They are good sangwiches too!
Posted on 07/28/2012 8:48:38 PM PDT by garjog
t used to be we thought that people who went around correcting other people’s grammar were just plain annoying. Now there’s evidence they are actually ill, suffering from a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder/oppositional defiant disorder (OCD/ODD). Researchers are calling it Grammatical Pedantry Syndrome, or GPS.
Maybe you’ve heard of the grammar gene—its technical name is the FOXP2 gene—which may be responsible for a variety of grammatical ills, such as the inability to construct compound/complex sentences or to effectively deploy the passive voice. Now there’s evidence that a variant of that gene, FOXP2.1, may actually cause us to obsessively correct other people’s grammar, or should that be, to correct their grammar obsessively? The discovery of this gene, alongside new evidence from fMRI scans of brains exposed to real-time grammatical errors, has led some scientists to predict that soon we may be able to find a cure for GPS, for many sufferers a debilitating, off-putting, sociopathic syndrome.
(Excerpt) Read more at illinois.edu ...
Listening to Zappa play Apostrophe, I am reminded that the main component of our language is call and response.
It is the basic element in any language.
English is special because of all it’s nuances that allow us to convey philosophical data.
Math is a language that allows us to convey technical data.
Having said that, I believe most of us get the gist of a conversation even if the comma is misplaced.
When a decimal point is misplaced it is a huge error of exponential proportions but even then, most of us get the gist of it.
-PJ
> I’m shocked that some people don’t know the difference
> between ‘their’,’there’ and ‘they’re’.
And “thar” as is “Thar she blows!”
Teachers cannot teach what they, themselves, have never learned. Our teens and young adults are part of a lost generation. They can text and tweet but cannot legibly write a paragraph punctuated correctly containing complete words which are spelled correctly.
Thar is a fine word!
My pet peeve is the expression “pet peeve”!
BTW I don’t understand folks who object to “sangwich”
Its just an Italian American colloquialism.
The book Punctuate it Right is always at my desk. As for correcting grammar,.the Brits have a solid case against us Yanks.
Yeah right!
Dem cockney rejects got it awwright! LOL
> BTW I don’t understand folks who object to “sangwich”
What are you in for?
Convicts from nearly any racial and ethnic background are
now commonly found using this particular word.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?defid=907380&term=Sangwich
It’s not OCD. It’s CDO.
Alphabetical.
As it should be.
I used to have a neighbor who had this bumper sticker on her car:
“Smile! It makes people wonder what your up too.”
Yes, it was spelled that way.
I think I have a manual on the Kings English.
Hold on a tick, I’ll just pop out and get it from the boot of me car.
My former employer had a pile of flyers made for a major medical trade show that had the large print heading:
"YOUR DIGITALS SOLUTION"
The disgruntled sales staff and I had a good laugh about it since we had all figured out what a crooked bunch of idiots we were working for and started looking for better jobs at better companies. Had we not already been thoroughly disgusted by this sort of incompetence that infected the company from the president down, we would have never let the flyers come out of the box.
I have no need for sexual function and haven’t for decades.
I am a product of Catholic schools and have a reasonably decent command of the language - but it will invariably be my 14 year old daughter who will catch my occasional errors....and she is one of your so called "victims."
I have never heard of this term being associated with prison.
Guilty as charged! I ALWAYS have a problem with those two words. It drives me crazy because I know I should not have such a problem.
And no, I don't have OCD. Nor do I have OCD.. I really dont.
Dang! What is that called? Where can I get one??????
It seems you certainly are affected LoL
Just teasing!
Oh that’s just a mortadella and provolone.
The principal approves of this principle.
Don’t toy with me when there is food involved.
You don't know the teenagers I know. It can be rather embarrassing when a 14yo corrects your spelling, grammar, or punctuation. It doesn't happen all that often - but enough for me to take special care if I am having an online conversation with any of them.
Honestly, its just a baloney sangwich.
Not like the stuff they serve today.
Real mortadella and provolone on a toasted bread.
My Mother would send us all off with fried bologna and cheese sangwiches all the time.
Pop demanded it.
It was a lowly sangwich but good.
Though they are made with mustard, We learned early on that pizza sauce made it better,and that iS the way I like mine.
The Mortadella and provolone is a staple in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
LOL!! Good one!
That’s just what young adults do.
She is just stretching her wings and giving you a gentle jibe.
It’s not just my own daughter - I’ve had some of her friends do it as well - they also do it to their own parents. It can be amusing when the “moms” are having a thread going and the kids start chiming in correcting our errors!
Wilde had a tremendous wit and mastery of language.
Wilde had a tremendous wit and mastery of language.
Cute article. :-)
Both my eldest son and I must be afflicted with the condition. I can’t wait to show him this article. ;-)
I can relate. My 16-year-old son corrects me when I’m speaking. I used to proofread and write, but I didn’t walk around correcting people when they were speaking. These kids sure keep us on our toes, though, don’t they?
Good for them and you. They obviously had some teachers of various types along the way who taught them well and they use this to their advantage.
I serve on the board of a small group which provides scholarships to up to ten college bound students per year. Their application must be submitted with a statement of at least one and one-half pages on why they should be chosen, what they intend to study, etc. Everything had to be handwritten. We received 63 applications this spring and accepted 8. Of those eight, only five had no spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors, were very legible and exhibited awesome written communication skills. IMO most of the remaining 55 will have to take some type of remedial classes in order to make it through their course work.
We began our program 7 years ago, received only 18 the first year and wish we had had enough money to help all of them. This is a very small sampling to be sure, but we have noticed a gradual deterioration in the quality of the output from the applicants.
Was that the boot or the bonnet? And is the boot the trunk or the hood, I can never remember.
You know, now that I think about it, who are those Brits to be complaining just because we can't pronounce schedule and aluminum. It's not like the rest of the time that we talk as if we have gravel in our mouths - or are those teeth rattling around that cause that?
Insure only refers to the word insurance, such that you could buy. It's the difference between assure and ensure that I find difficult to teach.
We should do lunch sometime. Where do you office?
(How do you like those two sentences?)
Need I point out the obvious concerning the beginning of your post?
LOL. Yes, we must put everything in the right order, mustn't we?
Is it a disability? Can we get a check and free stuff for GPS?
Proactive over anticipatory would not work in certain contract law situations. “Anticipatory breach” is a well understood shorthand for a significant body of legal ideas and precedents, but if you said “proactive breach,” no legal practitioner would be sure what you were talking about.
I'm afraid this is a run-on sentence.
There, fixed it!
Regards,
Urine trouble now , you caught me.
...or then and than. Drives me nuts :) I’m fairly certain I have this disease.
I can get away with anything perceived as faulty because I own a "Creative Spelling Dictionary," witch absolves me from this bastion of English language piety and those who Lord over us with rectification and shrivitity! I yous this reference quite freakwently!
I’m glad your daughter is so astute! Very few young people are, especially if they go to public schools, where such details are not emphasized. My current employer keeps trying to hire office help who can spell and can write English in some recognizable form, but they’re few and far between.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.