Day 3, Friday: Things that make you uncomfortable
Discomfort comes in many forms, from watching a film's sex scene with your parents, to wearing tight jeans just after a big dinner. My main discomfort is seeing spelling/grammar/punctuation mistakes on signs or in newspapers. In fact, I hate seeing those mistakes anywhere. Anything that is published to be read by the public should always be checked, checked, and checked again.
I get a sick feeling in my stomach whenever I see one, and it's worse when I know I can't do anything to correct it. A violent urge then rushes through my body and I want to scream and hurt someone (normally the person who has made the faux pas). My head pounds and my heart races, and I want to scratch my skin off. Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating (slightly) but I do feel a bit queasy whenever I spot a language error.
Here are a few apostrophe catastrophes, pluralisation violations, and other grammar grumbles I've spotted along the way.
What makes you feel uncomfortable?
Lol I'm a Grammar Nazi too. :D
ReplyDeleteHa, all the best people are :D
DeleteFound you through Jenni's linkup! You should get into my field! I'm a technical writer who spends many of my days reading and correcting poorly written business proposals...It's actually a good feeling to know things are leaving my desk perfectly written, but after a while it can be infuriating! How did some people get where they are today without knowing the basic rules of grammar!?!? LOL
ReplyDeleteGlad I found your blog :)
That sounds like my ideal job. I've done some freelance editing of book manuscripts, and I think my red pen ran out of ink!! I do enjoy correcting grammar, but like you say, how do people get through life without being able to communicate properly!!
DeleteTo err is human, and the English language is sometimes just too much to keep straight many times, even when you are down pat on the rules. Hope you learn to relax some and not transform too often into a doppelganger. :) Writer’s Mark
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I can't relax when it comes to grammar. As soon as I relax, I know I'd let mistakes get through. And I can't let that happen. I have a duty as a member of the grammar police to be on top of my game at all times!! :D
DeleteWow that's a lot of mistakes. You would think big companies have someone to triple check these things over!
ReplyDeleteI know, right!! But some people don't seem to think language is important. I mean, it's only a method of communication; it can be abused ... *shakes head*
DeleteI can't stand such errors either. Somehow, people make them over and over without ever realizing what they're writing is wrong! How can anyone not know the difference between "there" and "they're". Gets me all worked up.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, me too. That's one of my pet peeves (the their/there/they're thing). Sometimes I have to read things a couple of times before I've understood it!
DeleteEeewwww!!! I hated all those signs! You know what else drives me crazy? When people use quotation marks for emphasis or something. Our bank is terrible about this:
ReplyDelete"Please" no talking on cell phones
"Candy bars" for sale
I have seen it other places too. The candy bars one kills me...makes it seem like it's not real candy! ha!
Hahaha yeah, don't buy any of those "candy bars". You don't know what they could be!
DeleteI've seen some awful grammar/spelling mistakes in my time and it always makes me more angry than uncomfortable. I really do fear for our future generations! Great post!
ReplyDelete