Microwaves and Grammar Rants
Friday, February 22, 2008 by Mel
Please forgive me; I just laughed (heartily) at my own joke.
Co-worker (looking at coffeepot, toaster over): Do we not have a microwave?
Me: (pointing to the other side of the kitchen) We do, it's over here by itself.
Co-worker: Oh.
Me: It didn't play well with the other appliances.
The worst part was that I started laughing somewhere in the middle of the word "appliances" because I realized what I was about to say, and I almost ruined the whole thing. But my co-worker laughed just as heartily at the same time, so I didn't feel as bad. It turns out that I work in a pretty funny office. They are beginning to see that I can keep up.
I'm a little nerdy when it comes to grammar. I haven't figured out how to look at something without proofreading it at the same time- that goes for TV commercials, websites, song lyrics, and anything in print. If I see it, I see what's wrong with it. On one hand I think it's good that I know this stuff because someone out there doesn't, and needs to, and I might be able to help them. On the other hand I think, "Why don't people know this stuff? And who is letting these people write when they don't know how?"
I don't know why I'm such a grammar geek. I remember that in middle and high I could finish my English assignments before most kids could crack open their books. Finding this website the other day made me very happy. Now I may not remember any algebra or calculus or understand most scientific stuff, but grammar made sense to me.
Language, to me, is a lot about respect. The way you speak to your grandmother and the way you talk about the jerk who just cut you off in traffic are probably very different. It's not just about what you say, it's about how you're saying it. And that rolls over into how you write it, too. If you're not taking the time to make sure you're putting out something that is correct, how much do you respect the people who have to wade through your mistakes?
I was editing some text for a newsletter this morning, and it almost gave me fits. The basic rules of capitalization are simple; capitalize the first word of a sentence, titles and proper names. I know you can find documents from a few hundred years back in which every "important" word gets the same treatment, but we got away from that. At least, I thought we had. There were capitals everywhere! Between the capitals and the unnecessary commas, I spent most of the morning on a job that could have taken an hour or two. Arg.
I'm not saying I am mistake-free. I tend to add letters to words that don't need them, and I always have to think about words like 'sentence' and 'independence' when I type them. But for a girl who is a fan of prescriptive grammar, it's hard to live in a world of text message shortcuts and disregard for basic grammar rules. We don't let people go around believing that 5+7 is cupcake. Why should this be any different?
But enough of that. Tonight we're having a devo to kick off the MRCC 24 hours of prayer and playing Rock Band afterwards! If that isn't the weirdest combination ever, I don't know what is.
Enjoy your weekend!
Co-worker (looking at coffeepot, toaster over): Do we not have a microwave?
Me: (pointing to the other side of the kitchen) We do, it's over here by itself.
Co-worker: Oh.
Me: It didn't play well with the other appliances.
The worst part was that I started laughing somewhere in the middle of the word "appliances" because I realized what I was about to say, and I almost ruined the whole thing. But my co-worker laughed just as heartily at the same time, so I didn't feel as bad. It turns out that I work in a pretty funny office. They are beginning to see that I can keep up.
I'm a little nerdy when it comes to grammar. I haven't figured out how to look at something without proofreading it at the same time- that goes for TV commercials, websites, song lyrics, and anything in print. If I see it, I see what's wrong with it. On one hand I think it's good that I know this stuff because someone out there doesn't, and needs to, and I might be able to help them. On the other hand I think, "Why don't people know this stuff? And who is letting these people write when they don't know how?"
I don't know why I'm such a grammar geek. I remember that in middle and high I could finish my English assignments before most kids could crack open their books. Finding this website the other day made me very happy. Now I may not remember any algebra or calculus or understand most scientific stuff, but grammar made sense to me.
Language, to me, is a lot about respect. The way you speak to your grandmother and the way you talk about the jerk who just cut you off in traffic are probably very different. It's not just about what you say, it's about how you're saying it. And that rolls over into how you write it, too. If you're not taking the time to make sure you're putting out something that is correct, how much do you respect the people who have to wade through your mistakes?
I was editing some text for a newsletter this morning, and it almost gave me fits. The basic rules of capitalization are simple; capitalize the first word of a sentence, titles and proper names. I know you can find documents from a few hundred years back in which every "important" word gets the same treatment, but we got away from that. At least, I thought we had. There were capitals everywhere! Between the capitals and the unnecessary commas, I spent most of the morning on a job that could have taken an hour or two. Arg.
I'm not saying I am mistake-free. I tend to add letters to words that don't need them, and I always have to think about words like 'sentence' and 'independence' when I type them. But for a girl who is a fan of prescriptive grammar, it's hard to live in a world of text message shortcuts and disregard for basic grammar rules. We don't let people go around believing that 5+7 is cupcake. Why should this be any different?
But enough of that. Tonight we're having a devo to kick off the MRCC 24 hours of prayer and playing Rock Band afterwards! If that isn't the weirdest combination ever, I don't know what is.
Enjoy your weekend!
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