Grammar nazi...

Originally Posted by gailuvscats

My pet peeve is when people on the message board, even IT geeks, never capitalize the word "I" and never use spell check. Personally, I would not trust that person for tech support. I would think they don't know what they are doing.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by rapunzel47

Well, you know, I just take that as a sign that s/he's putting more attention on IT stuff than on proper English, and since his/her proper use of the English language is not going to fix my computer problem, I think s/he has the right priorities -- even if reading such text does tie my stomach in knots.

Click to expand...

I agree with Fran. Being able to write well isn't really a requirement for programming and IT. Paying attention in case-sensitive languages is more important. And the compiler is crankier than any grammar nazi.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Do you remember the problem with the pronunciation of that word (often) in the play, "The Pirates of Penzance?"

Click to expand...

No, I don't think I heard about that...

Double negatives get to me.

I don't have no one to play with.

Click to expand...

Certain misspellings get to me too.

Ridiculous -- Rediculous
Separate -- Seperate

Click to expand...

Also, when people change the spelling of a word to uh... "shorten" it and it isn't exactly shortened / sounds juvenile.

Anyway -- n e waiz
What -- wut
Baby -- baybee
Of -- ov

Click to expand...

I hAtE tH1s tYpE oV tYpiNg bEcUz ai d1nK iT l00kz s0 r1d1cul0uz.

Originally Posted by LilleKat

Hrmn.... and "harrassment"? When did the emphasis fall onto the first syllable? Is that a purely American habit? Oh yes... and "aluminium"!! ALUMINIUM, people!! ALUMINIUM - I am firmly of the opinion that the pronunciation: "aluminum" is nothing but sheer laziness!!

ARGH!

calm.... clam... calm.

I'm dreadful, aren't I?

Click to expand...

No, you're not dreadful... you're human with a decent education... I grew up in a lousy education system (California) but read voraciously on my own. My dad is an engineer and my mother, before marrying and having kids, was a library clerk...

the syllabic shift of harassment (I must've been asleep last night when I wrote it with two R's... I didn't notice my spellcheck picking it up) arrived here in the US, sometime during the past ten to fifteen years... and as far as I know, it is only here in the US. It stems from the whole PC (Politically Correct) thing, which I think was the beginning (or close to the beginning) of the downfall of American sensibilities... but that's for IMO, I think, so I won't expand on that...

I extend my 'Grammar Nazi' status to my dating... as I mentioned before... if you want an amusing tidbit... I was talking to a potential romantic interest on the phone... I got him into discussing political views... of which he doesn't have much (one check in the negative column)... but he said a word that befuddled me for a moment... I finally figured it out... soI pose the question to anyone who has read this post this far:

How do you pronounce this word: Partisan? I won't reveal how he said it until i get home from work, or i have a response or two...

Amanda

"The Pirates of Penzance!" One of my very favorite Gilbert & Sullivan Operettas!!!



MAJOR GENERAL. I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan?
PIRATE KING. Often!
GEN. Yes, orphan. Have you ever known what it is to be one?
KING. I say, often.
ALL. (disgusted) Often, often, often. (Turning away)
GEN. I don't think we quite understand one another. I ask you, have you ever known what it is to be an orphan, and you say "orphan". As I understand you, you are merely repeating the word "orphan" to show that you understand me.
KING. I didn't repeat the word often.
GEN. Pardon me, you did indeed.
KING. I only repeated it once.
GEN. True, but you repeated it.
KING. But not often.
GEN. Stop! I think I see where we are getting confused. When you said "orphan", did you mean "orphan" - a person who has lost his parents, or "often", frequently?
KING. Ah! I beg pardon - I see what you mean - frequently.
GEN. Ah! you said "often", frequently.
KING. No, only once.
GEN. (irritated) Exactly - you said "often", frequently, only once.

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

So I pose the question to anyone who has read this post this far:

How do you pronounce this word: Partisan? I won't reveal how he said it until i get home from work, or i have a response or two...

Amanda

Click to expand...

