Do you consider yourself a grammarian?

Philippines
March 16, 2010 1:30pm CST
Do you think you have an advanced command of the English language compared to others? If so, do you also consider yourself a grammarian? I'm pretty sure there are times when you see wrong grammar and wrong spelling. I remember that one of my teachers could not tolerate that. I sometimes can't tolerate that either if the person who does it is supposedly able to know the language, most especially if the person is a native speaker. As for non-English speakers who are still trying to learn the language and at the intermediate levels, I would definitely understand that. When I see grammatical errors on TV and online, it would be funny but would sometimes annoy me. Of course, I just keep the criticism to myself. I'm not hurting anybody if I'm just thinking about it on my own. It is a lot funnier though when they're on Headlines on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno! Our country, the Philippines, is the texting capital of the world. The texting language is very annoying. I do sometimes use it when the situation calls for...like I only have one peso load and my message is long so I have to fit it in one message. But it annoys me when there's a lot of characters available yet the user uses so much text language. I believe it contributes in the deterioration of knowledge in grammar and spelling in using the English language. Common things that would seem annoying are the uncapitalized "I", really improper use of punctuations (FYI, I am using the British way of using commas in the previous phrase if anyone is questioning that), improper spelling and misuse of words (for example, affect vs effect). Sometimes, I try to see if it's a typographical error or not before I react. I've kind of memorized the arrangement of the letters on the keyboard and if the keys are far from each other, that definately (Hahaha, I know that's wrong. That's a common error. See what I mean? ) is not a typo. Of course, no one is perfect. Mistakes are inevitable because we're all human. So, do you consider yourself a grammarian? How do you react when you see the common grammatical errors? Thanks for reading and happy myLotting! ;)
1 person likes this
3 responses
• Philippines
29 Mar 10
since english is not my main language then i guess no im not a grammarian. besides i still respect those who can write and speak in english with all their heart to express what they really want than those who really dont speak and write english at all. philippines is not the only country who make short cut with the words they text, even around the words do that to save the cost per text. its already understood by the whole world since texting is not really formal at all, unless you will write an articles, or reports then thats the only time you need to make sure that everything is correct.
• Philippines
25 Mar 10
I am definitely not a grammarian. I don't consider myself good in speaking English and of course in writing English stories. That's why mylot is like a training ground for me ( and most of us, I think). English class was not my favorite when I was in school, I would prefer learning about math. But you are right, its seems funny that people you expect to be good in English would have lots of flaws. But when it comes to normal people, I would never make fun of them, I understand them since this is not our national language. When it comes to text messages, I don't really get annoyed with the spelling, maybe I just got used to it, since we would like our message to fit in one SMS, that's why we always alter the spelling of the words to make it short. I do that sometimes.
@mr_pearl (5018)
• India
21 Mar 10
Well... Thank you for relating your views and experience. I would like to tell you about my own experiences too... I am from India and I started learning English when I was in 5th grade. It became my passion to learn English and get a perfect command over it. I don't think, I am perfect; but I believe that I have got a good command over this beautiful language. My fiancee is an American and she knows nothing except English... myLot, has helped a lot with writing and all. Grammatically, I think, I am very good (not perfect, of course). And moreover, I work in BPO industry, where a good command over English and grammer and sentence construction is mandatory; I mean, without these we can never be in BPOs. I don't generally react immediately if I notice a grammatical error. I always think it to be indecent to point out other peoples' errors. That is how I think! Thanks for starting this discussion.. Have a nice time!! Happy myLotting!