(pedant alert)

[Olifin]

AIBU to wish people would say 'mischievous' rather than 'mischievious'?

And to wish that people would notice the difference between prostate and prostrate?

Too much time on my hands on a Sunday morning...

I HATE that some national newspapers now say 'should of' instead of 'should have'... for example X was confronted by Y which must of been awkward for X. ARGH.

Spelling and grammar are important!!!

I know the basics of grammar,just can't be arsed to use them on an internet forum

No, I know you didn't; that post was for the poster who did tell me to toddle off to pedants corner! (Chippingin)

Maybe I'm dense but I don't see it as 'up your arseyness', I really don't. Look, if we're talking flaws, I could provide you with a very, very long list of mine. One of which is being a cr*p parent which presumably wouldn't go down well on MN, rightly so.

Mispronunciations irritate me. As do lots of other things. Things that I do undoubtedly irritate others and that's ok by me. I don't expect to be able to please everyone.

People may well misspell words on here. As I don't know their circumstances, I certainly won't comment.

The mistakes mentioned in the OP were made by my FIL who is, not only a bloody nice bloke who I love a lot and who has lots of talents; he is also well-educated and in a well-paid job. It irks me that he gets it wrong sometimes.

Oh, I'm way too slow at posting.

Staranise, refer to my earlier posts "You cannot say/spell whatever and i can. Stinks of i am superior and is patronising (unless you are a teacher, correcting a students work of course)"

YANBU.

Why is it acceptable to be wrong in written English (not counting dyslexics, of course), and not in any other field?

If someone said three times seven is twenty-two, they'd be wrong.

If someone said the capital of Australia is Sydney, they'd be wrong.

If someone pronounced 'London' Lindon, they'd be wrong.

And if someone misplaces and apostrophe, they're wrong.

I'm not in the least pedantic, and rarely if ever correct people (unless required to for work/academic purposes). But I am perpetually baffled that the rules of grammar and correct pronunciation - which, for crying out loud, are purely designed to facilitate ease of communication - are thought to be optional. Nine times out of ten, it's merely a matter of the rules having been improperly explained. Happy to elucidate the proper use of a semi-colon, should anyone be interested .

Why is it superior or patronising to prefer clear English? And I am not talking about MN posts/casual emails/FB/texts etc or obscure debates over toilet/lavatory, Oxford commas etc

I never realised grammar was such a touchy subject on MN!

Incidentally, my mental arithmetic is poor to the point of idiocy, and I am always being corrected by my husband. Do I recoil in horror, and enquire how he dare be so patronising, etc. etc.? Nope. Happy to be corrected: 'tis the only way I shall learn.

Ditto for my staggering inability to read a map.

skidoodly

I don't know how to respond to your post, really.

I do think of my pedantry as a bit of a flaw, yes. It's not something I've ever thought to change because it is very much a part of me. I am a very rigid, 'black and white' thinker and my therapist (oh yawn, how Hollywood) is trying to help me to be more flexible in my thinking. It's not easy, that's for sure. My Dad is the same. Genetic pedantry.

As for your last point; I'm not entirely sure what you mean. What do you mean by 'pendentiousness'? I'm not trying to be funny here; please clarify.

I consider myself to be a linguistics geek yes. In that I love linguistics; it's my passion. If that makes me a pseudo geek, then that's what I must be. I do have a degree in linguistics; not that it matters. I just love language and it hurts my ears a tiny bit when it goes wrong.

I'm toying with outing myself as a pendant.
Guess I'll hang about a bit and then decide.

YANBU. Mischievious drives me mad. And mischievous much better word.

"Mischievous doesn't rhyme with devious"

am I missing the point? It rhymes to me.

Voldemort - it's the difference between 'Mis-CHEEV-ee-us' (incorrect) and 'MIS-chiv-us' (correct).

Lol @ Tiger

Olifin Sun 12-Sep-10 11:37:12
ARRRGGGHHH! That's baaaad. Ditto when people are not 'phased' by something.

this rant is not about posters on MN. I have not once mentioned misspellings/punctuation/grammar errors on MN.

Olifin - that kind of proves that it wasn't just real life mispronunciations that you were on about doesn't it.

