Poll: When was the last time you corrected someone's grammar or spelling online?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Oct 24, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When was the last time you corrected someone's grammar or spelling online?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 21:50
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other (yesterday) Oct 24, 2018

It happens quite often with Kudoz questions. For the sake of the glossary, I either ask the asker to correct it before closing the question or I correct it myself. The last one was yesterday “cheking/checking)…

P.S. The only people I occasionally correct offline are my children and a Bulgarian friend, but I’ve been asked to…

[Edited at 2018-10-24 12:23 GMT]


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:50
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I voted "never" Oct 24, 2018

I don't correct people's grammar. I'm more interested in what they have to say; their message is more important to me than whether they follow a given set of rules.

I'm also aware that grammar evolves. It's not cast in concrete. Language is a living organism that is constantly changing. I studied linguistics for many years, and one of the things I learned is that today's "mistakes," if they gain enough currency, end up being "correct" sooner or later.

Several years ago
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I don't correct people's grammar. I'm more interested in what they have to say; their message is more important to me than whether they follow a given set of rules.

I'm also aware that grammar evolves. It's not cast in concrete. Language is a living organism that is constantly changing. I studied linguistics for many years, and one of the things I learned is that today's "mistakes," if they gain enough currency, end up being "correct" sooner or later.

Several years ago I had a young tenant who was very ambitious about getting a good job (he later did) and moving up the corporate ladder. He would often say "Me and Suzy" [did such-and-such]. I gently pointed out to him that this construction would label him in the business world, and he was grateful for the heads-up. I think that's the only time I ever spoke to someone about their grammar.
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Liena Vijupe
Rosalía Cazorla Martínez
Kaisa I
Tina Vonhof (X)
sarandor
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 22:50
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Online, probably never Oct 24, 2018

… Unless you mean just in my head, without actually making any impression, in which case I do it frequently.

Off line, I have one or two regular clients who still send me editing jobs, and I explain grammar from my collection of styleguides, usage reference books and so on when asked.

In private life I can be a pain in at least two languages… I know my Danish Retskrivningsordbogen and use it
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… Unless you mean just in my head, without actually making any impression, in which case I do it frequently.

Off line, I have one or two regular clients who still send me editing jobs, and I explain grammar from my collection of styleguides, usage reference books and so on when asked.

In private life I can be a pain in at least two languages… I know my Danish Retskrivningsordbogen and use it more than most natives.

Take my advice, don't get me started!! Instead, buy RL Trask's Penguin Guide to Grammar, and use it. He gives advice for both US and UK English, and really knows what he is talking about.
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Sophie Dzhygir
Sophie Dzhygir  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:50
German to French
+ ...
I don't remember Oct 24, 2018

I may do that, but not often. I noticed that when you do that, there's a big chance that you make a mistake yourself in your answer.

Christine Andersen
Axelle H.
Christopher Schröder
Ann Marie Bohan
Philippe Etienne
 
Alexandra Speirs
Alexandra Speirs  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:50
Italian to English
+ ...
not online but... Oct 24, 2018

I do complain about grammar mistakes in books if I review something on Amazon.
E-books are particularly guilty, maybe they don't get properly proofread.
As Muriel says, language changes ..... but it really makes me mad to see things like "he spoke to Mary and I".


Ester Vidal
Kaisa I
 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:50
Spanish to English
+ ...
In the past few weeks Oct 24, 2018

In fact, I was sorely tempted to correct a colleague's apostrophe misuse on the FB translators' page (Standing Up) today, but refrained due to professional courtesy, as it's a closed group, and anyway, I think minor mistakes are par for the course when posting comments on websites or blogs, etc.

[Edited at 2018-10-24 13:59 GMT]


 
Debora d'Amato (X)
Debora d'Amato (X)  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 22:50
English to Italian
+ ...
Last week for an email Oct 24, 2018

Actually, I'm not used to correcting people's grammar. I do when they asked me and last week a friend of mine needed a kind of proofread for an email in his mother tongue.

Sometimes I also need to be corrected when it comes with very formal mail.


 
Liena Vijupe
Liena Vijupe  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 23:50
Member (2014)
French to Latvian
+ ...
I don't remember Oct 24, 2018

In my head I do it all the time, but I almost never point it out, unless it's a friend or someone close to me who keeps making the same mistake every time or it can lead to confusion and needs correction for the sake of clarity.

People (including me) don't always use their mother tongue, make typos and, like Muriel said, language evolves and, as long as I get the message easily, I don't really care.

I do judge though when I see it in a professional setting. I take it as
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In my head I do it all the time, but I almost never point it out, unless it's a friend or someone close to me who keeps making the same mistake every time or it can lead to confusion and needs correction for the sake of clarity.

People (including me) don't always use their mother tongue, make typos and, like Muriel said, language evolves and, as long as I get the message easily, I don't really care.

I do judge though when I see it in a professional setting. I take it as a sign that someone hasn't done their job well. I also don't share memes and social media posts that contain mistakes, even if I otherwise would.
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Christine Andersen
Kaisa I
Carmen Lanzrein
 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 22:50
Member
English to French
29 September Oct 24, 2018

One of my children on Whatsapp (tu est).
Mitigating circumstance: he left the French school to relocate in a Spanish environment when he was 5 years old.

Philippe


 
Michele Fauble
Michele Fauble  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:50
Member (2006)
Norwegian to English
+ ...
Never, but ... Oct 24, 2018

Please stop using 'beg the question' for 'raise the question'. I've seen it twice in the forums in the last week. 'Beg the question' doesn't mean what you think it does.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 18:50
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
I don't remember Oct 25, 2018

I'm resisting as much as I can, because 9 out of 10 times, the person feels offended and reacts almost violently, and most other users will defend them and accuse me of arrogance. So, let them be. I'll help those who ask for help. Period.

 
Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 22:50
English to German
I don't Oct 25, 2018

Private internet use has its own spelling/grammar rule: As long as you can read it in at most three attempts (reading aloud to yourself included), it's spelled correctly. And if you can't, ask for clarification.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 22:50
French to English
Hardly ever Oct 25, 2018

I try hard not to be that grammar nazi.

As a matter of principile I only point out mistakes if they can lead to a misunderstanding, other than that I shut up.
I also make mistakes on purpose to rile a grammar nazi on a chat forum I frequent. I think she's a retired schoolteacher, in which case I'm probably saving her from the onset of Alzheimer's


 


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Poll: When was the last time you corrected someone's grammar or spelling online?






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