Am I being pedantic?

stickywicket

I was a bit dismayed to find that, among the instructions for my forthcoming scan, it referred to 'a couch, which you lay on...' Really On what shall I lay this couch? On the doc? On the roof of the hospital? Does grammar matter any more? I think I can foresee my next letter:

Dear Mrs SW,

weve sorted ure scan. Its on jun32 @ 11.30. no prep needed. just remove ure clothe's and wear a gown innit. ure thrs and tkrs wont effect ure scan. if theirs a problem plz let us now.

Cheers

theresak

I had a similar conversation about a week ago, when I asked older son if grammar was actually taught in schools these days. He assured me it was. I`m definitely pedantic about grammar, and I blame my convent grammar school - stricter than strict, but a marvellous education, only properly appreciated many years later.

My hackles rise to heights of alarming proportions when I see signs reading ` Pie`s, pea`s and chip`s," and also `Christine`s Snax`s.`(on a mobile van in a layby just out of the village)

My pet hate at the moment is the weather forecasters gabbling their way through the forecast far too quickly, seemingly in a race to beat the clock.

My sons have a chuckle at me, but I`m with you Sticky - long live pedants!

LignumVitae

My pet hate is too and to. It's too much trouble for so many to use them properly. There's also their, there and your you're and the one so many Australians seem to use (just to make my ears weep) yous. You is a plural. You would expect a hospital to get something so basic correct though. I bet your next letter ends with thnx, gr8 to c u. :x

Cate

My pet hate is when of is used instead of have...."I would of gone", for example..

I too now thank the nuns at my convent school, who invented the word pedantic, I think Sticky.

I remember my arm was constantly bruised from Sister Mary Agnes poking me for saying off you instead of from you.....Cate.

barbara12

I am not very pedantic, but things that get to me is ,when they drop the T..Wa'er...one young lady said to me in the hospital press the Buh'on..compu'er..mi brains gone now..

dreamdaisy

I am so with you, like because I was like, its rong and he woz like its not rong and I woz like postrophes ain't hard an he wos like but they r! Bu he carn't spell woz!

I am a proud pedant but also understand that language itself is always in a state of flux. Mind you, the odd text-speak thing has begun to inveigle its way into my emails. :oops: Yup, state of flux . . . . . DD

PS No, you're not being pedantic. What saddens me is that an increasing number of people cannot access the vocabulary they need, because they don't know that the words they need to express their feelings exist.

mig

Yeh but, but yeh. Mig

stickywicket

dreamdaisy wrote:

What saddens me is that an increasing number of people cannot access the vocabulary they need, because they don't know that the words they need to express their feelings exist.

Hey, now we're getting into philosophy

I don't actually object to text language - in its place. And language does evolve. But sometimes it's important to say things clearly and unequivocally and, if we lose that capacity, where do we go next?

applerose

I saw this on a t-shirt recently.

Let's eat Granma.
Let's eat, Granma.
Apostrophes save lives.

tjt6768

I had heard that grammar was no longer taught in schools. I was distraught. . It is one of the building blocks of the language we speak.

I despise the way kids (and a lot of adults) speak these days. I cringe when I hear 'like' and she was 'like' so I was 'like'... realleee? Hactualleee..

I know I use many abbreviations on here. I usually type as I speak but that's mainly me mucking about with a strong Yorkshire accent..

tjt6768

And why have people suddenly abandoned the 'er' on the end of certain words? ?
More healthy. . You mean, healthier???
More sunny. . Erm..... sunnier???

You would never hear that in the past but now it must be all the rage. Even the newsreaders are at it :x makes my blood curdle innit


I think it's an anti Royal thing. Trying to get rid of our beloved ER lol

stickywicket

Oh crikey, what have I started A grammar rant?

Just for the record, there have always been two forms of comparison – either adding 'er' or placing the words 'more' or 'less' in front. I confess I do heartily dislike the double comparison, though (more healthier etc) but I guess the meaning is still clear, which is all that really matters as language is simply a communication tool.

I think I just like clarity, especially in instructions about my scan

bubbadog

I hate it when people say 'at the end of the day' at the end of sentences !! It really grinds on me, you don't type it on emails or letters so why say it!!

tjt6768

You know I love a good rant Mrs Stickiness lol. .
I guess, like you I much prefer the ER way. I think it sounds much nicer that way.


And........

It is not a snickers. . It's a MARATHON


Hope you get to the correct department at the correct time :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: Lol

tkachev

I'm glad to report that my Daughter, age 11, is taught grammar. I had to mark her grammar homework (with the help of an answer book) yesterday evening.

I'm rubbish at grammar but my two other Daughters are excellent. so much so that I'm embarrassed to write messages to them. They did have the benefit of a private education and I'm sure that helped.


I agree about the weather forecast! It is increasingly hard to follow what they are saying with them racing all over the map and talking at breakneck speed.

One thing I have always hated is when the news reader says 'and now for the news where you are?' why not 'now for the news from your location' or 'your local news?'
It gets the hackles up every time.
Elizabeth x

ichabod6

Hello SW,
Having read a lot of the posts you have put on the AC forums I would not
think of you as a person who lays excessive emphasis on detailed points
of learning or procedure nor as a narrow-minded observer of form, but
those are the definitions of pedant given in my Pocket Oxford dictionary.
That's not you, is it?

dreamdaisy

Ummmm, Applerose, did you mean that a well-placed comma makes the difference? I ask because the apostrophes are the same in both statements but it's the comma that makes the difference.

Right, kinda off-topic but it gets my goat. It's the 'er' sound being pronounced as an 'ah' sound as in Septembah, Octobah, Novembah, Decembah. Then add 'my bruvvah', 'my sistah' etceterah etceterah. DD

PS Our Danish friend has a far better grasp of English grammar because she was taught spoken English - the native speakers are not, we learn from what we hear around us.

applerose

Whoops DD, you are right. I meant 'Commas save lives.' :oops:

Just remembered. A private school near us had a new sign put up - 'Grammer School'. A young boy from the primary school told his mum it was wrong and she contacted the local paper. Red faces all round.

Airwave!

I now have grammar and grammer running through my head after my teacher wife's rant!

P.S. Don't read the Telegraph it'll make you ill!

Megrose489

We have a screen at our local surgery which tells patients when it's their turn to see the doctor/nurse. I hate it anyway. No magazines anymore and the seats are positioned in front of it so everybody has no choice but to stare at it until it's their turn.

So, Mr MR and I get some amusement from criticising the grammar of the various announcements on the screen, which are, for example: the number of patients who didn't show up for their appointment, grateful thanks to the Patient Participation Group who donated the screen and ' If you have blood in your pee, don't ignore it'. Recent errors have been a lack of full stops, so the sentences didn't make sense and the use of the wrong tense.

I was an English teacher and grammatical errors seem to hit me between the eyes. So, I'm a proud member of the pedant club!

Meg