A Word Nerd Manifesto

Anyone who spends any time on the ‘net is used to seeing blog posts and comments whose spelling and grammar leave much to be desired. Most of the time, correcting the writers is pointless. Assuming they even check back on the post, spelling/grammar corrections usually derail the post topic and annoy everyone else. (And they almost always contain errors of their own, which is amusing from an instant karma perspective.)

The question came up on a Feministing discussion today – is correcting spelling and/or grammar also elitist? Maybe. In this particular case, an entry into the “Anti-Feminist Mailbag” series, I’m pro-correction, since the referenced e-mail was meant to demonstrate the writer’s superiority to the bloggers.

But it’s an interesting point. I’m an unapologetic Word Nerd. My screen-saver reads “I heart compound modifiers” (‘cause I do); I’m my office’s designated grammar and style hotline. I’m a Word Nerd due to my education, but also because I grew up in a household full of books and other readers where the written word was valued. Not everyone had those privileges.

But, as I’m fond of reminding the students I meet, there aren’t many jobs that don’t require some degree of proficiency in communication, spoken or written. But too many people went to schools where “language arts” was a form of torture – sentence diagramming, anyone? – that just turned people off. I detested having to work out algebra problems on the board in front of an entire class; I’m sure many of my classmates were equally traumatized in English class.

I can tell you right now that I learned infinitely more about the English language by reading than I ever did in a grammar lesson. So, I suppose that’s my advice to people who want to improve their writing: banish the memory of your nasty middle school language arts teacher and pick up a book, or a newspaper, or a magazine. Pick up many of them. Don’t be intimidated – there’s something you’re interested in, and somewhere, someone’s written about it. You wouldn’t try to drive a car if you’d never ridden in one. You shouldn’t expect to write effectively if you don’t read.

And one more thing… “you’re” = you are. Next time: their/there/they’re, when to use an apostrophe with your “s” and why Spell Check is not your friend.