Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
Hello all,
My girlfriend and I are at odds over plain old English.
She considers me to be an “English snob”.
I am hoping someone will share an opinion on the matter!
Here is our latest argument:
My girlfriend describing her mom’s similar English habits:
“”My mom is terrible too, she “pluralizes” everything!”
I thought it was amusing that she made “plural” plural..
I suggested:
“My Mom makes everything plural”
Oh and I just cannot get her to stop saying: “me and my mom, me and my dad” etc etc..
Arrgh. It is becoming very annoying. Am I alone on this?
Hi, Kevin. Pointing out people's language errors, by direct criticism or indirect mocking, openly or privately, is impolite and should not be done. The only exceptions are classrooms, parents/young children, or when someone asks to be corrected, in pursuit of improving language proficiency. If your girlfriend is calling you an English snob, I assume that she hasn't asked you to be her English coach? 🙂
Think of it this way: There are some things that your girlfriend can do better than you can, right? How would you feel if she constantly criticized you about those things? Would you take her unsolicited criticisms as a sign of affection and feel inspired to improve in order to satisfy her, or would you feel put down and resentful?
Hello forum members,
I sincerely thank you. I really appreciate your feedback. You have helped make clear the error of my ways.
"samaphore", you are absolutely right, it is impolite, and no she did not ask me to be her vocal coach. It seems I let my personal interest in language get out of hand. 
Honestly, I think I should take my desire to discuss language rules back to the classroom (or here) where it belongs.
Also, thanks "dilettante"; I learned something new about verb inflection, it was embarrassing to get that wrong.
I really needed to hear this.
Great responses; I have learned from you folks. I too get irritated when people make grammatical mistakes. I tend to look at it as a reflection of your education, upbringing and sometimes, even perceived potential.
I just wish people would be a little more open to self improvement. There is no getting around it - how you present yourself can be very important.
It's fun to take wild stabs at what people might mean with their cryptic remarks, so since Matt gives us a hint that it's the computer that wants to know if it's scalar or vector, I'll guess it has something to do with scalar and vector processing modes. A scalar processor handles one data element at a time while a vector processor handles multiple data elements simultaneously. Maybe Matt wants to know if Kevin's girlfriend is dealing with one or multiple grammatical corrections at a given time? Computer-related humor can get pretty geeky! 🙂
not humor, but thanks for covering for me
I've programmed computers for many years.
Programming languages have a structure with how data is handled.
If the structure is not followed exactly, the program will not work.
One might say
"that the computer is the strictest grammarian having a zero tolerance for error."
But that is not the computer's fault. It simply becomes confused by error.
The rules of grammar exist to create precise communication between people.
Not humor? Now that you've explained it, I find the remark not only a good point but very funny! You're right: strict grammarians seem to have a zero tolerance for error, even when those "errors" are deliberate and creative (reminds me of the music critics who said that the Beatles had "pitch problems"). What really gets my goat is when the grammar cops argue that they can't understand what is being said due to the error, when the meaning is perfectly clear. Of course they are using their "confusion" to justify their criticisms. When I see this happening I enjoy challenging them by asking how they could not understand, making them look more foolish than the person who made the mistake.
I had further discussed this with a friend
and he said that
English is a very forgiving language indeed Yoda from Star Wars could be understood
“Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.â€
http://thinkexist.com/quotes/yoda/
and he said that
We want to broadcast as clearly and precisely as strictly as possible
while inversely be able receive others input despite the errors.
Maybe the human ability to process data despite input error and instructional error will keep us one step ahead of computers and AI, notwithstanding Spell Checker and Grammar Checker, and Speech Checker on the horizon? 
Which reminds me of the infamous Spell Checker poem, which I will post for those who may not have seen it:
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)