when reading it, but if someone has posted on a forum for help/advice or to offer the same, who really cares?

I find that the grammar nazis usually jump in when a debate isn't going their way, they have no further argument to make so resort to belittling - happens a lot over in discussion time

Where I live now, the dialect is very localised When I first moved here I would automatically correct people when they would come out with such gems as "I know'd that man" Now I find I come out with the same which really annoys me lol Because I hear the wrong tense daily I now struggle to remember the correct tense

Peter333

Why do people post threads and then not come back to them? :huh:

Lighting the touchpaper and then running off and not coming back. It's so annoying!

And I know for a fact the OP has been back on since. (In fact, they're online now!)

If someone's going to post something quite controversial, at least have the decency to respond to the replies people have given.

I think if the OP of a thread doesn't return within say, 48 hours, the thread should be deleted! :mad:

pollypenny

Spelling and grammar errors on anything which has been professionally produced drive me mad.

Sign writers should be able to spell and check their work. There is an old house near here 'Open to the public on Sunday's and Public Holiday's'.

A local shop had a sign for 'humourous ' cards and a board on the coastal path told of 'the Industrial Trial'.

Someone has been paid to produce these and should be taken to task.

However, I wouldn't dream of correcting someone if they make errors in posts here.

FreeBear

If/when confronted with a government employee (including subcontractors) who demonstrates poor grammar and spelling, I will get the red pen out and highlight the errors. If you have had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of a DWP funded "back to work" scam, the red pen is an ideal weapon.

As for posters that insist on using txt sp33k - You will be ignored or instructed to type in a coherent and legible fashion. Perfect grammar and spelling is not a prerequisite, and I will tolerate a number of small errors in an open internet forum.

In the right place and at the right time, it is quite acceptable to correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The pen, after all, is mightier than the sword and can be a fine weapon in its own right - But please, no poking out eyes with it.

heartbreak_star wrote: »

I forgot a brilliant one - I wrote to my mum's local council as apparently, according to their road signs, you could visit a "Warf".

Ummm... A Warf is an artificial mound built in low lying areas as a refuge from floods. Most often found in the Netherlands.

Peter333

FreeBear wrote: »

If/when confronted with a government employee (including subcontractors) who demonstrates poor grammar and spelling, I will get the red pen out and highlight the errors. If you have had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of a DWP funded "back to work" scam, the red pen is an ideal weapon.

As for posters that insist on using txt sp33k - You will be ignored or instructed to type in a coherent and legible fashion. Perfect grammar and spelling is not a prerequisite, and I will tolerate a number of small errors in an open internet forum.

In the right place and at the right time, it is quite acceptable to correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The pen, after all, is mightier than the sword and can be a fine weapon in its own right - But please, no poking out eyes with it.