I missed the memo. When did "losing" become "loosing"?

#41

Are any of you guys extra super careful about your posts now? Obsessively checking and re-checking the spelling and grammar? It would be embarrassing to get called out for an error after acting so superior on here! :rofl:

(Karim Wassef) #42

No. It’s social media… a little more looseness is warranted. :joy:

#43

@JohnH
@CrackerJax

You guys are right and I apologize for being snarky. This site has helped me a ton, and I wouldn’t want to discourage a newbie. Hopefully this thread is tucked away enough that they don’t stumble upon it.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #44

No, but then I have always been careful about spelling and grammar. It irritates me greatly, however, to find errors in a post I thought I had proofread!

And I actually don’t see that it is shaming to anyone to make fun in a general way, when no one specific is being called out. I have been made aware of many of my own errors by that sort of general humor.

I actually find it patronizing for people to assume that I am so ignorant or careless that I don’t want to improve my language skills. I participate in a French-speaking forum and greatly appreciate the other members’ attempts to improve my French. They manage to correct me directly without being offensive about it, so it can be done. I am grateful that they think highly enough of me to think it worthwhile to engage with me at that level, as well as at the level of what we are actually discussing.

#45

You’re right. I’m a professional editor and occasional writing teacher. Most (not all) of the stuff in this thread makes me crazy. Sadly, it is often a sign that someone (assuming they’re a native speaker) has gotten a poor education in English-language basics, but usually not by their own fault [insert rant, re: state of public education here]. Because of that they may not even realize they’re doing something incorrectly. There’s a line between venting about bad grammar in general and mocking people. We should be careful not to embarrass or shame anyone. I apologize if I have in any way (either you, @CrackerJax, or any one else who is reading, but doesn’t want to speak up).

Also, if there are people reading this and thinking, “Holy shit, am I supposed to know all that stuff?!?” No, not all of it. Frankly, things like the Oxford comma have some pretty sophisticated usage rules. Some style manuals require it, others discourage it, saying only to use it if required for clarity. Even many professional editors are only familiar with one style guide. Average people certainly should not be expected to know the differences between two of them.

However, we grammar nerds love a good joke about commas, Oxford or not:

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cooking-friends_orig

(Jane Srygley) #46

OMG ME TOO!!! Yes I hate the loosing/losing thing. Someday auto-correct will be more useful than for changing f*** to “duck”

(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝) #47

Hate when that happens

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(CharleyD) #48

Vs: The Pirate Way:

The man WHAT was lying on the floor.

:skull_and_crossbones::joy:

(Empress of the Unexpected) #49

First thread on the subject.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #50

I work as a free lance editor. I notice these things. I am hyper aware, but only for my education. We are not making fun of individuals. At my very first job as a legal secretary my boss got on my case for using “since” instead of “because.” That stuck. I love the English language.

#51

I can’t quite fathom what this mean-spirited nonsense is doing in the ‘Humour’ section…to each their own I suppose.

(Cindy) #52

There’s a flip side to correcting language. Ok, maybe “flip side” is the wrong way to put it. My boys were raised with “real” language in that they didn’t text, we didn’t use a lot of slang, they’re not involved in social media, etc. My oldest son said that when he started texting friends, it was very awkward for him because he texted in full (and correct) sentences. He was actually criticized for it in his peer group.

So I guess I’m just saying…we shouldn’t assume that incorrect usage is due to lack of intelligence, lack of education, etc.

#53

One wonders how Aboriginal Australian’s managed to maintain the longest continually surviving culture on earth without the benefit of the written word or the Oxford comma.

#54

I don’t know what the grammatical rules of their language are, but I know they have some. All languages do. Also, apparently people pun in all known languages, as well. So everyone makes jokes about their words and language. I imagine it’s also pretty common for people in every culture to make jokes about misunderstanding or not following cultural rules (language being just one aspect of culture).

English has particularly complicated grammar and vast numbers of borrowed words from outside the root language, which makes it both harder to learn and riper for making jokes about its hazards. But we definitely haven’t cornered the market on this kind of humor.

#55

You should see Slovene grammar…we use dual and declension :wink:

(Laura) #56

I studied Modern English Grammar by Noam Chomsky and it was a revelation. My favorite part of his approach is that there are no exceptions to the rules because if there is an exception, it is not a rule.

He takes the approach that English grammar is more closely related to the germanic languages from a grammatical standpoint. We traditionally learn it as being closer to the romance languages. His approach really makes much more sense to me.

(Carl Keller) #57

image

Punctuation saves lives.

There’s a big difference between:

Let’s eat, Grandma.

and

Let’s eat Grandma.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #58

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

(Empress of the Unexpected) #59

The real question is, is Grandma fatty meat, or lean? Will she fit our macros?

(Alec) #60

You edit lances that are free? Where can I get my free lance? How do you go about editing them?