There have been times in my life when I've been referred to as a grammar nazi. Particularly on facebook, and due to my insistent use of proper grammar and spelling, and my correcting of others. Though I think the title is a crude reference, I suppose the shoe fits. Perhaps I'm oppressing people grammatically. Perhaps I should stop.

I can't. It's an addiction. I use proper grammar here. On facebook. On IMs. Even in text messages.

I feel that proper grammar is very important. It conveys intelligence, and professionalism, and educations. Yet today, kids are writing term papers in internet language-I remember when I was 13, and the English Department at my school had to stress what an issue that was. I understand "modern shorthand" if you will in texts and online, but in a paper written for school?

That would never fly on a college application.

Yet today, it happens. People write the way they talk. There is no censorship. Punctuation is neglected.

Do I always speak proper English? No. I try to. But it happens. This post may be littered with grammatical errors actually.

But the problem is, people do not even try anymore it seems.

Also, I recently learned that cursive is no longer being taught in school. Kids actually do not know how to sign their signature, because they do not know cursive. I always thought that was important (and it looked pretty) and since I was 16, I've only written in cursive (unless instructed otherwise).

So to me, the ability to write cursive, and proper grammar is very important, and a shame that it is just getting brushed off these days.

Your thoughts?

This may stray off topic but yea...this kinda reminded me of...ME! =D I moved to ALOT of different schools in my life so i never really learned proper grammar. Iv been to schools in S Korea(where i was born), schools in HI(where i was raised...and got this AMAZING tan...=P), schools in Arizona(when my dad was in the military), schools in VA, and now, schools in MD! During my whole life, i never learned proper grammar but i was a VERY good reader. Even now, grammar is a challenge for me. Sometimes, when im texting one of my friends, my text wouldnt even make sense, and my friend would be like..."What the heck are you trying to say?". =D

My hometown really didn't teach English very well. My grammar was pretty mediocre when I went to college. I've become a lot better at it due to taking Latin and Greek but I still wish I knew more of the rules to English.

It absolutely kills me when I see people use netspeak or something like that in papers and in professional settings. I do not always use proper grammar and whatnot, but I do when it counts.

See, the two of you say you had trouble with grammar, never properly learned it, but I read your posts and you're using good grammar! English is a tough language to learn, from what I understand (having spoken it my whole life), so I can let go of certain errors, but not even making an effort...using netspeak in areas other than the internet...pet peeve of mine, it drives me NUTS.

im gonna have to applaud all my teachers and Cnet for my decent grammar! =D When i started Cnet, my goal was to win a scholarship but i didnt notice that posting helped me in many different ways. For example, it helped me with my writing section of my SAT's so basiclly, i got 2 birds with 1 stone! =D

Me too! I can remember since elementary school bad grammar has always bugged me. Of course, I do use bad grammar sometimes myself, but it is not intentional. My obsession with grammar led me to get every Writing multiple choice question right on the SAT. Unfortunately my essay wasn't very good, so I only got a 730.

Just like my obsession with grammar at a young age led to my good grammar skills today, it only makes sense that a child with bad grammar at a young age would struggle as they grew older. Thus if children are accustomed to using "modern shorthand" at a young age, they would have trouble with proper grammar as they get older. It will be interesting to see if the grammar skills of the average person drop in years to come. I would think that as more and more children are texting and IMing that would be the case.

I'm the same way as you! In every single IM, email, text, or whatever I'm writing, I always have to make sure everything is spelled right and makes sense. People make fun of me all the time for it. Also, sometimes bad spelling makes me so angry I feel the need to correct it. Bad spelling is my biggest pet-peeve.

I think people that use bad grammar and such in everyday writing 'dumbs them down' and shows laziness. I definitely do not want to come off as someone illiterate to anyone in my texts.

This makes me smile and laugh a little. I have been called a spelling Nazi in my day. HA! I have this overwhelming sense to correct people when they don't use proper terms and spellings. Ex. Where, wear, were/ there, they're, their etc etc. Oh my this frustrates me. Yet I too make mistakes in spelling and more often than I'd like to admit, usually with uncommon words or due to a slip of the typing finger. I'm just glad to know I'm not alone. I'm sure my co-worker would love to just smack me sometimes.
I can get with LOL, BTW, LMAO and things of that short hand text-language. However, what the heck is with the way kids are spelling? Adding extra letters or short handing everything? SPEAK ENGLISH PLEASE!!!!! I'm the mother of a fairly trendy 11 year old and so far so good I don't have to wear a secret decoder ring in order to understand what he is saying or writing. YET!! LOL!!!
:-)

Jessyness646, Thank you for agreeing and confirming my opinions on this matter. I thought that maybe I was the only one that cared about spelling and grammar anymore. I hate to see the English language butchered the way it is. If there is something that I am trying to read, and it is written in what they call "texting language", I quit reading and either move to the next subject or delete it. I am not perfect when it comes to English, but I at least try to make a good impression.

In my English Comp and Literature classes, if you use this type of language, you automatically get a 0 on your paper. I think that every class should be that way.

Jessyness646- Where do I begin; I guess from the begining. Being fluent in 3 other languages (Spanish, French, and German), I feel that many Americans stress that English is the language that the world should be speaking, but how ironic to state that the USA lacks the knowledge to properly speak much less write in the language that they are trying to uphold. Was is worse, to incorrectly place a punctuation or to speak inappropriately using the work "LIKE" as if it was going ot of style.

