Grammatical error...Tells about the type or kind person that you are?

Philippines
August 25, 2010 10:30pm CST
Who's the perfect editors and grammarian? Imperfect as human beings that we are, even grammarians and editors do not own the armor in perfecting grammatical errors. Everywhere, false and true linguistic often criticize ones style of writing.Good grammarians often are blessed with good vocabulary and are effective communicators(although, others that are good in writing may not that good in communication skills and vice versa).The impression of being good in grammar puts you to some positive impressions of ones character as being intelligible, scholarly, organized disciplined etc... On the other hand, grammatical errors puts you in a situation of critcism and embarassment at times(but not all the time especially on those honest mistakes[eg.typograpical error]). Also, grammatical errors in both speaking and writing can distract and cause negative feelings towards others(listener or reader).It is said also that oftentimes than not, grammatical errors cause you to lost employment oppurtunities, lost business, and low grades in school.With numerous languages that each different countries have(with different accents and all...=)standard and non-standard English, formal and informal English), do you believe that grammatical errors(especially glaring errors)tells or somehow tells about the type or kind of person that you are??? Good grammar in answering this question is based on your reasoning and how you will be able to defend it...=)No grammar rules here! =)
2 people like this
9 responses
@scheng1 (24650)
• Singapore
26 Aug 10
Hi Iptan, obviously native speakers will need to have a better command of the language than non-native speakers. For us Chinese, it is harder to grasp the concept of grammar since Chinese language does not have it. I think a generation after this, the English will be more diluted than now. After all, when people read online, they do not pay attention to the structuring of the sentence, much less to pay attention to the slight grammatical errors.
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
This is understandable to me, I have friends of Chinese descent, and yeah, I agree with you that it is harder for them because Chinese language does not have it. I've known a lot of friends of Chinese and Korean descent that subjects themselves into English classes to acquaint themselves for a better understanding of English grammar. They are willing to learn and others are fast learners on this field. Thank's for your response!More power!=)
@jstory07 (133754)
• Roseburg, Oregon
19 Aug 15
Sometimes I am good at grammar and sometimes not.
@mods196621 (3652)
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
Grammar is always the subject matter in terms of writing and speaking English language. Also let us include spelling. For us who are not native English speaker always have that kind of error. I accept that i cannot go on perfection and not well good i English both grammar and spelling. But i wish I can make my writing and speaking be good and clear to what I would like to express. To communicate with others so clear with my thoughts. Thanks and have a nice day!
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
I don't think it's fair to link one's proficiency in grammar to his/her personality/background. Grammar is just one of the thousands of fields one person can master. Being good in grammar doesn't make you better than somebody who, for example, is good in Math. We cannot compare apples and oranges.
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
26 Aug 10
You know what's really funny. When people who crictize your grammar or spelling make some mistake when they criticize you. That just proves that there are times when you should really keep silent. Granted, as long as the post is readable, then who really cares if there are a few mistakes. I think I barely even pay attention to any mistakes. Other than writing that I have done ages ago, that make me cringe all of the time. I think that no one is perfect. However, as long as you make an effort, it should be more than fine. Of course, some people have quite rigid standards in what they consider to be acceptable. Then there are a lot of people who really have no business nitpicking, because their spelling and grammar is not the best. I know that I never really have criticized anything that I've read, unless it is truly so bad that its unreadable. Then again, you really expect different things on a casual online forum, then you would on a job application.
@jailo12 (332)
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
not really ..there are times that it is not intended ..people do mistakes in this area because of the rules in doing grammar right ..but it doesn't show what kind of a person you are ..^^
@arystine (1273)
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
It's hard to judge a person a person based on his grammatical errors. Well, this goes for those who are of different nationality and who have difficulty writing, thinking, and pronouncing the English language. However, for countries who impose the English language as part of school curriculum (like the Philippines), grammatical errors tell a lot about the person. The errors are usually associated with the educational level that a person was able to reach. I believe glaring errors tell a lot about a person. The grammatical errors may be due to a person's mis-education or affirm a person's unwillingness to learn. It may also stem from a person's stubbornness and "superiority complex."
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
I will qualify your honor, i firmly believe that as to how it is used it does. But as a tool it does not. Grammar is a good tool of communication, and never the gauge of anyone's personality for it cannot see the purity or impurity of a person's heart. There are many famous personalities in the world who are good at speaking and writing, but they are so cruel. Hitler excelled in speaking and writing to the point of convincing some general to wage war against Poland and killing 6 million Jews and conquering other nations. -------------- :-) Grammatically speaking, grammar mastery can be compared to life, it is a journey with trials and errors ahead. We use subjects which do not agree with the verbs used. If we are serious in making life work, we should have a consistent, and honest evaluation of ourselves. There must be reflection after each day, lest we repeat our mistakes hence remain in the quagmire. In the same way, if we are serious in communicating well our message, we also make that honest assessment on the current status of our grammar in terms of application, lest we remain in the subject-verb agreement stage and never forward. In life, there is a standard to be followed - the WORD OF GOD contained in the Bible. Absence of this perfect standard, everybody will do their own thing and make their own feelings, experience, as a gauge to assume what is right and best for everybody hence create a chaotic, unstable world. In grammar, there is also the standard set by those experts of it. This rules helps a studious beginner to become experts grammarian. "I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if i have no love my speech is just a noisy going and a clanging bell. I am nothing. " - 1 Corinthians 13:1-10
• Philippines
26 Aug 10
Grammatical imperfection are just glitches in this intellectual calisthenic world of ours (whew!). In my opinion, I dont see any relevancy of being knowledgable in grammar with the kind of person one is. We become more imperfect as we try to achieve perfection. Perhaps we could associate character with the way they deliver themselves, written or not. Ü