Correcting People

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Hi,
Does anyone else feel strongly about this? (Not that I'm always perfect, but...) I can't stand seeing grammatical, spelling etc. errors in writing. Likewise, if someone is talking to me and they incorrectly pronounce a word etc., it takes me all of my might not to correct them. I have done so in the past and the results haven't been good. I've since learnt, people don't like to be corrected, so I don't do it any more.

Apart from being an Aspie, I also have mild OCD so I don't know if this is an Aspie trait, an OCD thing or if I'm just pedantic. I think the fact that I used to tell them and have since learnt not to is part of my Aspie learning to fit in.

What do you think? Is this an Aspie thing? Do any other Aspies feel this way?

I also feel this way, and like you, I don't know if it's an Aspie or OCD thing. I try my best not to do it as it alienates people. When I read posts with bad grammar and spelling I just take the time to mentally fix it. It's very annoying as it slows me down but that's the only way to get through to some people's meaning. As it is, I have no friends so alienating people on WP would really distance me from everyone else.

I see those errors and try not to comment on those though that is tough to do.

Got into trouble in school where the teacher was trying to tell us Greenland was a continent. i tried to fix that so get "pulled rank" and said do not correct the teachers and gave me a punishment.

Yes, but why do people hate being corrected so much? To me, it's a learning experience.

Yes, it bothers me as well. And like you, I have learned to try and let it go at times so that people don't think I'm being rude. It's not just with grammar though; it drives me crazy when people do something they clearly know is incorrect but easily fixed, over and over again. For example, my grandma uses Facebook and whenever she has a message for someone, she writes it on her own wall. So if you go to her wall there are all these posts from her like "Happy birthday Glenda!" I have tried telling her that these messages should go on the other person's wall, and she said "yeah I know," but then still does it.....

Like I said, I've learned to mostly let it go now, unless their errors are directly affecting me, like making me look bad in a presentation or report at work.

I correct people mostly because it's fun. It doesn't really bug me when people make factual mistakes and whatnot. I just really enjoy correcting.

Guilty of being a Grammar Nazi. It's especially maddening now that people are using smart phones to post stuff and they do it so rapidly, they don't even stop to look at what they're saying, or they're so used to texting abbreviations they've never learned to spell properly (how hard is it to use SpellCheck?).

Sometimes I just can't resist ridiculing the stupid things people say, but it's gotten so bad I can't even keep up with it all - even so-called 'professional journalists' write like 3rd graders. It's as though people are losing the ability to communicate in any sort of coherent language. Just this morning I saw a news writer (to be fair, it was entertainment news, but that's no excuse) use the word "hocking" (pawning or spitting) when what they clearly meant was "hawking," (as in "a sales pitch"). I would fire a writer for that kind of ignorance and sloppy use of language.

In my youth, when anyone corrected me for mispronouncing or misusing a word, I was certainly embarrassed, but grateful for the opportunity to rectify the error before I made a fool of myself again.

What I usually do is use the word in a sentence again and pronounce it correctly, or I substitute the correct word. People usually catch on and I don't have to say "It's actually pronounced like...." I also use a sentence again and spell the word right. If it's a kid, I usually just tell them straight out because they aren't expected to know and it's no big deal if I correct them.

I used to be a "grammar Nazi" but I have realized (mostly by being on here) that some people make errors because they have learning disabilities, or perhaps even physical disabilities that affect their ability to use proper grammar and spelling. These people have as much right to express themselves as anybody else. Also, they may not be using their primary language. If I tried to use my pathetic French on a French discussion board, I'd be laughed off the internet. I cut people a lot more slack now.

On the other hand, things that are written for public display, such as menus in restaurants, graphics in news programs and advertisements and things of that nature are fair game for me.

I find myself correcting grammar all the time on people's Facebook pages.

Even when I was 9 or 10 years old I would sometimes my teachers in school when they messed up on something. I remember in 4th grade my teacher showed us a map and called Greenland "Antarctica." I jumped on that bit of misinformation pretty quickly.

I get very aggravated by that too. Always have. Another thing that bothers me, is when someone spells my name wrong after I've sent them an email signed with my name at the bottom. Not sure why it's so difficult to just double check on how to spell my name by looking at my email again. Maybe people don't care as much as me.

Here is what hard experience has taught me to do when I want to correct people: Do Not Do It.

At different times in my career I have worked in organizations that greatly value critical review of grammar and so on. (We would informally compete on who has best memorized the style guide.) Those were fun assignments. But outside of those special situations, I have found that when I correct others without being asked, in the final analysis I lose.

As a friend once told me: "Not everyone is entitled to my opinion."

And the mistake comes across as careless.

I'm an editor, so I get paid to correct others' mistakes.

But yes. In conversation I have to self-censor some and remember to not correct people. My mom used to get on my case about that.

I hate blatant grammatical errors. They grade on me and get on my last nerve. I always correct people but I have learned to do it in my mind. At times I have told people but I have been told that that is rude but I can't just let the errors go so I have to correct them silently in my mind. I can't rest if I don't. Sometimes I find speech intolerable if the grammar is butchered too much. I only accept it from a non native speaker. If someone is a non native or has a disability which prevents him from speaking correctly then it does not bother me at all. But if people are just being ignorant then it bothers me. But my grammar is not perfect either so I try not to be too harsh in judgement. I don't hate the people, just the grammatical errors. And I understand that some people grew up in environments where they were not taught to speak correctly so I do my best not to be critical of the person himself. But I still have to correct the mistakes silently in my head.