No, it's important to protect the integrity of language, not least because misuse of grammar and spelling can interfere with meaning. A misplaced comma, incorrect use of defining / non-defining relative clauses or a stray apostrophe and the semantics of a sentence can change. It may not mean much in a text message between friends, but in a legal document, a treaty, a piece of legislation, a contract, a will, a newspaper article or any other document of importance, it matters. I would argue that it matters for businesses too; it just looks sloppy and unprofessional to display signs or produce publicity materials that contain errors. For Pete's sake, sort it!
It's a good job we have some brainy people then to that sort of thing. I pay a solicitor to do the wills and would probably ask one to write a treaty for me if the question arose.
Its no good you telling me to 'sort it for Pete's sake' I haven't got a clue.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
After a trip out in the car my Mum came home and announced that my Dad was an erotic driver, she also said that she couldn't understand why some women worked as laptop dancers.....
The English language has developed over hundreds of years and is uniquely capable of variety of meaning and expression. It is also continuing to develop. I do believe in the value of preserving its better features but not to the point of pedantry. It is absurd and insulting to suggest you cannot be friends with someone whose grammar is unconventional and I wouldn't waste a moment on such people. Clarity of meaning is the key issue; I believe we should work towards expressing our meaning and not assuming that the reader will guess correctly.
It would be pedantry (and inexcusable) if I commented on another contributor's poor English on a thread if the meaning was clear. If the meaning was unclear then I might have to ask a question to clarify their meaning. (e.g. Were they intending to say their seeds are being offered free of charge having used the word complimentary when I suspect they meant that the seeds would harmonise or complete a set and should have used the word complementary and I should therefore expect to pay for them).
The intended meaning in the Dobies email is clear (not such a thing as a complimentary colour) but such poor English must be challenged or it will become the norm. Proof reading anything designed to be read by the general public is essential as it projects a poor image of the author or the company issuing it.
Joyce21. Whenever I see definately in print in my mind I hear the writer saying it with the stress on the ATE, whereas you and I would put the stress on the DEF.
M-K-. I believe defiantly coming into use as an aberration of definitely is a result of predictive text and auto-correct. I would switch mine off but I do need assistance sometimes. As a result I need to carefully read everything before pressing the send button. (errors still get through though )
Topbird. I did intend to finish my post with a comment such as ......... should we expect better from a company which calls itself Dobies? but decided against it. Clearly we think alike .
Lyn. Anyone who chooses friends based on their grammar is clearly shallow but if a report is being sent in to MI5 then someone with a command of English will have to proof read it If the writer has poor language skills. Saying that, I received an email purporting to be from the Inland Revenue recently and binned it as a spoof because of elementary grammatical mistakes. Turned out to be real )
Pottering girl. My mum once asked me at the dinner table (in front of my husband and teenage sons) to explain oral sex and how companies make money from it. This was after a piece on the evening news referring to a sex chat line.
Chloe. If a company advertised complimentary therapy then they are advertising that these services are free when what they probably mean is complementary. When the wrong word is used the meaning is lost.
Eric's mum. We were taught at school to split the phrase up to determine the correct word so in this case you can say call Dave, you can say call me but nobody would say call I. It is so simple but clearly not all schools cover this.
I wouldn't correct an adult as it can cause bad feeling but I would explain to a child or non English speaker how to work out what is correct usage.
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As a literacy tutor, the vagaries of English spelling, grammar and usage keep me in business.
On a personal level, I couldn't give a rat's a**e about any of them. I'm more interested in what a person has to say than how they say it.
No, it's important to protect the integrity of language, not least because misuse of grammar and spelling can interfere with meaning. A misplaced comma, incorrect use of defining / non-defining relative clauses or a stray apostrophe and the semantics of a sentence can change. It may not mean much in a text message between friends, but in a legal document, a treaty, a piece of legislation, a contract, a will, a newspaper article or any other document of importance, it matters. I would argue that it matters for businesses too; it just looks sloppy and unprofessional to display signs or produce publicity materials that contain errors. For Pete's sake, sort it!
It's a good job we have some brainy people then to that sort of thing. I pay a solicitor to do the wills and would probably ask one to write a treaty for me if the question arose.
Its no good you telling me to 'sort it for Pete's sake' I haven't got a clue.
After a trip out in the car my Mum came home and announced that my Dad was an erotic driver, she also said that she couldn't understand why some women worked as laptop dancers.....
The English language has developed over hundreds of years and is uniquely capable of variety of meaning and expression. It is also continuing to develop. I do believe in the value of preserving its better features but not to the point of pedantry. It is absurd and insulting to suggest you cannot be friends with someone whose grammar is unconventional and I wouldn't waste a moment on such people. Clarity of meaning is the key issue; I believe we should work towards expressing our meaning and not assuming that the reader will guess correctly.
Defiantly! I really love this typo.
It would be pedantry (and inexcusable) if I commented on another contributor's poor English on a thread if the meaning was clear. If the meaning was unclear then I might have to ask a question to clarify their meaning. (e.g. Were they intending to say their seeds are being offered free of charge having used the word complimentary when I suspect they meant that the seeds would harmonise or complete a set and should have used the word complementary and I should therefore expect to pay for them).
The intended meaning in the Dobies email is clear (not such a thing as a complimentary colour) but such poor English must be challenged or it will become the norm. Proof reading anything designed to be read by the general public is essential as it projects a poor image of the author or the company issuing it.
Joyce21. Whenever I see definately in print in my mind I hear the writer saying it with the stress on the ATE, whereas you and I would put the stress on the DEF.
M-K-. I believe defiantly coming into use as an aberration of definitely is a result of predictive text and auto-correct. I would switch mine off but I do need assistance sometimes. As a result I need to carefully read everything before pressing the send button. (errors still get through though
)
Topbird. I did intend to finish my post with a comment such as ......... should we expect better from a company which calls itself Dobies? but decided against it. Clearly we think alike
.
Lyn. Anyone who chooses friends based on their grammar is clearly shallow but if a report is being sent in to MI5 then someone with a command of English will have to proof read it If the writer has poor language skills. Saying that, I received an email purporting to be from the Inland Revenue recently and binned it as a spoof because of elementary grammatical mistakes. Turned out to be real
)
Pottering girl. My mum once asked me at the dinner table (in front of my husband and teenage sons) to explain oral sex and how companies make money from it. This was after a piece on the evening news referring to a sex chat line.
Chloe. If a company advertised complimentary therapy then they are advertising that these services are free when what they probably mean is complementary. When the wrong word is used the meaning is lost.
Posy. Couldn't agree more!
To everyone else, loved reading your responses.
Someone the other day said to me 'call Dave or I'. When I pointed out that it should be 'Call Dave or Me' I was accused of being pedantic.
I don't bother with most grammatical inaccuracies and I don't always know any better, but this example leaps out at me, it sounds so wrong.
Eric's mum. We were taught at school to split the phrase up to determine the correct word so in this case you can say call Dave, you can say call me but nobody would say call I. It is so simple but clearly not all schools cover this.
I wouldn't correct an adult as it can cause bad feeling but I would explain to a child or non English speaker how to work out what is correct usage.