To not understand why people correct spelling

[Lockeddownagain]

Just reading a thread on here and someone felt the need to correct the spelling of another then put sorry in brackets. They aren't sorry or they just wouldn't have done it. I'm super dyslexic and spell stuff wrong all the time but why do people need to correct it. If you are a spelling corrector would you tell me why you do it?? Thanks

Sorry but that's just silly. Keyboard pedants picking on random, isolated errors in the tiny corner of the internet which they happen to frequent will not do anything to reduce this. Imagine the numbers of spelling and grammar mistakes made every day online all over the English-speaking web. Pointing out errors (whether 'gently' - i.e. patronisingly - or snarkily) will do nothing to stop people constantly seeing the wrong version.

You cannot make people's English better. You cannot correct the internet. You are not helping, you're just pissing people off for no purpose.

Do you believe that for everything? If somebody communicates something to you where they're obviously mistaken, do you pointedly never mention it?

If somebody wrote about Belgium allying with Russia against Ukraine, Sam Smith representing the UK in Eurovision or Southport having just been declared a city, would you honestly not mention it? Or is SPAG the only thing that cannot be mentioned in a genuine attempt to help somebody increase their knowledge (and, quite frankly, to stop them embarrassing themselves in front of a much wider audience)?

There is far, far too much knowledge in the world for any one person to instinctively know all of it; we all rely on each other to help us to continually learn and improve in that sphere throughout our lives.

@WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll

Sorry but that's just silly. Keyboard pedants picking on random, isolated errors in the tiny corner of the internet which they happen to frequent will not do anything to reduce this. Imagine the numbers of spelling and grammar mistakes made every day online all over the English-speaking web. Pointing out errors (whether 'gently' - i.e. patronisingly - or snarkily) will do nothing to stop people constantly seeing the wrong version.

You cannot make people's English better. You cannot correct the internet. You are not helping, you're just pissing people off for no purpose.

Do you believe that for everything? If somebody communicates something to you where they're obviously mistaken, do you pointedly never mention it?

If somebody wrote about Belgium allying with Russia against Ukraine, Sam Smith representing the UK in Eurovision or Southport having just been declared a city, would you honestly not mention it? Or is SPAG the only thing that cannot be mentioned in a genuine attempt to help somebody increase their knowledge (and, quite frankly, to stop them embarrassing themselves in front of a much wider audience)?

There is far, far too much knowledge in the world for any one person to instinctively know all of it; we all rely on each other to help us to continually learn and improve in that sphere throughout our lives.

It's NEVER done on MN out of altruistic concern for the other person. Ever. It's done to belittle and humiliate in some sort of crass one-upmanship that just proves what a nasty cunt the person doing it is.

Quite apart from the fact, as we've seen, that almost always, the twats doing the correcting know a hell of a lot less than they think they do.

Do you believe that foreverything?

No, of course not! Sometimes information is of huge importance. Some things really need to be accurate.

Or is SPAG the only thing that cannot be mentioned in a genuine attempt to help somebody increase their knowledge (and, quite frankly, to stop them embarrassing themselves in front of a much wider audience)?

I don't believe for one moment that people's motive in correcting others' language is to spare them embarrassment. In many, or even most, cases it is meant to embarrass them. This is often very apparent from the tone.

And yes, I do actually think that uninvited correction of others' SPAG is very different from pointing out a mistake in facts like the ones you mention. Someone with poor spelling and grammar is likely to have worried and felt embarrassed about that since they were at school, and been criticised for it many times. They can't avoid using language, unless they never speak or write. And yet every time they write or speak, they may be wondering if someone will pick on an error they've made. I'm not sure how you can compare that with getting a fact about Eurovision wrong tbh.

Any SPAG vigilante who has hung around on MN quite a bit cannot claim to believe that people are grateful to be corrected, because it's patently obvious that this isn't the case. Corrections are usually met with anger or upset, not just by the poster who made the error, but by lots of other posters on their behalf.

So, what the pedants presumably really mean is not 'People are grateful to be corrected', but 'People should be grateful to be corrected'. But you don't get to dictate what other people's reactions should be.

So what I’m getting from this post is that it’s only ok to call someone ‘a bit dim’ if they EVER correct spelling or grammar, because of course they couldn’t possibly be doing it because they think they’re doing the person a favour, but because they’re a rampant arsehole.

👍🏻👍🏻

So what I’m getting from this post is that it’s only ok to call someone ‘a bit dim’ if they EVER correct spelling or grammar, because of course they couldn’t possibly be doing it because they think they’re doing the person a favour, but because they’re a rampant arsehole.

