Princess MoMo

I recently joined a facebook group called, "You Know You're From Rutgers University when…"   Prior to joining said group, I was of the belief that Rutgers is a decent school, with at least an average level of admissions standards.  Some of the members of this facebook group lead me to question that belief. 

Before I share some of the exchanges that occurred, I want to explain what potentially motivates Grammar Nazis to correct improper English usage.  Generally, Grammar Nazis do not highlight the mistakes of others to boost their own confidence or to “prove” that they’re better than anyone else.  Take, for example, a sports fanatic.  If the sports fanatic sees a status message on facebook communicating an incorrect sports statistic, it is likely that the sports fanatic will correct it.  For instance, imagine person x posts, “Jeter has hit 142 career home runs as of July 10, 2011."  It is not a far stretch to assume that the sports fanatic is going to comment, “No dude, he’s hit 237.”  Does that make the sports fanatic a self-righteous prick? I think not. 

The Grammar Nazi is a fanatic of the English language (or whatever his/her native tongue is) and perceives it almost as a personal affront when people bastardize it.  Why? Language is a mode of communication.  A primary purpose of writing a public message or directing a message at someone is to convey a certain meaning or idea.  Flawed grammar may inhibit a reader from properly understanding the writer’s intended meaning.  Flawed grammar also requires more effort on the reader's part because the reader has to decipher, based on faulty clues, what the writer is trying to say.  Below is an example (which I did not create) demonstrating the impact punctuation has on meaning. 

The following messages are composed using the same exact words.  The variable is the punctuation placement, which in turn, completely changes the meaning of the message.

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy–will you let me be yours?

Gloria

 

Dear John:

 

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be? 

Yours,

Gloria

So, what does this all mean?  It means that proper grammar usage may help avoid miscommunication.  Because so many of us communicate in writing these days (via texts, email, facebook, chat etc.), we should strive to avoid confusion where possible through the use of proper English.

Finally, I understand that people may not like being publicly corrected.  Get over it.  Why would someone rather continue making a mistake?  Being corrected is part of learning and improving.  I am far from perfect.  There are many people who have a better command of the language than I do.  I enjoy associating with those people because they correct me, which betters my understanding and usage.  

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