Spanish is my native tongue and sometimes when I speak French I first think about it in Spanish. When I try to write in German, English comes to mind. It is a tangled web I weave. Grammar has never been my forte, but I try my best to write as proper as possible.

As always, there's two sides to every issue:

On the one hand, I feel that it's important to be able to express yourself clearly. Even setting aside the issue of school, this is an essential skill for any professional. So, if you want to make the big bucks, you'd better be able to write.

But, on the other hand, we're really talking about modes of communication. I think that the message should fit the medium. While I tend to do as you do, Jess, writing well about 95% of the time, shorthand doesn't bother me in texts.

As far as other internet communication, I think you it's okay to write pretty much as you will. It's casual communication. But the way you communicate DOES make an impression.

Am I the only one who gets depressed by the apparent average IQ in the comments section of the average webpage? The worst offenders I can think of are YouTube, any sports page, and humour sites. Wow. And to think, this is the future of America... Sad...

Now, extending the impression thing over to collegenet: if you're competing for a scholarship, presumably you're competing at least partially on the basis of academic merit, right? It rubs me the wrong way when I see atrocious grammar on this site...

Micheddie-spelling nazi?! I've never been called that, but most likely deserved it!! I feel the same way. I got really bummed the other day, when I posted something, and used "their" instead of "there" and couldn't edit it!!

Keymorn- That is so cool that you speak 4 languages!! Wish I could do that. I can get around in Spanish, but that's about it. You've got a good point, despite my obsession with good English and proper grammar, I don't believe I've mastered it myself. And that whole thought "you're in the U.S. speak our language" is complete BS if you ask me...I think we might be the only country in the world that thinks that way. What happened to the idea that we're just a big, diverse melting pot? A free land where anyone is welcome? Americans definitely need to be more worldly.

Skaterdude- Valid points as well. Comment posts...don't even get me started. They make me cringe.

This has truly possibly made my day. I'm so happy there are so many other "grammar nazis" out there, because sometimes I lose faith in American intelligence...wonder if its an oxymoron at times. Thanks everyone!

I wish I was awesome writing skills. I suck at grammar and writing, but I am trying to improve it. I used to speak Ebonics when I was little from living in Germany. It is so sad; I can't even say pillow correctly. Instead of saying PILL-OH I pronounce it PELL-OH. Hahah, my sophomore year in high school, I took Autobody for a class and we spent a whole day trying to teach me how to say aluminum. Thankfully I can pronounce it correctly now. Everyday I learn something new about the English language. It's actually exciting. Some words I say do not even exist. For example, I do not say comb or brush, I combine it into comb brush same with poop turd.

Yes, I believe grammar and writing is very important especially if you are later working in a job that requires a lot of writing. My job does, and I just cannot believe how important this is. One time I wrote "coz" and my supervisor immediately told me to change that because that was not formal writing. Regarding, texting, well, unless you take the time to write, but since I am in a hurry and my friends would understand me anyways, I dont mind writing differently.

Thank you, Jessyness for bring up this very important issue! It seems like using proper grammar is going down the drain these days. I hate the "text/IM" speak! Yeah, I use it when I'm online but in emails and on Facebook, I write how I talk--by using proper English. I cringed when you mentioned that kids are writing term papers in IM speak!! What is this world coming to?!?! lol And why aren't teachers catching/stopping this?

Well, I'm already a grammar freak. I always have been ever since I started learning it. Grammar and languages have always been fascinating to me. I love writing and am gifted at it...and, thanks to this site I can do it a little more often now. :)

I am involved in the correction process a lot more since I work at my school's newspaper now. I'm the Copy Editor and sometimes I hate it. The reason? I'm the one who has to spend a few hrs 2-3 days a week revising and editing writers' stories. Some weeks are better than others...but most of the time, the stuff I read is a nightmare and full of errors! Gahhh...
And not to be racist (which I am definitely not), but most of the staff is black and they aren't really concerned about grammar (even the editor). Since I have had experience working with them and reading their stories, I have kinda discovered that most black students don't really know or care about grammar. Yes, there are some who do, but you don't really see them speaking up about it. They probably feel this way about most white people, but to me, sometimes when I read their stories, it's like I'm reading another language! Has anyone else felt this way?
I'm not trying to pick on black students. I just wanted to mention it because I have been noticing that lately.
Well, that's all I have right now. I could talk about the grammar issue for days. :)

To me, it just annoys me when people use the wrong grammar and do not fix it. Like 'then' and 'than'. 'affect' and 'effect'. I know it might be hard to tell the difference at first, but at least make an effort to understand the difference. You can misuse it, but FIX it so you don't look dumb.

I agree with you. You do sound like Grammar Nazi. Facebook, Twitter, Ims, even blogs are informal forms of communication. If you are just talking to a friend and they use good instead of well you don't interrupt them for a simple mistake especially if doesn't hamper you understanding in any way. If you do then it is no wonder they call you a grammar nazi. That kind of morale superiority will get you in trouble with most of the world at large. Look at Jimmy Carter's Malaise Speech. Attacking people about their grammar is not they way to affect change. If you tell someone not to do so because "I told you so and I know more" the natural reaction is to bristle, and ignore you no matter how correct you may be. I'm sure that in this setting of college bound bloggers most readers will agree with you, but Grammar is the least important part of writing. It is always at the end of a rubric because unless it hampers your understanding you ignore it.
:) I’m sure that you’ll probably answer this with comments about my ignorance, but I hope you’ll accept it as a scholarly discussion not something to get worked up about.
Jonathan David Girard