Ask the Word Geek

Actually, I call myself a word nerd.
Do you hate it when people speak and write with incorrect grammar?
Does having an endless supply of words at your disposal address that issue?
Do you find that most of the general public are put off by your use of multi-sylabic words when a one- or two-sylable grunt will suffice?
Do you take much longer to say something because you think and speak in whole sentences --- and often in whole paragraphs?
Do you find that you are ultimately excluded from 'general public' conversations because people are uncomfortable with your "wordiness"?

Good questions, all, Pamela.

I am perfectly willing to let people be themselves and speak however they wish, with the following exceptions:

1. If you are receiving me for some business purpose (receptionist, bank teller) or teaching me or my children, I expect to be able to understand what you are saying. That means I don't care if you are from China or the Bronx, speak clearly, and in grammatical English or find another job. Having an endless supply of words at my commmand makes it very easy to write poison pen letters about people whose verbal skills are not on par with such positions.

2. I find grammatical and spelling errors distracting when I am reading, and have been known to put down a book, magazine, or newspaper because the author was too busy to edit or proofread his or her own work.

When I was a teenager, there were people of my acquaintance who found my facility with words off-putting. They are now running Pick-a-Part Junkyard franchises, while I live in the rarified atmosphere of editing electircal engineering dissertations for foreign students who are smarter when they are unconscious than I have ever been or hope to be, and who balk at the prospect of paying me $5.00 per page. Whose life turned out better? Hard to say.

The general public is much more put off by my finishing its sentences, interrupting it, and my general lack of social skills than by my ability to express myself. The public has usually left the area before I get to the end of the paragraph anyway.

Pax tecum.

Ann, it is electrical, just for your information. I understand how you feel about this subject. When I am reading the newspaper, I get very annoyed when there are errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar usage. I especially annoyed at my hometown newspaper, because there are many spelling errors in it and they use it to teach current events in the public schools in that town.

Do you correct people when they speak using incorrect grammar?

Only loved ones, by which I mean only people who will still love me if I do.

That's what I call unconditional love. :)

My favorite book is the OED.