We all know them, those people who live to correct the grammar mistakes of others - preferably on public forums such as Facebook and Twitter. They are known collectively as Grammar Nazis and have the ability to suck the joy out of almost anything by focusing on what was most likely a mistake.
I came across an awesome tweet one day which included a pop culture reference which just pushed the awesomeness to another level. The tweet (which of course I can't find again) had countless likes, retweets, and comments. I was shocked to find that most of the comments focused on the one grammatical error in the tweet instead of the amazing overall content. (If I remember correctly it was "whose" instead of "who's".) I just wanted to shake people and scream "You're missing the point!" It's no harder to use your 140 characters to give the originator of the tweet kudos for creativity than it is to point out a mistake that they are (now) well aware of. However, Twitter doesn't allow for editing of tweets so the originator's only option is to delete it or just deal with the negativity.
We have an "instant messaging" feature at work that we can use to contact other employees. One of my coworkers knows that I'm an author (most don't) and she told me one day that she is always nervous about messaging me because she's worried about making some sort of mistake. I (hopefully) assured her that I'm not one to nit pick which may seem to be an odd trait for a writer.
So, am I saying that good grammar isn't important? Not at all. When I send a book off to an editor, I'm going to make sure that it is as perfect as I can make it. I also know when I get that book back, the editor will have found simple grammatical mistakes that I overlooked. It's easy to miss our own mistakes, especially when we have been working on the same manuscript for any length of time. After a while, the brain sees what it expects to see instead of what is actually there. This is why editors are so important.
So, if my passion involves the use of words and grammar why am I not a grammar nazi? Simple:
1. Everybody makes mistakes - even those so fond of policing others.
2. Autocorrect is the great equalizer. Anyone who uses a smartphone or tablet is well acquainted with typing a message and hitting send only to realize that autocorrect reared its ugly head and made changes - sometimes rather embarrassing ones.
I fell victim to autocorrect this morning. I typed up a tweet, proofread it, sent it, and moved on with life. A couple of hours later I realized that in spite of proofreading there was a typo in the tweet. *sigh* How did I miss the error? It was an example of what I mentioned earlier - I saw what I expected to see instead of what was actually there.
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| There, their, they're. It's just a mistake, not the end of the world. |
On another note, while I am not one to be offended by any and every thing, I actually am not fond of the use of the term "nazi" in this context. I feel that it somewhat demeans the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust but that's a topic for another post.
So, are you a grammar nazi? Be honest. I won't tell. ;-)
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No, I'm not Nazi-level, but I am persnickety when it comes to correct grammar usage. I don't point out errors or leave negative comments, but I rarely retweet or share anything that isn't grammatically correct or has spelling mistakes.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, although I confess I could be one of those who sees the grammatical error before the content. In my defense, I've been an English teacher my adult career and I just can't help it. BUT...I do not correct anyone in speech or print. I've learned, especially with tweets and texting, that people are writing what they feel with no particular concern for spelling. It's fine. I get it, but I'll always see the error first. I'm just wired that way. Maybe it's a curse?
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