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Does "poor grammar" cause communication issues or bother you?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by AlamoCity, Feb 14, 2014.

  1. AlamoCity

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    I will admit that I don't have perfect grammar but my writing is clear and understandable, to the best of my knowledge. I am not even what some would call a "grammar Nazi" and will even forgive people who mistake i.e. for e.g. (yes, there's a difference). However, sometimes I encounter texts, forum posts, and other forms of written communication that are so laden with grammatical errors and typos that I lose the message of the author and get a headache trying to decipher the message.

    Am I too critical? Do you also lose the message someone is trying to convey when they fail to write coherently or properly?
     
  2. Minamimoto_Fan

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    I usually understand it, but I feel more comfortable when somebody does their best to post a clear, coherent message rather than "sum qwk mssge lik dis." That's good for texts and the like, but for a forum, I think it benefits one not to use chat speak.
     
  3. FrozenFae

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    If someone is making an honest effort at communication and the occasional spelling error crops up, it doesn't bother me at all. As long as I understand them, I won't get all Nazi about it.

    However, if a post or text is so mangled I need the Rosetta Stone to decipher the meaning behind it, yeah I get a little grumpy. I DO make my living as an editor after all. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
     
  4. AlamoCity

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    Haha, I completely understand the part of "chat speak." To be honest, I didn't know it was called "chat speak" :slight_smile:.

    I agree, I make mistakes too, but sometimes you do need the Rosetta Stone to translate from gibberish to English, haha.
     
  5. Sarcastic Luck

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    No, you're not being too critical. If things are hard to understand, the meaning can get warped or twisted. I understand that people can have issues with spelling or that english isn't a first language, but in many cases, the browser spell checker can help out a great deal.
     
  6. Argentwing

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    The only times it truly bugs me are when it gets in the way of understanding and when it inspires jealousy. I put effort into being well-spoken, and if somebody who talks at a fourth-grade level is more successful at something, I feel like I've missed a cue somewhere. :S

    When asked to proofread writing/schoolwork though? I will murder that paper lol.
     
  7. Mike92

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    Yes.

    Really poor grammar is quite annoying, and pretty much discredits whatever the person has to say for me.
     
  8. Aussie792

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    It bothers me when somebody isn't making an effort. There's a differance between a mistake like the one I just made an wrtng lik dis cuz ur not bothrd to mke urself clear. That actually took me far longer than writing as normal, not to mention it takes ages to "decipher" the meaning of poorly-written stuff.

    That said, I understand that illiteracy is not usually someone's fault, but when somebody isn't willing (when they're able) to obey a rule which is the written equivalent of not speaking with your mouth full, then I immediately find them annoying. I also hate when someone uses a word incorrectly to seem intelligent. For example, "overtly" and "overly" have somewhat different meanings; incorrectly using the former does not add value to what you're saying/writing just because it seems to be the "better" word. That's not to say that non-native speakers who deal with "false friends" or literally translate are bad, but the deliberate use of a word unnatural to someone's vocabulary or simply incorrect is very obvious and rather pathetic.

    Grammar and the correct use of language is important; there's no nuance and therefore no comprehension of difficult ideas if you're not bothered to acknowledge subtleties in language.
     
  9. Foster

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    Poor grammar bothers me quite allot actually. I understand the occasional misspelling or grammatical error, but certain people just don't even structure their sentences in a readable way. It annoys me when people my age talk like this: I'm hella done wit yo shit fo real lik don't even tlk 2 me im sooo done don't msg me,.

    Then there are those scene girls on facebook wHoE TaLk lIkE THiS. Which is even worse.

    It just makes me want to rip out my hair and sell it on ebay.
     
  10. Argentwing

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    This is why I'm always extremely careful of my own stuff when it comes to correcting people. :wink:
     
  11. Kasey

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    Liek y u kneed n edjukashun?

    I gets 12 dolar and 75 cent a hr wrkin as McDonald ast mnager
     
  12. Tectonic

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    The only things that really bother me:

    1) When someone types as if they are texting. You have a full keyboard. Use it.

    2) Run on sentences. No punctuation and multiple paragraphs, or what should be, jammed into one.

    I won't even read anything that's written like that. However, random grammatical errors don't bother me.
     
  13. sanguine

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    lol so mean :lol:

    Personally I dont care, as long as I can get the main message, Im just content with that
     
  14. Kasey

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    I'm not a grammar nazi but clearly someone who generally decides not to show at least a basic attempt to use proper language construction doesn't have pride in themselves or a good education.

    Yes I make mistakes or sometimes disregard punctuation but I hate typing on my iPad...
     
    #14 Kasey, Feb 14, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2014
  15. Fallingdown7

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    Well, it depends. I make a lot of spelling mistakes sometimes, so I won't hold it against anyone. It's major text speak that I can't stand. I want to at least know what the other person is saying.
     
  16. PurpleGrey

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    On most occasions, I am only mildly annoyed. Where it really bothers me is when journalists and authors/proofreaders fuck up, and when the errors are so off that they seem intentional. For example, conversating instead of conversing or just having a conversation, and acid reflex instead of reflux.
     
  17. FrozenFae

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    Oh LORD! this one in particular is one of my berserk buttons.

    Also, allow me to add "for all intents and purposes." It is NOT "for all intensive purposes."
     
  18. Kasey

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    People spelling "waste" as "waist" even if I just wrote it...
     
  19. An Gentleman

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    I used to be quite the grammar Nazi (well, I also used to troll internet forums with annoyingly whiny posts, send people gory pictures, and utilize Inappropriate Capitalization way too much for my own good).

    I'm more relaxed now, but it still annoys me when people don't use spell-check.
    Other things that annoy me include weird syntax (I admit that I'm guilty of this a lot), using too many punctuation marks (?! is fine, ?!?!?!??!??!? isn't), mixing up words, and forgetting to capitalize the beginning of a sentence.

    dont evn get me started on ppl who type liek dis cuz dose unsugoi baka-chans (uguu~) mak me wanna tell dem 2 foad!!!!1

    LU(|<1L'/, 1'/\/\ $0/\/\3\/\/|-|@ PhLU3|\|7 1|\| L337$P34|<.
    "Luckily, I'm somewhat fluent in leetspeak."
     
    #19 An Gentleman, Feb 14, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2014
  20. resu

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    It depends on who is writing. I have higher standards for adults than young teens, but I think most of the time the bad writers are ones who haven't written much long-form to get good habits in the first place. Writing on a forum like a giant text message is annoying. Usually for very wordy and hard to follow posts, I just ignore them and remember to.

    ---------- Post added 14th Feb 2014 at 11:50 PM ----------

    Though, technically that was poor spelling, not grammar. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: