Why do grown ups adults take the piss spelling /grammar

[Easystuff]

Not just here but other social media places to. Why do people feel the need to correct people's spellings and grammar or even take the piss out of it. There are so many people that claim to be intelligent and cleaver. But yet they don't seem to have the brains to understand dyslexia and other learning difficulties are quite common. And on top of that spelling is not even the subject of the thread.

So why do people do it. Do they look good, does it make them feel big, do they feel smart. Are they trying to make the other person look silly .

I don’t do it but have to sit on my hands when people use brought and bought interchangeably-they mean different things-it’s not a spelling mistake usually, people don’t realise they are not the same thing.

If you don't defend the English language it warps into the sort of nonsense you hear in parts of London.

You are very much kidding yourself if you think that venting your irritation at isolated examples of poor spelling by the general public does the slightest thing to 'defend the English language'! The English language will develop the way it develops, whether you like it or not.

Winner's mindset . People who have always had difficulty learning or remembering spellings or grammar rules are not going to suddenly be able to do so as a result of some snarky comment from an internet pedant.

If I unknowingly spell something wrong I'd quite appreciate being corrected so that I can learn the right way. I assumed everyone would like to be able to spell correctly, but it seems not.

@Notjustabrunette— there’s the problem with people being too polite or whatever to correct - I’ve seen SO many business websites or promoting on Insta with errors (mainly apostrophes in plurals, and that absolutely does my nut in because it makes NO SENSE) that it’s now getting harder and harder for people learning to know what’s right.

If there are no rules anymore and it’s not ‘kind’ to correct people, why not just scrap grammar, spelling and punctuation altogether?! Although I do agree there’s a time and a place and a way of going about it.

(Disclaimer: I’m an English teacher so taking this very personally 😂)

If you genuinely have difficulty reading text which hasn't been put into paragraphs, then it's more likely to be your own comprehension skills tbf.

I'm an English teacher too.
Whilst I despair at presumably professionally written text having glaring errors, it's neither my place or yours to humiliate people on a parenting forum.

But there's literally no reason to read a thread on here other than because you enjoy it or find it interesting, so why not just leave threads that are annoying? I can empathise with the irritation, but I don't understand the need to share that with someone who is usually just asking for help with something else?

So, imagine this. A MN thread. You're asking a question. You make a spelling or grammar mistake.

Poster after poster after poster contributes to your thread, not by answering your question, but by simply saying "it's X, not Y".

How grateful are you?

I will admit that poor spelling and grammar annoy me intensely. But that might be because I used to have a job that involved mostly audio-typing. I used to sit and do it for hours and then the person above me would look through my work. If they found a single error, typo, punctuation mistake or even something off with the paragraph/line spacing, they would tear the ENTIRE pile of work into tiny pieces in front of me and throw them in my face. (Until the day this was witnessed and stopped).

However, I generally don't point out other people's errors (unless they have asked for proof-reading/correction) in the way that the OP suggests. Because that would make me a petty, mean-spirited c-nt and I strive above all things to not be that.

Plus, sometimes people have all manner of issues or stresses which result in errors, misspellings or typos. Kinder to let it pass and not belittle/humiliate someone who possibly can't help it.

Also, I appreciate that it’s not always easy to type on a phone and typos are different. I also get that people have different dialects and different writing styles.

And whoever is staying that unpunctuated, unparagraphed long walls of text are perfectly easy to read if you have comprehension skills - come on. No they’re not.

If someone corrects my spelling. time I use it again on the next page for example . I have forgotten it. It doesn't sink in.

Here's Muphry!

If I unknowingly spell something wrong I'd quite appreciate being corrected so that I can learn the right way. I assumed everyone would like to be able to spell correctly, but it seems not.

Most people who have poor spelling know full well that they do. Correcting them publicly is not just rude (and therefore not appreciated by most people), it's also extremely unlikely to improve their spelling.

If you are the kind of person who immediately learns and remembers a difficult spelling once it is pointed out to you and corrected, you are probably not a person who has difficulty with spelling in general. Perhaps you can appreciate that, for someone who finds spelling difficult, having isolated mistakes pointed out publicly (perhaps over and over again by different 'helpful' people) would be humiliating and, in the grand scheme of things, pointless.

I didn't say they were easy to read.

I said if anyone genuinely can't understand them, then they have a recognised cognitive learning issue.

Why would you think they are stupid?

If someone corrects my spelling. time I use it again on the next page for example. I have forgotten it. It doesn't sink in.

Thank you for confirming my point, OP! I suppose some pedants genuinely don't really understand this. Sone people who have a natural ability to do something easily sometimes have real difficulty understanding that others simply can't. Hence the opinion that people who can't spel are lazy or should just learn from people 'kindly' correcting them.

There’s a thread at the moment in which the first few comments are along the lines of ‘this makes no sense/I’ve read this three times and still have no idea what OP means’ and the next few trying to translate it.

I’m going to assume that not all those posters will have a recognised cognitive issue.

The OP isn’t getting the help, answers or guidance they need because no one can understand it as it’s poorly written.

I wouldn’t personally pick someone up for it but I would quietly think they were a bit stupid if they couldn’t spell properly.

That's just sheer ignorance on your part, I'm afraid. I have known dazzlingly intelligent scientists and mathematicians who couldn't spell for toffee, not to mention lots of very intelligent people in various spheres who are dyslexic.

Sadly, good manners are harder to teach than spelling and grammar.

Sadly, good manners are harder to teach than spelling and grammar.

I dunno. Spelling and grammar are pretty hard to teach, trust me! Especially German

This is how I feel as well. I try not to be a dick about it but it’s frustrating to see so many posters claiming that written skills don’t matter.

Obviously, it’s not life or death on a forum, but generally speaking, if someone communicates poorly in writing then it’s not just confined to the internet. IMHO, being able to communicate effectively and clearly in writing is important.

I have an aunt who does this. Also things like "sorry, did I make a joke? Why did you do a laughing emoji"? When it's perfectly obvious why you've done it and she knows why too 🙄. It makes her look like a total bellend but she is lovely most of the time. Just a bit...odd

I'm autistic and dyslexic and like people to correct me as I wouldn't want to keep making the same mistake as I also like to be right! If they are to do it I would prefer they do it nicely but tone can be difficult to gauge when it's in writing.

Sometimes people do it to belittle but if someone is being a dick I do think they're fair game. Be a dick back!

It's a disability in itself - the inability to overlook non-standard spelling. It has been drummed into us by an education system that values easy ideologies over complex ones (spelling/grammar "rules" over substantive dialogic commentary). It is a form of Nazism or Grammatical Supremacy. Revolt now! Spell as you wish! It all changes over time anyway.

My dad does this all the time. Growing up it gave me a temporary stutter in my teens because I was nervous to speak aloud. He used to question my use of words he didn't like, not just my grammar. For example if I said 'hi' instead of 'hello' he found it too American and chastised me before even greeting me. He constantly interrupts everyone to correct their pronunciation too, with no concern for regional accents. As an adult it's so embarassing and makes it so uncomfortable to go anywhere with him.

I firmly believe that anyone who does this is an absolute twat with a seniority complex.