Partisan - I pronounce it par-ti-sen (with the 's' sounding like a soft 'z')

Having attended grade schools in many US states (Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, California, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah) I discovered early the differences in accepted language depending on location. We were always in the lowest socioeconomic class so very little was expected of us. My mother insisted that we spell properly. I think this was her way of making sure we "appeared" to be more than others believed us to be.

I learned that "dived" was improper - "dove" was proper. "Snuck" and "crick" were considred low class so we used "sneaked" and "creek". My mother still says "winda" for window and "worsh". I think that's a rural thing.

I still don't understand all the ins and outs of grammar. For example when to use colons and semicolons or dangling thingamajigs.

Commas are easy for me. I never use them before the word "and". Had an English teacher tell me both ways of using commas were acceptable as long as it was consistent.

I don't care for the unneeded apostrophes. I would love to go around town with a giant container of white-out and erase all the apostrophes.

On this board, I simply don't stress overmuch about spelling or grammar. People are here to be accepted and/or to learn about making their cats' lives better. No one is here to be corrected. When I see severe grammar mistakes I assume either 1) the person may be uneducated in some forms of grammar usage or 2) the person may learn differently than I do 3) the person may be spelling English as a second or third or even fourth language 4) the person is lazy and doesn't consider grammar/spelling to be important.

None of these situations are going to be changed by me and in the case of ESL, more power to them!

I try to focus on the message in the posts rather than the grammar. I am thankful that most people are considered literate now. A hundred years ago, this was not the case. So much of personal history is lost because there is simply no record of those who could not write.

I see several mistakes in this post I'm okay with it!

Edit: I am a reformed spelling nazi

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

How do you pronounce this word: Partisan? I won't reveal how he said it until i get home from work, or i have a response or two...

Amanda

Click to expand...

I would pronounce it "par' tiz ǝn", but I have heard the last syllable accented and pronounced "zan."

My personal peeve is not a grammar issue. I can't stand the word "arguably." As in: He is arguably the best player in the game. Either you believe he's the best player (drop the word arguably) or you believe he is one of the best players in the game.

Sorry - just had to get my two cents in about something that arguably has been driving me nuts for years.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

Commas are easy for me. I never use them before the word "and". Had an English teacher tell me both ways of using commas were acceptable as long as it was consistent.

I don't care for the unneeded apostrophes. I would love to go around town with a giant container of white-out and erase all the apostrophes.

Click to expand...

The comma before "and" is correct if the "and" is a conjunction between two independent clauses.

Correct:

Bill is a friend of mine, and he has often helped me with my math.

Incorrect:

Bill is a friend of mine, and has helped me with my math.

You may have been thinking of the comma used in a series, such as:

I have been to England, France, and Italy.


The comma before the "and" is optional.

As to apostrophes, it drove me crazy to work at a business owned by a college and to see right behind the receptionist's desk a sign that said, "Employee's Only."

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Do you remember the problem with the pronunciation of that word (often) in the play, "The Pirates of Penzance?"

Click to expand...

altho that's really a combination of the pronunciation of 'often' & the British accent's effect on the word 'orphan'.

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

Commas are easy for me. I never use them before the word "and". Had an English teacher tell me both ways of using commas were acceptable as long as it was consistent.

Click to expand...

they are now teaching it differently. i learned as you did - no comma before 'and' when used in a list-type series. it's now being taught that you put one there, regardless. drives me batty!

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I would pronounce it "par' tiz ǝn".

Click to expand...

& i apologize to those of you who like the "I" capitalized - but i'm too lazy to do it when using it for casual purposes!

Originally Posted by Bonnie1965

I still don't understand all the ins and outs of grammar. For example when to use colons and semicolons or dangling thingamajigs.

Commas are easy for me. I never use them before the word "and". Had an English teacher tell me both ways of using commas were acceptable as long as it was consistent.

Click to expand...

Originally Posted by mrblanche

The comma before "and" is correct if the "and" is a conjunction between two independent clauses.

Correct:

Bill is a friend of mine, and he has often helped me with my math.

Incorrect:

Bill is a friend of mine, and has helped me with my math.

You may have been thinking of the comma used in a series, such as:

I have been England, France, and Italy.


The comma before the "and" is optional.