Headbanger, because we are adults having a discussion on the internet, we are not in a class room.

Some adults are not as well educated or articulate as others and it stinks of smugness to make a a big deal of it on the internet and i suspect will put a lot of people off posting, when they may in fact have something interesting to add.

Communication is not always about being wrong/right.

Maybe you would love language more if you appreciated that it doesn't go wrong.

English in particular is such a wonderfully flexible language that a love for it demands an appreciation of the myriad ways it can be right, not a rigid insistence that things are wrong.

Why is mischievious wrong? If well-educated native speakers are using it then surely it must be acceptable? Thankfully we don't have someone in charge who gets to decide.

But Claw, I thought this was a conversation about life generally, not about expression within the confines of MN? Indeed I rather thought the OP had clarified this point upthread.

Of course communication is not about the polarisation of wrong against right: no-one for a moment is suggesting that grammar rules become some sort of ammunition in a fight! It's about clarity of expression overall.

FWIW, I have never, ever corrected grammar or spelling on MN. Wouldn't dream of it.

Ski I agree with you to a certain extent. In France they have a kind of academy of grammar and language that has prevented French from developing and 'flexing' as beautifully as English.

But don't you think it's positively helpful to equip people to express themselves well? Think of all the ways in which you benefit: job applications, meetings, difficult personal letters that might be hard to phrase...

I genuinely think that this 'oh what the hell, it's only grammar' attitude has demonised it, so that people believe they will never get to grips with it, and that it's moreover dull and pointless, and so they can't be arsed.

When you think that almost everyone can learn to drive, which is an infinitely more difficult and complex skill than learning basic rules of grammar, then really there is no excuse for anyone not knowing what to do with an apostrophe...

ChippingIn

Very true. I was thinking of a FB friend with that example. (Again, someone I know well). I maintain that I wouldn't pick up a random, anonymous poster on their misspelling.

Nonetheless, I am allowed to be irked by stuff. 'Tis life.

People on MN are irked by children standing in shopping trollies. I've stood mine in the trolley at times. People are irked by cr*p parents. I am one.

If people are irked by those who don't understand the very basics of Science, I am not offended, even though I don't understand the very basics of Science.

I don't know...I guess I just think; don't take it so personally.

Above all, I have been drinking spritzers since 1pm and so am definitely talking bollocks. But I do love correct English.

My bad.

(Arrrrggggghhhhhhh! Did I just type that phrase? Can you tell I work with teenagers?)
But Claw, it does make me a bit sad to think that these posts might hurt people or put them off posting.

TBH, as person who has never had an issue with written/spoken communication, I find it hard to imagine what it's like.

Headbanger, it is about life generally, but this was posted on MN and i was suggesting that it could put posters off of posting.

Communication is nothing like math etc as you stated earlier, there is no wrong/right to express yourself.

The English language is there to help us communicate, its not the be all and end all.

Ummmmm. Wish I'd edited that before posting :)

ski

This is exactly an example of my flawed, rigid thinking at work. I consider things to be 'right' or 'wrong'. Not the case, I know. But do you think I can get my head around that? No, not really.

Yes, English is a growing, changing language and I appreciate and love that. But, as yet, 'mischievious' isn't in the dictionary so I find it not quite not right.

LOL@ my bad.

You is seeing the anti-pedant light innit?

Throw a few more spritzers down your gregory, you is loosening up

Claw, you must at least concede that there are some things that are right/wrong in expressing yourself?

For example, if your post had been:

Headbanger itis about life: general but this posting MN, I, suggset it's put pepl of...

Then it wouldn't have made a great deal of sense, would it? Your post was readily understandable because it was spelt correctly, and properly put.

You are using appropriate grammar and spelling in order to make the argument that appropriate grammar and spelling are unnecessary...

This is what's so MADDENING about the whole argument. The very people that decry proper grammar etc. as an elitist exercise have also spent their life (generally) using it correctly, and almost certainly help their children to spell properly, and so on. I just don't get it!

I do, however, completely agree that people should never be put off posting on MN for fear they'd be leapt on. As I said, I never do it, and rather despise people who do.