GrammarBlog

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I happened upon this blog post from the Washington Post's transportation writer, Dr Gridlock. It is part of the paper's official blog.

...if you see an official looking sign at a bus shelter telling you that you can get a free ride if you're bus is late, it's a hoax.

[omitted text]

She wanted to alert riders so they don't get there hopes up about this.

Ok, it's over a year old but the main reason I'm posting this is that the comments are quite interesting. Among the commenters, two teams are quickly established; Team Grammar and Team Don't be so Picky. Team Grammar takes an early lead.

'... you can get a free ride if you're bus is late, it's a hoax.'
YOUR bus is late ...

Swiftly followed by,

'She wanted to alert riders so they don't get there hopes up about this.'
She wanted to alert riders so they don't get *their* hopes up about this.

Ouch! It isn't all one way traffic though; the exchanges flow thick and fast.

Grammar nazis--stay home.

Posted by: IggyPop | October 26, 2006 12:59 PM

 

grammar nazis need not apply

Posted by: | October 26, 2006 12:59 PM

 

Grammar Afficionados WELCOME.

If we can't depend on the press to use our language correctly, we're doomed.

Posted by: | October 26, 2006 01:07 PM

 

Afficionados is snob language for jerk; two people agreed that the term grammar nazis was appropriate at the exact same time. Case closed!

Posted by: | October 26, 2006 01:09 PM

 

You have to be kidding to think that pointing out the incorrect use of two third grade words is Grammar Nazi behavior.

This blog reads like an elementary school paper.

If you don't want professionalism, read the Washington Times.

Posted by: Grammar Nazi | October 26, 2006 02:20 PM

I love the phrase, "Afficionados [sic] is snob language for jerk". That really cracked me up. These are just a selection of the comments I could have posted. The question is this: are we right to nit pick? After all it's only a blog post. I understand why people would get annoyed if I went through every dodgy MySpace profile or amateur blog with a fine-toothed GrammarComb™ (I want one of those please, Santa) but I don't think it's unreasonable for readers to expect good standards of grammar and punctuation from professional writers. Then again, maybe I'm just being a total aficionado.

Labels: apostrophe abuse, grammar, nazis, newspapers, their/there

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Being interested solely in highbrow entertainment such as books by AA Gill, Oscar Wilde plays and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, I wouldn't dream of giving credence to the notion that such cretinous, vacuous entertainment as Big Brother deserves its place in the TV schedule, much less watch the damned thing. It is therefore purely coincidence that, while on my internet travels, my eye was caught by a couple of pieces of entertainment journalism about the latest UK Big Brother.

The first of the aforementioned titbits is from the Popbitch entertainment newsletter to which I am a friend is a subscriber.

The Big Brother twins have signed up with
Charlotte Church's former manager, Jonathan
Shalit. They might regret this after the press
release his company put out to announce it,
which we've copied word for word below.
If only they could read.

------ Forwarded Message
From: Jonathan
Conversation: Samantha and Amanda fror Big
Brother aka 'The Twins'
Subject: Samantha and Amanda fror Big Brother
aka 'The Twins'

Their sweet
........Their Lovely
................Their Adorable
...Their joined at the hip

And speak in stereo...Welcome to SAMANDA
World....and We represent them...


Also:
Andrew Castle...Charley...Dane Bowers...Ian 'H'
Watkins...Jamelia...Javine...Jonathan Ansell...
Konnie Huq...Myleene Klass...Nina Myskow.

That was sent to me by Dave K but I admit it, I can't get enough trashy entertainment and I regularly trawl the internet for D-list celebrity news. I love all that, me.

The next article that caught my eye did so for all the wrong reasons. It seems that the winner of Big Brother and lovable simpleton, Brian was the target of a hate campaign by racists. There are few things that get me as riled as a misplaced apostrophe but racism is one of them. This article caused me to get my knickers in a right old twist by combining both of these peeves.

The Daily Star have reported that a group of “racist” blogger's are furious over Bri’s relationship with Amanda and are desperate to turn fans against him.

A group of extreme right-wing bloggers have taken to the internet and labeled his relationship with Amanda as “sick and evil.”
However other Big Brother fans have hit back at "racist" blogger’s, labeling them "shameful."

Apart from the obvious apostrophe error in "blogger's", I think they went a bit overboard on the quotation marks. If someone thinks a relationship between a black lad and a white girl is sick and evil, I'd stick my neck out and say that was racist. I wouldn't feel the need to hide behind quotation marks. I know they were recycling a story from the Daily Star but they had already acknowledged that; to use additional quotation marks gives the impression that they are using the word in a sarcastic manner and they don't agree with the labelling (two Ls in the UK please).

Another thing: as the smallest amount of investigation would have revealed, the racist comments were posted on a forum and not a blog. Therefore I think the phrase should have read, 'racist "bloggers"'

Those of you sad enough to be familiar with Sam, Amanda and Brian will know that this intellectually challenged bunch of teenagers committed more crimes to vocabulary and grammar while in the house than I can document in this post. Here is but one example of why kids should stay in school.

Labels: big brother, nazis, punctuation