Bring back the BSG! 
- Edit 1
- Edit 1Before modification by Joel at 05/10/2011 08:56:22 PM
1. Does anybody (besides me) use proper grammar when texting, posting on Facebook, etc.?
I always make a conscious effort to use proper grammar. Anything less would be uncivilized.
Henceforth I shall refer to you as "the Right Guard of Grammar."
2. Do you correct somebody who uses incorrect grammar while talking? If not, do you at least do it in your head?
Yes. Errors that irritate me most as of late: 1) incorrect use of the subjunctive (e.g., "I wish I was..." ); 2) incorrect use of the nominal case for personal pronouns when the direct object or object of a preposition (e.g., "Between you and I..." ); and 3) misuse of apostrophes (e.g., "The website has an error on it's homepage" ).
While I generally share your feelings here, I am very conflicted on the subjunctive. On the one hand, it is legitimate grammar, and a necessary concept for effective communication; on the other, its usage is becoming almost non-existent and, in practice, when speakers and writers incorrectly use the simple past tense as subjunctive their listeners and readers immediately and fully understand the usage AS subjunctive. It is hard to argue maintaining the subjunctive as a distinct construction still adds anything to the language rather than merely complicating (and thus confusing) it needlessly. The subject came up in my recent norskkurs: Norwegian apparently has no distinct subjunctive mood AT ALL, and does not feel the lack. The comparison reminds me of another reason for me to dislike subjunctive: German, where the difference between simple past tense and the subjunctive mood is no more than a stupid umlaut.
3. Do you wince whenever you read a particularly awful Facebook post?
I don't just wince. I usually make a snide remark that points out the error.
There is such a thing as constructive criticism; granted, you did not ask me, but I would wager most of your grammar students would say the same to you.
4. Have you noticed a trend on Facebook where people don't even bother using periods to separate sentences anymore?
Yes. The majority of people are stupid. One must always keep this in mind. A corollary to this is that no one believes himself to be stupid.
Do you include the merely ignorant in that majority? There is a difference between not knowing and not caring.
5. Have you noticed misspelled words that have nothing to do with 140 character length? (Today I saw somebody spell "do" as "dew"
Of course. On LinkedIn, where one would hope a higher level of perfection is sought since it is primarily a business tool, I saw one person refer to himself as a "principle" of his company. It's refreshing to see people representing abstract ideas again, like in the Greek tragedies.
I recall a commercial where a manager showing a new employee his work station confidently assured him he would be able to figure everything out on his own. The employee responded, "It's OK; I have an MBA," prompting the manager to say, "Oh... you have an MBA... in that case, let me just get you started...."
6. (Off topic) Are people whiny bitches on Facebook or what?
The majority of statements on Facebook are self-absorbed narcissistic bullshit.
Again, one of its primary purposes, if not THE primary purpose.
7. Has anybody ever called you a Grammar Nazi?
All the time. I like to take the analogy another step and say that I'm the Führer of the Grammar Reich, may it last a thousand years.
Seriously, whatever happened to the BSG?
8. Has Twitter and texting eroded proper grammar for today's youths?
Since we're discussing grammar, I would note that you have a plural subject with a singular verb form, and that "youth" is a collective noun better left in the singular (though that last point is really more a stylistic choice). I believe that the failure begins in the educational system, and social media are nothing more than a reflection of this failure.
Refer to my response to Nate. Tell me again why nested threads are better than paged threads.
Also: My Cousin Vinny. 9. Have you succumbed to the 140 character shortcuts? How often do you text or tweet this way?
I do not use Twitter. I loathe sending SMS messages, but prior to getting a smart phone I did abbreviate out of irritation (e.g., "can i c u b4 2mrw?" ). However, this was the result of having a numeric keypad only.
I hate that.
10. Were there any grammatical mistakes in this survey?
Yes. I just told you.
I dispute that for the reasons elsewhere stated, but am open to correction if shown to be in error.
