When English is not your first language, things can get very messy.
I don't know how exactly this topic came to mind. Maybe it just annoys me a lot lately. I'm afraid I will sound patronizing, and I don't mean to. Please note that I'm just being annoyed and want to spit this out, hopefully, straight yet properly.
Well, I'm not really that judging-people-based-on-spelling-grammar-punctuation-and-sentence-structure person (I don't always use them correctly anyway, especially the last two things), though I admit, I sometimes judge people based on their *cough* English use. And by English use, I don't mean "how they use English". It's more about "how they think they use it". I won't necessarily point out their use on they're, their, there, whatsoever. I won't necessarily blabber about their spelling error and stuff. I also do some misspelling. I often use "and" and "but" after the full stop. I'm not good at the proper use of preposition. Being an English major student doesn't make me perfect because, geez, I'm just a learner. English isn't my first language either. It's just...
...there's a difference between messed up grammar and (too) messed up grammar.
If you know what I mean.
There's a thin line between messing up the grammar and messing up the grammar yet being sure that it's not really messed up (or being not so sure but going on anyway) and being overconfident about it. The thing is, I often find that second type of people who use English just the way they want to use it, with messed up grammar (and spelling) here and there, being overly (I repeat, overly) confident, wandering around facebook updates, tweets, and even blog posts, without realizing that it's highly (may I repeat, highly) annoying.
I'm talking about saying "she cans wait" instead of "she can wait". (Really? Cans?)
Or the use of "ask for" and "ask about".
Or the exact pairing of a subject and its "to be". (I mean, "I" goes along well with "am", not "are".)
Yes, that kinda stuff. Combined with the overconfidence thingy.
I actually want to highlight the overconfidence thingy more. It hurts my heart. A question pops in my head: "Why? Why English?" (Really, I'm wondering)
And then, there's a grammar nazi.
You know it, right? When someone unacceptably correct the grammar and people think it's annoying, that someone will possibly be called a grammar nazi. I don't know where the term came from and who originally invented it, but all I can say is that he/she wasn't at Hitler's side.
I see why some people see some particular blunt grammar nazis as rude, annoying, always-think-they-are-right and who-do-they-think-they-are filthy creatures. Some are just being such a meanie, pointing out the errors and giving corrections right away. Or missing out the point of a statement and only focusing on the grammar instead.
I agree, they are annoying.
But I'm also torn here. I won't fully blame them (the grammar nazis) though, if they're facing the special cases. Yeah, (too) messed up grammar is also annoying as hell. Period.
The grammar violators and the grammar nazis; for me it's like a neverending circle. And yes, everyone deserves to be one, be it the violator or the nazi. It's just, there's something called "too much" and (oh I love this quote) Spice Girls clearly said "too much of something is bad enough".
Dear grammar violators, there is something called dictionary and google. Or spellcheck, whatever. Please do some research on the difference between "ask for" and "ask about" because they are extremely different.
And Dear grammar nazis, there is something called manner, something called context and situation, right and wrong place and/or condition. Something called "giving a correction when necessary". Something called "do it properly".
Oh well. I hope I'm not talking too much.
No hard feelings,
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