Pretty much, yep. I've already nailed my colours to the mast on that one - no I do not believe that people correct strangers' SPAG on an internet forum because they believe they're doing the person a favour. I mean... ok maybe the very occasional person might think that - if they've never really given the matter much thought or noticed how badly people tend to take it when they're corrected. But it's almost always smug arseholery imo, yes.

The only time I do it is when it's sufficiently bad that it prevents me from understanding the meaning. And even then it's (hopefully) clarification rather than correction. It is a shabby habit to belittle someone to make yourself feel better.

@ClinkeyMonkey

I can't be doing with up-their-own-arse grammar pedants pointing out people's spelling mistakes. I have to admit, I wince when I see some of the spellings, especially those that appear over and over again, but pointing them out to the person is patronising. Maybe save your comments for the BBC and other media outlets, where SPAG errors are rife and show a lack of professionalism.

As for all this faux altruism - 'Oh, I'm just pointing out someone's mistake to HELP them' - I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. You might even have convinced yourself of your motivations, but I think you're deluded. And I think you're a dick.

Top post. 👏👏👏

I'm amused by a different post upthread which makes references to posters sneering at those who take it upon themselves to offer unsolicited correction of others posts. It's even more amusing to read some people's professed motivation for doing so. 'Out of sympathy' is currently my favourite.

Fellow-MNers really don't need others' sympathy because they've committed the cardinal sin of making a SPAG blooper. The fact that they're not falling over themselves to say a meek 'thank you' won't come as a surprise to anyone other than the corrector (although I'm mildly surprised @Loubilou09 hasn't thanked those posters who kindly did her this service, having claimed that they so much like and appreciate it ...)

Correct others' SPAG, then you might find your manners corrected in turn. That's fine and dandy: you clearly have no issue with doing the same to another poster. And, after all, someone has kindly taken time out of their day to help you.

You should be grateful

Most posters on here that correct other people's grammar.

Constant typos and spelling mistakes are annoying and distracting. Plus the lose / loose confusion is infuriating

I used to be regularly ridiculed for my poor mental arithmetic skills when I was younger - is this the same thing? Were people doing it to make themselves feel superior?

I only ever see stuff like this as a way to try and get the upper hand when an argument has failed. It is petty and patronising.

Unless you are writing an academic piece, most people will understand what you are saying regardless of bad spelling.

For the record, I had a ton of red lines under words when I typed this comment.

@oakleaffy

Edit...I made an accidental mistake in my post. Am happy to be corrected. :)

It made me laugh!! But I've run out of red ink

I don’t do it on mumsnet, online or in any social settling. I can’t be bothered.

However some mistakes should be identified and corrected. Elementary errors/misuse such as these are especially irksome because it could be confusing for the reader.
“Your” vs “you’re”
“Bear with me” vs “bare with me”
“Then” vs “than”

Misspelled words such as Play date spelled as olaydate doesn’t bother me in the least and I would be annoyed if someone is pedantic enough to correct that!

I’d guess it’s to protect a bank of words they hold dear, in other words, language they have learned and built upon, a wealth of words, known correctly. It’s possible they feel that if they don’t correct, they’d be quietly condoning the watering down of specifics, or correctness. But someone is bound to say language changes and evolves. Yes, yes it does. Even more reason to be precise then.

Note, with ‘they’, I mean people like me. And, not sorry. Also, I probably care more as I studied linguistics.

@roastedsaltedpeanut

I don’t do it on mumsnet, online or in any social settling. I can’t be bothered.

However some mistakes should be identified and corrected. Elementary errors/misuse such as these are especially irksome because it could be confusing for the reader.
“Your” vs “you’re”
“Bear with me” vs “bare with me”
“Then” vs “than”

Misspelled words such as Play date spelled as olaydate doesn’t bother me in the least and I would be annoyed if someone is pedantic enough to correct that!

If you read it out, and it sounds the same, then I can not get worked up about the spelling. Bear/bare, your/you're.. etc. It is being pedantic for the sake of it. You know what the poster is trying to say. MN is not an academic essay.

I don't think I've ever actually corrected somebody's SPAG on here myself - unless you count using the correct spelling in responding, which I suppose some may take as passive-aggressive antagonistic, e.g.

"Am I just being a marta?"
"No, I don't think you're being a martyr as such...."

I hesitate when responding to people who use text speak, as I personally don't ever do this. Do they think I'm being PA or trying to 'put them in their place' when I respond in full words and sentences? I certainly hope not, as that is not my intention at all.

However, I respectfully disagree that all/most people who correct or seek to clarify spellings are doing so to put somebody down or try to express their perceived superiority. Yes, many are; but by no means all.

