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A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/9/2005 11:23:15 PM   
Ojedieu


Posts: 142
Joined: 1/17/2005
From: Michigan
Status: offline 		Ok, I admit it, I'm one of those horrible spelling/grammar Nazis.

I've seen an awful lot of discussion over it encompassing everything from whether or not it's rude to misspell, what spelling says or doesn't say about a person, tolerance of misspellings, English as a second language, and various rants...

What I haven't seen yet is a proactive approach. By that I mean there are some people who just don't know that they're misspelling/using the wrong word as a descriptor or have other problems with the written word that they'd gladly fix if they knew about them -- they just don't. It would be rude to point these out and make corrections directly to the person via either a public post or via email. I wouldn't want to do that and I doubt very many other people would want to either. I know there are probably things I do that are incorrect and I’d love to have the option to learn and correct them.

So what I propose is this: let's use this forum to a) vent a little while b) informing and educating those who wish to read it. I know there are lots of people who misspell or use words incorrectly who have no desire to use a spellchecker and think we're making a big thing out of a very insignificant detail. That's fine, I'm not trying to change them and this forum wouldn't be for them, so if you're one of them, please don't rant about it here -- just ignore this topic.

I want to use this forum as a way to vent our pet peeves without singling anyone out personally, so no posts should be directed at a single person (though just because a gripe is posted that happens to be something you do, doesn’t mean it’s directed at you either – lots of people make the same mistakes). Most of us spelling/grammar Nazis have *many, many* gripes and pet peeves, so I also propose that we get to post *one* gripe over just *one* word, per day per person, explain what the gripe is, then explain the correct usage and give an example. That way we (hopefully) don’t get redundancy and also don’t put out too much to absorb in one sitting. No one wants to read a two-page essay paper on everything one particular person has to say, however, small digestible bits might be ok, and make for a short diversion each day.

A post might look a little like this: (this is just one I remember seeing a gripe about, not mine personally)

---------------------------------------
Topic: discrete vs. discreet

Gripe: A lot of people use “discrete” when they mean “discreet”

Explanation: Here’s the difference and you can see why using the right one might be important.

Definitions:
Discrete: dis•crete (d -skr t ) adj.
1. Constituting a separate thing. See Synonyms at distinct.
2. Consisting of unconnected distinct parts.
3. Mathematics. Defined for a finite or countable set of values; not continuous.

Discreet: dis•creet (d -skr t ) adj.
1. Marked by, exercising, or showing prudence and wise self-restraint in speech and behavior; circumspect.
2. Free from ostentation or pretension; modest.

So if you say you’re looking for a “discrete” relationship, you’re actually implying that you want a separate relationship, not necessarily one that is restrained or on the hush-hush.
-----------------------------------------------------

Again, this would be a forum for we, the nitpickers, to both vent a bit and elucidate without pointing fingers or embarrassing people, and for those who would like to pick up a thing or two from us, and for us to learn from each other. Any people who think we’re silly buggers with our heads up our butts can just ignore us.

Whatcha think, anyone want to join in and have a go?




< Message edited by Ojedieu -- 9/9/2005 11:49:34 PM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/9/2005 11:37:02 PM   
mystictryst


Posts: 125
Joined: 9/6/2005
Status: offline 		This is a topic dear to my heart... Although as I age, I realize my spelling/grammar gets worse...

My "peeve" would be "irregardless". The word is "regardless".

Additionally, "their, there, they're".

"Regardless of how you break it down, their two hats are over there. Too bad they're blind!"

I think it's important to remember sometimes language is a barrier, as well as the fact that every year "someone" keeps changing the spellings! When did we replace all the "z" with "s"?

This is an age old topic that will forever frustrate!

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 12:01:40 AM   
gypsysoul


Posts: 70
Joined: 7/4/2005
Status: offline 		ooh, irregardless and discrete both bother me.

I really can't stand the your/you're thing. I think it's obvious that "you are" is shortened to "you're." The apostrophe replaces the a.

(I hope I spelled "apostrophe" correctly)

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 12:18:04 AM   
NakedOnMyChain


Posts: 2431
Joined: 11/29/2004
From: Indiana
Status: offline 		I don't have a specific word that bothers me. What truly bothers me is more a genre of people. I mean the ones that know how to spell a word and are too lazy to do it, think it's "cute", think it makes them look cool, and so on. Things like 4-ever, nevah, and 2 (instead of to) really get me. It's fairly evident when someone is just too lazy to check what they've written. Here is my only advice: If something is worth writing, it's worth taking the time to write properly.

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 12:27:12 AM   
BlkTallFullfig


Posts: 5585
Joined: 6/25/2004
Status: offline 		I don't have a spell checker (and don't care enough to find one, lol), and try to make self understood, but my goal in life is to stay away from Nazis of any kind (though I realize I'm being inconsistent by posting here and now).
I have pet peeves, but they should only matter to people in my life. Of course if something I do annoys the people in my life, they will either tell me and I'll try to change what I can (if theirs is a reasonable gripe), or we'll learn to live with it as graciously as possible.
As long as a person writes in an comprehensible way, I don't nitpick. M

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 2:10:05 AM   
pinkpleasures


Posts: 1114
Status: offline 		My Gawd..the subject that will not die!!!!!!!!! Well, i have told some men about spelling errors in their profiles (some were pleased for the help; some weren't) but in a post all i care about is whether a member communicated his/her ideas, and i have never found one so misspelt that i could not follow the train of thought. By the same token, as i have re-read some of my posts, i have had to edit for spelling mistakes. Generally speaking i am grammatically correct, though i play fast and loose with rules like dangling participles.

pinkpleasures

< Message edited by pinkpleasures -- 9/10/2005 10:25:06 AM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 3:04:36 AM   
frenchpet


Posts: 587
Joined: 8/19/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: pinkpleasures

My Gawd..the subject that will not die!!!!!!!!! Well, i have told some men about spelling errors in their profiles
pinkpleasures

So nice, mind to check mine ? ... But watt be gramer an spelin ?

I agree with Nakedonmychain, but I also think what she describes are teenagers, not adults. There shouldn't be teenagers on this website, but who's going to check ?

Funny that the Brits took the pain to make two different words out of "discret". I guess it shows a more pragmatic approach of the language.

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 8:21:47 AM   
DesertRat


Posts: 2774
Joined: 11/29/2004
From: NM/USA
Status: offline 		I think spelling and grammar are important. On this site they can also serve as useful tools to help me avoid the lazy and the sloppy. I think the time spent whining about one's inability to spell could be better spent opening a dictionary.

Bob

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 7:47:50 PM   
Ojedieu


Posts: 142
Joined: 1/17/2005
From: Michigan
Status: offline 		Um... did anyone actually read the entire first post about what I proposed this particular thread be for?
Or did you just see the topic title and forge ahead?
Just curious.

Thanks,

Ojedieu



< Message edited by Ojedieu -- 9/10/2005 7:50:18 PM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 8:03:46 PM   
DesertRat


Posts: 2774
Joined: 11/29/2004
From: NM/USA
Status: offline 		~Edited to more properly follow the proposed format~

Okay, some of mine:

Using 'your' for you're'. "Your" is a possessive pronoun: "Is this your flogger?" "You're" is a contraction of "you" and "are": "Where do you think you're going with that flogger?"

Mixing up 'there', 'their', and 'they're'. "There" is an adverb or a noun that refers to a location or even an abstract point in time/space: "Look at that fool over there." "Sorry, I'm not quite there yet."

"Their" is a plural possessive pronoun: "I don't think that is their flogger." or "Yes, that flogger is theirs."

"They're" is a contraction for "they are": "They're both very attractive, aren't they?"

Ending sentences with prepositions is improper grammar, but since we use an informal, spoken form of English here, I think it's okay to do that. "Who are you talking to?" is technically improper, but it is used all the time and sounds a lot less stilted than "To whom are you talking?" I guess if one were to say: "Who are you talking to, you little slut?", the sentence wouldn't be ending with a preposition and would be alright.

Bob

< Message edited by DesertRat -- 9/11/2005 3:03:35 PM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/10/2005 9:36:58 PM   
lonewolf05


Posts: 830
Joined: 6/21/2005
Status: offline 		BlkTallFullfig
==============

ditto


wolf


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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 6:25:07 AM   
MsIncognito


Posts: 742
Joined: 5/24/2005
Status: offline
quote:

My "peeve" would be "irregardless". The word is "regardless".


I hate to tell you this but irregardless is now in the dictionary. Yep, it's true! The use of irregardless is one of the few things that will drive me batty as far as spelling/grammar goes. However, language is constantly evolving so it only makes sense that if a word (even one that is wrong) enters into common usage and it sticks (and this one seems to have done so) that it would be added to the lexicon.

Edited to add: I meant to mention that the dictionary does note that irregardless is non-standard usage and is likely an incorrect blend of irrespective and regardless.

< Message edited by MsIncognito -- 9/11/2005 6:29:23 AM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 1:07:11 PM   
LadyJC


Posts: 111
Joined: 5/18/2005
Status: offline 		I have a really good one. The word whether, weather, and wether.
(I've even pulling out my dictionary to double check my information)
Weather: The weather is beautiful outside.
Whether: I doubt whether or not it matters.
Wether: Is a castrated ram. (The animal not the computer part)
A lot of people use Weather, instead of Whether. It drives me insane, thank you for this post I'm sure I'll be on here a lot more.
Btw that's another one. A lot is 2 words not one.
Thank you,
LadyJC

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 1:14:21 PM   
BlkTallFullfig


Posts: 5585
Joined: 6/25/2004
Status: offline
quote:

whether, weather
I used to misuse and interchange these two all the time until a friend corrected me recently. I thanked him. M

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 1:17:02 PM   
softandshy


Posts: 297
Joined: 5/10/2005
Status: offline 		Especially on a forum like this one, mixing up dominate and dominant irritates the stuffing out of me.

The appropriate word for the action is dominate.
The correct word for the person or the set of character traits is dominant.

< Message edited by softandshy -- 9/11/2005 1:18:11 PM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 2:33:34 PM   
frenchpet


Posts: 587
Joined: 8/19/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Ojedieu

Um... did anyone actually read the entire first post about what I proposed this particular thread be for?
Or did you just see the topic title and forge ahead?
Just curious.

Thanks,

Ojedieu



I did, but this kind of things makes me a bit nervous, but if you insist... For example dominate and dominant. I just don't understand how could one make a confusion between a verb and an adjective (or noun). It's a matter of logic, it's just as bad as not being able to finish a simple sentence such as "fool me once, shame on you...". It has nothing to do with a lack of eloquence, it's plain basic logic.
Even worse : recently I read a sentence where there was a confusion between "no" and "know". I had to read it 5 times before I was sure of what the person who wrote that meant. How can one write "know" instead of "no" ?? I guess anyone could do that once, but it's impossible to miss that if you read it again.

OK, another one, very common : why in hell would someone write "cum" instead of "come" ? "cum" means either sperm, or is the latin for "with", still used in most european language in several set phrases (e.g. "cum laude", used in english). Why would someone say "sperm" when he actually means to invite someone to come ? Just for the fun of being gross ? Then just say "fuck on" instead of "come on", that'll sound really nice.

As you see Ojedieu, if you're a spelling nazi I must be the Himmler of grammar

< Message edited by frenchpet -- 9/11/2005 2:53:05 PM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 3:06:03 PM   
Lordandmaster


Posts: 10943
Joined: 6/22/2004
Status: offline 		As I've mentioned a few times already, neither "dominate" nor "dominant" are nouns. (Look it up: "dominant" is a noun ONLY in music.) So of all the pet peeves that people list, this one mystifies me the most. The obvious problem is that dictionary English doesn't recognize a single word for something that we in the lifestyle know exists, namely a dominant human being, so we have to invent one. Most of us have chosen to use the word "dominant" as a noun to refer to that kind of person, but it's no more standard or correct than "dominate" (any other term).

Insisting that people say "dominant" instead of "dominate" is no better than insisting that people talk the way you talk. I say "dominant," and "dominate" makes me cringe, but ridiculing people who don't speak in a certain accepted way makes me cringe even more.

quote:

ORIGINAL: frenchpet

For example dominate and dominant. I just don't understand how could one make a confusion between a verb and an adjective (or noun).


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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 3:11:22 PM   
LadyJC


Posts: 111
Joined: 5/18/2005
Status: offline 		A grammatical sentence that a lot of people use which becomes redundant is:
The reason why is because...
Either say The reason is
I did it because
and the why is cut out altogether. It saves room in a sentence so you don't have to type/speak/write nearly as long a sentence, and it makes more sense.
A lot of people use this and it's so repetitive, I never realized it was until my first day of english class in journalism...what do you know I did learn something from college!
Thank you,
LadyJC

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 3:39:43 PM   
frenchpet


Posts: 587
Joined: 8/19/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Lordandmaster

As I've mentioned a few times already, neither "dominate" nor "dominant" are nouns. (Look it up: "dominant" is a noun ONLY in music.)

In music, ecology and biology, which is why I used parenthensis . I should say... I have many dictionaries and encyclopedia to check whatever I need, on my computer. And they start running when I turn my computer on.

quote:

Insisting that people say "dominant" instead of "dominate" is no better than insisting that people talk the way you talk.

I think you forgot that I just mentionned these examples to answer the OP. I don't spend my time blaming people for being uncultured. It saddens me, but really, I don't care.

< Message edited by frenchpet -- 9/11/2005 3:55:09 PM >

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RE: A new take on the Grammar/Spelling Nazi thing - 9/11/2005 4:05:01 PM   
kc692


Posts: 3701
Joined: 3/24/2005
Status: offline 		It's amazing that a lot of us have the same rants;

To clarify: when I get something that says they are a instead of a dominant, LaM, I agree. I get emails sometimes that state " I am a dominate male/female". It IS dominant that is the correct choice then.( I know you know that, LaM, I am just pointing out for the others that use it in that context)

they're, there, their.

weather, whether. I'll be honest, I didn't even know wether was a word.

feminize, femenize

discrete, discreet

I'm sure I will think of more, so will probably be back to add to the thread, smiles.

Ok, more:

Gawd instead of God:

words that should end in ed and are ended with t instead (so many, but one example: spilled, spilt)





< Message edited by kc692 -- 9/11/2005 4:08:51 PM >

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