Couldn’t Say It Better Myself: 12 Mistakes Made By Grammar Mistake Experts
I am a bit behind on some projects, including blog posts, so today, I’m just going to direct you to an excellent article from a blogger I follow: Jonathon Owen of Arrant Pedantry (I love his blog’s name too. Who can spot the reference?)
I wish I could say I’ve always avoided Owen’s “12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes Makes,” but I was once much more of an arrognant grammar pedant than I am now. I hope I have avoided all of these mistakes over the past two years of the WriteAtHome Blog, but I can’t be sure. Feel free to point out any hypocrisies you’ve noticed.
I’ve listed his twelve points, but you really should read the whole article. It’s short. Here’s the link:
12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes Makes
Here’s a quick list of the mistakes:
- Confusing grammar with spelling, punctuation, and usage.
- Treating style choice as rules.
- Ignoring register (i.e., context, circumstances).
- Saying that a disliked word isn’t a word.
- Turning proposals into ironclad rules.
- Failing to discuss exceptions to rules.
- Overestimating the frequency of errors.
- Believing that etymology is destiny.
- Simply bungling the rules.
- Saying that good grammar leads to good communication.
- Using good grammar to put people down.
- Forgetting that correct usage ultimately comes from users.
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Feel free to add your comments in the Reply section below. Bad grammar is always welcome.
Oh, I followed the link and got the joke. (And I like the coinage.) I was just making fun of those who failed to do the same on my post. 🙂
I hate it when I miss a joke. Got it. And thanks.
Ack! Of course, I meant that you misspelled arrogant. There’s that darn Muphry . . .
Thanks for the link! And, in the spirit of those who keep correcting me on Muphry’s law, I think you misspelled arrognant. 😉
You’re welcome, Jonathan. Thanks for your excellent blog. I believe, however, that I have avoided falling victim to Muphry’s law (this time). Arrognant is not a misspelling. Some time ago, I coined the word arrognance, meaning the unfortunate but not uncommon combination of arrogance and ignorance. Arrognant is the adjectival form. 🙂 I guess it hasn’t quite caught on yet.