Not quite the same thing, but people also frequently do it when somebody uses an outdated term that many now find offensive: yes, you'll get the ones telling the person what a disgusting, hateful human being they are for using such a nasty word, but many others will sincerely respond to the question/issue that has been raised and then, at the end, add "by the way, OP, XX is actually now widely considered to be an offensive term by the people to whom it is used to refer - the accepted term that you should use now is YY." It's said nicely, but in a clear way that the person should learn not to use it again - even if the person has only ever known and used that word and/or has a condition or personal circumstances that make learning language adaptations very difficult indeed for them.

However some mistakes should be identified and corrected. Elementary errors/misuse such as these are especially irksome because it could be confusing for the reader. “Your” vs “you’re” “Bear with me” vs “bare with me” “Then” vs “than”

They aren't confusing for the reader though, are they. It's always perfectly obvious from context what is meant. Unless, for example, you think that someone is asking you to join them in stripping off when they say "bare with me".

Because they want to discredit and humiliate the poster making the mistake.

If you read it out, and it sounds the same, then I can not get worked up about the spelling. Bear/bare, your/you're.. etc.
It is being pedantic for the sake of it. You know what the poster is trying to say. MN is not an academic essay.

It isn't always clear. Why do you think language evolved with so many variations of spellings for homophonic words meaning different things, if only the sound of the word is important in conveying meaning (in the absence of aural tone and context)?

I get that there's a huge spectrum between the stereotypical caveman pointing at everything he sees and saying "Ug, ug" and a paragraph of beautiful, grammatically-perfect prose, but why draw the acceptable balance bar so low?

In most human endeavours, we toil endlessly to improve continually - be it an athlete wanting to shave a hundredth of a second off their time or the most minor little comfort or safety tweaks in cars - why do we care so little when it comes to language?

I don't buy the insistence that "It's only an internet forum, why does it matter?" Why doesn't it matter if you not only struggle to communicate properly with others across the world using the modern world's main communication method, but you actually don't care if you can't? Why would you deliberately choose to be held back, if you didn't need to?

There are many millions of people across the world now who speak English as a second, third, fourth, fifth language, to a much higher standard than a great many native/monoglot English speakers do - and are apparently content for that to remain the case, even down to just not bothering to click on the red line that prompts you of a mistake and gives you the correction. I really struggle to understand why.

It’s possible they feel that if they don’t correct, they’d be quietly condoning the watering down of specifics, or correctness

The use of “condoning” rather says it all really.

People do it because they feel they have the right to “condone” - or not - how people speak and write. Language should only evolve in the way they agree with.

I don't buy the insistence that "It's only an internet forum, why does it matter?" Why doesn't it matter if you not only struggle to communicate properly with others across the world using the modern world's main communication method, but you actually don't care if you can't?

Because the vast, vast majority of the time they are not struggling to communicate. It’s usually very obvious what they mean.

@GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER

Spelling/grammar mistakes do make me wince, especially if they’re of the very basic type - it’s/its, your/you’re, etc. - and I do wonder why anyone of average intelligence can’t sort these things out. They really are not difficult!

But I’ve only ever corrected anyone once - on a largely male forum where some smartarse had corrected someone else - and made a basic mistake in his own post. I did enjoy that! 😈

The most cringe-making correction I ever saw was on a members-only forum, where many of us knew each other or had at least met, and someone who’d obviously always thought herself superior, corrected - on the open forum when she could have sent a pm - someone who’d used a Latin phrase incorrectly.

Appalling!

Do you think you could have a word with my iPhone? It appears to have been sent to me to make me appear barely literate!!

One I'll 'own up to' is our/are I'd NEVER write the incorrect one, but I frequently type the incorrect one! I forget what it's called, but I was pleased to read it's a 'thing'

If all you have to bring to the table is the correcting of spelling, then have a good, hard look at yourself.

I don't buy the insistence that "It's only an internet forum, why does it matter?" Whydoesn'tit matter if you not only struggle to communicate properly with others across the world using the modern world's main communication method, but you actuallydon't careif you can't? Why would you deliberately choose to be held back, if you didn't need to?

What pish. There is a huge difference between typing stuff on a phone for the heck of it. And typing stuff on a computer with proper keyboard, spell and grammar checker.
The stuff that gets written on MN under a hidden identity is not going to make s blind bit of difference to how I'll get on in life.
Spelling is not all it's cracked up to be.

I've got a Ed Phycoligist report that tells me in not thick. I also have a degree and professional qualifications.
But the Ed Phcologist report gotten at the age of 33 tells me my degree wasn't a flook . I needed to know properly not on a we think, she's probably, I needed to see it in black and white £500 for the privilege.

Interestly my DS is in the same boat I can't decide if I should blow the cash for him to get a proper assessment or not.