It irritates me. I read this on a weblog and feel it nails it on the head for me. I took some liberties with it. Like correcting spelling errors!..
Does bad spelling or bad grammar irritate you more? What does that tell you about people? Do you care? Should we care?
Some amount of incorrect English is normal and to be expected. There are even a few instances here and there where “correct English” simply isn't logical, and deviating a bit from the established rules makes for clearer expression.
“Judging a person according to grammar and spelling is like insisting that everyone know what you know. … I don't find that any different than judging by skin color. It's prejudicial.” I have to disagree. All content on Answerbag is provided by people writing it. If you cannot write to a usable degree, then you cannot produce useful content. All we have here on which to judge one another is what we write. If all you write is garbage, then you will be judged to be illiterate and stupid. There's no rational reason to suppose it should be otherwise. Grotesque illiteracy is not the mark of someone who is wise or intelligent.
Does bad spelling or bad grammar irritate you more? What does that tell you about people? Do you care? Should we care?
