To point out that it's PACKED lunch and not PACK lunch?

[ICameOnTheJitney]

I keep seeing threads on here where people say "Pack lunch" I KNOW this belongs in Pedant's Corner but hey...only people who already know will see it then!

I also get irritated by "mash potato"....it's "MASHED potato" ffs.

Sooty what settings?

Well people understand each other perfectly here and people who say 'text' instead of texted managed to get jobs.

It depends what the job is, though, doesn't it? If it's a job that requires the writing of clear English, people who write "text" instead of "texted" or "bias" instead of "biased" won't get that job.

A formal interview? A workplace meeting or conference? In front of children in an educational setting?

I didn't mean you alex.

So, nenny, you never read anything written in the vernacular or written before the 20th century?

I know what you meant, Tee!

Just had to point it out, though!

I bet I could find a verb "to be" in a modern European language that is extremely regular

MySiamese, my DH moved from the south up here to the great wilderness of the north. When his new colleagues invited him to "t' snap wagon" he had no idea what they meant at all. Soon learned :-)

There's a very similar circular argument on another thread here at the moment, about hideous illiteracy on Facebook posts. Now I tend not correct spelling or other errors others make unless asked, but I admit I sneer gently in my head. Is that elitist? Because the same people who elicit my scorn for 'hunnneeeee', 'baybee', 'cheeki' etc. tend to sneer openly at me for my habit of ironing my underwear, getting excited and inspired when watching Obsessive Compulsive Cleaners or being appalled by un-rinsed washing up. Are they elitist too? Or is this just bad manners instead? Or is it just la guerre?

In the end, if you're not happy to receive criticism for your spelling, grammar, cleaning regimes or other idiosyncracies, don't give people the ammunition. If you're grammatically challenged and don't want to be corrected, get someone to check your Facebook posts before you make them, or be prepared to receive criticism. If you can't handle people poking fun at your unusual habits, don't tell them all about it. It seems a simple enough concept to me. Yet for some reason when it comes to spelling, grammar etc. people tend to turn it into a class issue and make uncomfortable value judgements. Yes, I hate seeing illiterate Facebook posts and poor literacy in general, but that doesn't make me (or anyone else on this side of the fence) a terrible, superior person. I'm nice. Or naice. And luffly...

If you're grammatically challenged and don't want to be corrected, get someone to check your Facebook posts before you make them, or be prepared to receive criticism

not everyone has a grammar checker at hand. Is grammatically challenged even a thing?

Well said SharpLily.

It's all about standards (aint it!)

So, nenny, you never read anything written in the vernacular or written before the 20th century?

I assume you're not suggesting that everything written before the 20th century is automatically ungrammatical? Or that I or anyone else has suggested that there's anything wrong with the accurate representation of reported vernacular speech where that is appropriate to the context?

not everyone has a grammar checker at hand.

Granted, but it's really not that difficult - so either don't post or be prepared to be corrected by the grammar Nazis and take it in good part.

Is grammatically challenged even a thing?

It's a nasty, modern construction.

I've written at length on the other thread about how I actually think the world is coming to an end because people say 'lil princess' and 'gawjus'.

Well there are no grammar nazis on my FB. People also dont go round correcting spellings. So its a non issue for me.

I was just going by what you said up thread, Nenny, about being pulled out of the text by something that was 'off'. Anything that is before our time is 'off'.

Isn't it?

Really, SP? Or are they just gently mocking you in their heads?

Yet for some reason when it comes to spelling, grammar etc. people tend to turn it into a class issue and make uncomfortable value judgements.

That's because it is sometimes a class issue, or a learning disability issue, or a deprivation issue, or a English-not-a-first-language issue.

So what you are saying is you only want people who write grammatically correct posts to post on MN?

That's not very inclusive is it.

Oh come on, there are some posts on Mumsnet that are very difficult to understand. I don't expect perfection, but I don't think it hurts to make a bit of an effort. As someone pointed out above, it's pretty rude to the other Mumsnetters to expect them to decipher gobbledygook.

I've never read a post on MN I can't understand.

I see the thread has moved on, but 'snap' is from mining towns (I am from Wigan and it was certainly used when I was growing up there).

It refers to the noise of the lid snapping down on the miners tin lunch boxes, don't think Tupperware/Sistema was commonplace then.

You don't expect perfection?

Oh that's ok then

Hey! My kids still wear singlets in the winter, much to the disdain of DH (from Surrey)

"lil princess" and "gawjus" are just horrible imo.I've only two people on my FB friends list who use them and since I quite like them I try hard not to look too much at their updates about their children and grandchildren.

That's because it is sometimes a class issue, or a learning disability issue, or a deprivation issue, or a English-not-a-first-language issue.

Sometimes. However I saw easily on the other thread how set in their class distinctions some people are. I mentioned that as children we lived in a bigger house, which someone translated to mean 'well off'. Well that wasn't what was said at all and was a bit of a stretch. I don't intend to get into personal details but it surprised me - I put it down to a class assumption of the kind that I don't find comes naturally to me. British class divisions often tend to pass me by, to be honest, so I can't attribute my grammar and spelling issues to that, even if others want to.

It is indeed ''packed lunch''.

When I was a kid I thought it was ''PAT lunch'' for years!