As to apostrophes, it drove me crazy to work at a business owned by a college and to see right behind the receptionist's desk a sign that said, "Employee's Only."

Click to expand...

Commas seem to be gradually disappearing from the English language. The rules I learned in school (60s and 70s) are no longer observed by the British press, in particular. My eldest niece will be awarded her Master's degree in English next weekend, and she keeps me updated on the "standards".

The German language overuses commas, and I always have to advise my students who are translating from German to English: "When in doubt, don't use a comma, unless it's a relative clause or list." Unfortunately, I had one student who didn't use any commas when taking his state examinations, and his final grade was lowered as a result. The use of semi-colons is practically unknown in Germany, so that's something I constantly have to deal with. Apostrophes don't exist in German.

I have a number of Russian students who have extreme trouble with definite and indefinite articles, because they apparently aren't used in that language.They'd say, "Close door", rather than "Close the door" .

I'm so used to English being used as a second or third language that it doesn't "bug" me when I see mistakes made by non-native speakers, or dyslexics, but I wish that native speakers would pay a bit more attention to grammar, spelling and syntax, and wouldn't use "text speech" when it's unnecessary.

Aluminium is the ONLY correct way to say and write it. I don't care what anyone else says. It has to be that way otherwise it doesn't fit the pattern, and is chemically incorrect. Hence Selenium, Nobelium etc. Platinum is fine because it was discovered before the Periodic Table was organised.
I find I can frequently hear the difference between the pronunciations of colour and color, can anyone else? Color can sound like 'culla' to me.
I also dislike the American habit of replacing ph with f, as in sulphur/sulfur. I think sulphur looks better, and I am happy to be an irritating pedant as a result.
I usually don't notice this mistake in everyday life, but a friend of mine is extremely annoyed by '10 items or less'.

Well, as I pointed out, what may be the rule in the UK is not necessarily the rule here. So you can take your aluminium and put it...

Well, now you see where grammarian naziism comes from, right?

Originally Posted by mrblanche

Well, as I pointed out, what may be the rule in the UK is not necessarily the rule here. So you can take your aluminium and put it...

Well, now you see where grammarian naziism comes from, right?

Click to expand...

But won't you think of the scientists!

(Btw you speak French, right? See if you can do the Pay it Forward question, I think they're stuck).

I'll take a look.

Originally Posted by clixpix

Don't even get me started on the subject of using "text speak" in forum postings!

The computer is not a telephone...use your words!

Click to expand...

It drives me NUTS when I have to decipher all that text speak "language"!

I actually started a thread myself not too long ago regarding grammar errors, entitled "Grammar Pet Peeves". It ended up being a pretty interesting topic.

My biggest pet peeves have already been mentioned: the usage of "there, their, & they're", "to, too, & two", "your & you're", and "then & than". Another one that bothers me is the incorrect usage of an apostrophe..

But I'm sure not perfect. I make mistakes, too - usually when I'm in a hurry, or when my brain is having one of its "fuzzy" days..

~KK~

Originally Posted by cata_mint

But won't you think of the scientists!

Click to expand...

per web elements : Aluminium
per wikipedia: Aluminium (IPA: /ˌæljʊˈmɪniəm/, /ˌæljəˈmɪniəm/) or aluminum (/əˈluːmɪnəm/

This from Wikipedia:

-------------------------------

Present-day spelling

In the UK and other countries using British spelling, only aluminium is used. In the United States, the spelling aluminium is largely unknown, and the spelling aluminum predominates.[29][30] The Canadian Oxford Dictionary prefers aluminum, whereas the Australian Macquarie Dictionary prefers aluminium. The spelling in virtually all other languages is analogous to the -ium ending.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990, but three years later recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant. Hence their periodic table includes both, but places aluminium first. IUPAC officially prefers the use of aluminium in its internal publications, although several IUPAC publications use the spelling aluminum.

------------------------------------

So, according to that, aluminum is as correct as snuck and dove.

And by the way, spellcheck marks aluminium as wrong, aluminum as right, and snuck as wrong.

George Bernard Shaw said that England and America are two countries separated by a common language.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

George Bernard Shaw said that England and America are two countries separated by a common language.

Click to expand...

LOVE it!!!