I think I’ve been called a nerd more times that I’ve been called a snob for correcting people’s grammar, because most people outside of our realm of writers and editors don’t care like we do. They don’t feel embarrassment from misspellings or misuses of who and whom.

I’ve noticed in Spanish, though, it’s a totally different ballgame. It’s as if misspelling a word or having incorrect grammar sends a message that you’re uneducated (as opposed to, in a hurry and prone to typos). In emails, people actually apologize ahead of time for their errors sometimes. I don’t see the English language get that kind of respect too often
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That’s really interesting that you would bring up Spanish. I’ve probably mentioned before that my husband works for a Spanish-language news network (it’s a trusted name in news :p) and he is all the time complaining about the writers and guests there abusing Spanish. Though I still think he’s a bit of a snob (I hope he doesn’t see this :p) I think he may have more room to talk since you guys have the Real Academia Espanola which is actually meant to regulate the language. Though, personally, I think language is such a a fluid and ever changing thing that it can never truly be regulated or boxed in. (Also – haha – I apologize for the lack of accent marks back there. I don’t have the codes memorized to type those suckers!)

Natalia, on a totally different note, I’m trying to learn Spanish so I can actually communicate with my in-laws beyond “Buenas,” “Ciao,” and “tengo hambre,” and it is incredibly difficult. I envy you your awesome bilingual abilities, but despair of ever attaining the same. Just thought I would throw in a gripe!

If every writer who secretly laughs at spelling mistakes and grammatical errors were forced to complete a math problem at the end of all their articles, we would not have this problem. People forget that, while they may be a great speller or grammaritarian, they probably suck at basic math, geography, science or something else. So get off the high horse and remember what you can’t do that other people may find easy.

That’s my point exactly. I’d love for one of these Grammaritarians to explain to me how to divide one fraction by another (without Googling it). I know how, and I don’t make fun of writers who don’t. Because it’s not cool, man, not cool.

After reading this article, I was writing my daily blog post, and I began to write a sentence where it was grammatically correct to use “whom” and not “who.” Yesterday, I would have used “who” and told all the stuffy grammarians to go stuff themselves. But now that “whom” is really on its way out of the English language, I started to feel a little nostalgic so I wrote “whom.” Soon I’ll be writing all my posts in iambic pentameter.
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These types of discussions always get people going, don’t they!

I have a client for whom I referee office grammar debates on a regular basis–one of her staff members is the worst kind of grammar stickler; i.e., one who is frequently wrong. It’s kind of enjoyable to deflate his balloon while citing CMS chapter and verse.

When I was a wet-behind-the-ears editor, I used to get upset about people not knowing the rules. Now, my only goal is to fix it when I can, not worry about it when I can’t, and laugh at it when it’s funny.
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