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Are you a grammar nazi?

Keith

Keith

Well-Known Member
I have an obsession with proper grammar. I've even driven myself crazy with when to use a comma (there are some instances where commas are omitted when you wouldn't think they'd be). I like writing out words like one or two but not words like 21 or 101. I like advanced vocabulary but would never use the word "ostensibly". I also always use the "Oxford" comma.
 
English is not my native language... when I use my native language I pretend that grammar doesn't exist :) I suspect I might be dyslexic, it's been always a struggle. it's not severe but it is bothersome sometimes, so I do make mistakes, I do have to check and recheck, I do forget rules, rules don't make sense to me etc etc etc etc........... grammar and I are from 2 different planets :) but ( I ) it could have been worse after all :) you see I put "I" there, don't have an idea why :D
 
I also tend to write out the word "and", and :)p ) try not to use the word "too" to mean "also" due to its other use ("too many", etc).
 
I don't care too much about grammar.. never have. Don't think I ever spent a lot of time studying grammar and yet here I am, speaking a few foreign languages and having a general interest in language.

I guess for me it's somewhat intuitive and just comes along quite natural to recognize patterns when it comes to grammar. The last time I actually looked at grammar of a few languages it made less sense to me than me actually speaking it (and quite correct I might add). So I think I had to unlearn what I read in regards and get that natural insight back again.

Thus I don't have the urge to tell people they're wrong. I'm more of a "if I understood what you meant, the purpose of communication was a success". And if I don't, I might just ask what you meant for extra clarification. Though I guess if that happens too often it becomes a nuisance to have a conversation with someone and eventually I'll end up having less conversations with someone.
 
I always exceled at grammar and spelling in school, both because the answers were clear cut like math. Where as fiction and literature were near impossible.

I see a lot of things not written well, but unless it's to the point I can't understand it, it doesn't bother me. But in any case I'm not going to pick somebody's post apart for grammar. In a professional setting, like at work where we have million dollar projects at stake, I definitely pay close attention to spelling and grammar. But for something informal like a forum or chat program, it's not something I care to spend my time thinking about. As long as I can get the bulk of the point across (hopefully anyway) then it's fine.
 
I get really frustrated when people misuse language. I can forgive a typo, but when it comes to blatand disregard of language structure, I can't stand it. Probably because spoken/written language is kind of my only refuge, given my impaired ability to communicate nonverbally.
 
Some of my pet peeves are you're/your, their/there/they're, sequal, and several others. Internet grammar is often horrible, or so it seems.
 
Keith said:
Internet grammar is often horrible, or so it seems.
Click to expand...

Or some people just don't hold to that same standard as you ;)

That, and the fact that you don't even need to literate to use the internet. Facebook and other social media don't hold a high standard where people have to possess good grammar (or language in general) skills.

In a sense it's good when people from all backgrounds can communicate, yet what I've found out is that some communicate to terrible it actually slows down any way of effective communication. And that's actually where communication fails... using the right form of the verb is the least of my worries though.
 
If you want to talk about a real "grammar Nazi":

“Write it Right” by Ambrose Bierce | Larry Farlow

Bookslut | Ambrose Bierce's Write It Right: The Celebrated Cynic's Language Peeves Deciphered, Appraised, and Annotated for 21st-Century Readers edited by Jan Freeman

Interestingly enough, I think having a Master's in English has actually made me less of a Grammar Nazi than I was before by giving me more of an understanding of how language evolves, I'm also more likely to look at "bad" grammar as simply being non-standard instead of "wrong" (one of my professors discussed how the grammar of African-American English [or "Ebonics," which, I believe, is not really the preferred nomenclature] actually makes more sense than Standard American English). If I'm editing a piece of writing for someone, I am going to point out things in it that are non-standard, but I typically don't go around acting like the "language police" (However, if people I know well are constantly saying that they "could care less," I will probably have to explain to them why that doesn't make sense).
 
Ah, yes, another one I don't like: "could care less". I think I read that one in a Bill Bryson book.

At least I'm not a Latin-speaking Roman trying to understand all the colloquial "dialects" of Latin which emerged over time during Rome's reign as a superpower.
 
IContainMultitudes said:
Interestingly enough, I think having a Master's in English has actually made me less of a Grammar Nazi than I was before by giving me more of an understanding of how language evolves, I'm also more likely to look at "bad" grammar as simply being non-standard instead of "wrong" (one of my professors discussed how the grammar of African-American English [or "Ebonics," which, I believe, is not really the preferred nomenclature] actually makes more sense than Standard American English). If I'm editing a piece of writing for someone, I am going to point out things in it that are non-standard, but I typically don't go around acting like the "language police" (However, if people I know well are constantly saying that they "could care less," I will probably have to explain to them why that doesn't make sense).
Click to expand...
I think that seeing language as mutable is a great perspective. I was aware of this, from reading books like 1984, but never gave thought to how it is changed and shaped by our everyday society and culture. Can you elaborate more on what your professor said?
 
naw, I is no grammar Nazi. I take comfort from the fact that American English is a forgiving language, with sufficient redundancy to maintain intelligibility even if seriously mangled in expression.
 
grammar Nazis are controllers of people and thought. they tell you that if you don't speak their way that you are not thinking correctly.
 
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