Yes, I am a grammar geek, which is probably why I have a part time job from home that involves fixing other people’s grammar mistakes. It annoys me to no end when I see grammatical errors. I don’t really have a problem with them on Internet message boards, in emails, etc. because those are fairly spontaneous and I don’t expect people to sit and painstakingly proof their thoughts. (Clarity is good… but typos are okay.) I do hate it, though, when I see published or displayed text that has errors.
To this end, I continually think to myself that every sign manufacturer or graphic art house should be required to have a grammar specialist on staff. I think if I were a lawmaker I would make it a law. If someone comes in and orders a sign, gently let them know that they look dumb the way they have it and suggest the correct grammar.
Here are some recent pet peeves of mine…
I told Mike that never, ever could we live in the new residential area under construction north of town that says “A lakeshore sub-division” on the sign. Why, why would you put that hyphen in subdivision?
And the McDonald’s here in town has a very large PlayPlace. According to their billboards the PlayPlace is “Michigan’s” largest indoor PlayPlace. Is there some reason why Michigan should be in quotes?
Some businesses in downtown South Haven will close for the winter, so they are winding down now. Yesterday I saw a sign in the window of one that said, “Nothing more than $19.99 or less.” So apparently every item in the store is $19.99, since nothing is more and nothing is less.
Finally, this summer our church got a new sign in front. It is much larger and you can put messages on it. They needed a volunteer to change the wording once a week or so and I volunteered. I told Mike I figured we lived so close and I could just take the kids over in the stroller. He said, “Yeah. You know you just want to make sure the grammar is right.”
I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next version of this book to come out to replace my old eighth edition from my All-Phase days. I figure edition 11 has to be soon. So there's my embarrassing ramble for today. :)
5 comments:
ROFL I know you're not meaning to be super funny but I just had to laugh. It reminds me of this bumper sticker I saw the other day.
It said:
" I have CDO. It's like OCD but all the letters are in alphabetical order like they should be. "
I am in complete agreement with you Laura! Sometimes I don't think people even proofread their work before sending it out. Mike does have a good point about the church sign.
Charlene
Eek! I *hate* misspellings and typos and just plain RIDICULOUS grammar.
Especially when it's found in memos and such written by teachers or schoolboard members. Because, hello? THESE PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INSTRUCTING CHILDREN ON GRAMMAR. Dur.
That's great!
You crack me up! Although, I do have to admit since the first time you mentioned something about words in quotes, I notice it all the time and think about you!
Post a Comment