Is it just me, or does there seem to be increased ambivalence toward poor spelling/grammar/punctuation online these days?
Maybe I’m just hyper-sensitive, having been a copy editor back in college, but I’ve been noticing that a lot of Internet users (mostly youth?) have been criticizing people who point out spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes online.
Seriously, people? Have atrocious spelling and grammar gotten so widely accepted that it’s no longer OK to correct them? Do we no longer teach out children in school that questions are supposed to end in question marks, and that sentences should be separated by periods?
If you flagrantly misuse the word “your,” or misspell “lose,” I’m gonna call you out on it. That doesn’t make me a tool — It makes me LITERATE. If you send me a text message or tweet without a shred of punctuation, I’m going to do the biggest mental eye-roll and judge the crap out of you. And yes, I will probably correct you. I shouldn’t have to pause and try to decipher your writing to figure out what you were trying to say.
It scares me where our language is headed if this trend continues. I’m all for evolution of the English language (Come on, let’s just make “them” a gender-neutral pronoun already!), but spelling, grammar, and punctuation are essential to the meaning of language. How are we supposed to get our points across if none of us can correctly use a comma?
Le sigh.
OK. I’m done ranting. I don’t want to lose any followers over my grammar-nerdiness.
6 New Social Media Terms Added to AP Stylebook
The Associated Press is making a list and you better check it TWICE!
This is great. It’s always nice to see the AP take steps toward modernity, especially in regards to style and grammar, which tends to be way behind the curve.
(Source: apstylebook.com)
