Grammar terrorists
At Jafer‘s there’ve been discussions on grammar and grasp of language (and lack there of). I’m so glad someone else is similarly enthusiastic about these things.
This email I received today to university mail seemed somehow very fitting:
I’m looking for a native english speaker who could be interested to come to test usability of an user interface. The testing takes about 1,5 hours and as a thank you the tester will get a 30 euros gift card to Stockmann’s warehouse or 4 movie tickets to Finnkino.
Testing takes place at [censored], which address is [censored]. Available testing times are:
tuesday the 21th March from 8 o’clock to 15.30
thursday the 23th March from 8 o’clock to 15.30
friday the 24th March from 8 o’clock to 12.30Usability tests are unformal and relaxed happenings and the test is based on the testers opinions and natural actions [‘scuse me?!].
If you got interested or know someone who could be interested please contact me by email [censored] or by phone [censored]. I will also tell more to those who are interested to be a tester.
(emphases mine)
Ay ay ay! Almost as bad is this video where the guy says e.g. “flied.”
Recently I wrote to a company because they ran a newspaper ad which had a very serious comma error (“Valikoimaa enemmän, kuin koskaan.”). Quite a while ago I complained to a game store because their website had ugly mistakes (they corrected some of them!). The oddest thing I’ve noticed was an error at the library’s (!!!) homepage. It was a compound noun error. I don’t know if they’ve fixed it yet; I’d have to order a book to know.
Ouch! lol.. yeah, sometimes it does get on people’s nerves. =T but it’s good to notice i guess? Although sometimes i could careless .. but i guess it all depends on the situation no? =p so yeah, can’t say much about that ;p
As i read that e-mail, i can’t stand the errors myself lol..
especially the fact that it came from a university? Makes me wonder.. kinda scary eh? .. Yepp.. a lot of people in this world doesn’t fit what they really are at the moment *ex: teachers – as some can’t teach properly.. and i mean that.. they literally c-a-n-n-o-t teach o_O; but that would be a very long story to share now would it? ;D hehe..and i think you would be bored to death as i’m sure maybe you’ve been through it before haha..* – you know what i mean =T – im sure?
I’ve done the same things as you have – been to a website and contacted the webmaster to let them know there were mistakes (and never heard back from them, nor seen any corrections on the website).
When I think of my job(zzzz) and how I have to proof everything wherever I work (because it seems that most numbnuts don’t know diddly about English), I guess it’s no wonder I visit sites and the mistakes just jump out at me (I never really thought about it before).
But as far as “professional” sites go, I won’t buy anywhere if they can’t get their act together enough to present themselves as professionals – and how do they do that if there are errors, that most people probably don’t notice or even know, strewn throughout?
In that respect I think we’re twins (except I don’t speak finnish, and I’m really, really old and kinda funny looking, not overly bright, and destined to make enemies throughout the internet.) Otherwise… we’re exactly alike
The email is, I guess, from a University student who works at a company that does UI testing or just all kinds of user testing. The mail reeks of “Finglish.” I mean, the awkward structures are mostly from Finnish, and in Finnish they’re alright but the writer hasn’t managed to properly “carry them over” to English. I’m sure that is the problem of every Finn who studies English as foreign language. Mine too of course. (And I’m sure everyone has some flavour from their mother tongue in the foreign languages they use.)
I was thinking of changing homepage space provider a while back and I was looking for good candidates. One place looked promising price-wise and feature-wise but the site was written in such a horrible Finnish that I decided to stay with my current provider. Unfortunately I cannot boycot the game store whose site I commented on because game stores in Finland are like polar bears in Sahara.
Jafer, I’m really really happy that there is someone who is as pernickety as I am. I think world needs people like that even though other people don’t always think so.
Ah, yesterday I proofread a text we’ve had translated for Dad’s company and I pointed out all kinds of tiny things that I think need correcting. That was fun! Before, I was asked to proofread an English text and I found typos and other things in there. It was wonderful. When I was being introduced to people on my 1st day at work and we arrived at the editor’s/proofreader’s desk, and I almost said aloud “woooooow” in awe.
You know, Jafer, what also surprised me in madbull’s (?) & co’s comment that he cannot be perfect in English because it’s not his (?) mother tongue? I’ve been under the impression that when a person has to learn a language, especially a weirdly written one like English, at school they have to learn the spelling letter by letter so you’d think that they may even spell better than (some) native English speakers! Of course, if you pick up English only aurally (?) that’s a very potential disaster.
Vera, yeah, I know some teachers shouldn’t have become teachers. Although, I’ve been lucky enough not to have too many of those stumble my way. A very bad computer teacher in high school made me study HTML on my own (because she couldn’t teach it).
I thought I’d start collecting spelling mistakes. Just last night I took a screenshot of an advertisement for PSP because there was a typo. And now that I have a camera in my phone I can take pictures! I wish I’d had a camera with me a few (read: many many) years ago when there was a funny typo in an ad for sunglasses (“ALENUSMYYNTI”, should be “alennus,” 2 n’s). I first walked past it, then suddenly stopped and had to return to the scene of the crime. That was a jolly day!
lol.. yeah, most people are lucky. .unlike me lol! I always stumble on those people.. how fortunate eh? bleh.. ah well lol..
yeah.. esp. computer related stuff.. teachers can’t teach for beans.. to be honest lol. It’s kind of funny because most of the students try to fire their teachers to get better ones.. and when it does happen.. there aren’t better ones so they keep firing but guess what? no one would teach them then because there are hardly any teachers out there that could really ‘teach’ properly -__-‘.. drives us insane haha..
Lately there’s a big push towards grammar/spelling/typos being insignificant in this big world of ours – just not important and if it bothers people, then “they’re” the ones with the problem.
Instead of learning the basics, it seems that these people are the first to insult others for their knowledge, which, to me, doesn’t seem like anything beyond a grade school level of learning.
I don’t like to feel that I’m anal for noticing all the errors, especially when my knowledge is valued in the workplace, but because someone comes from a different country doesn’t excuse the lack of knowledge when that’s a part of learning a language. Learning means learning, there’s no reason to assume it’s “half-assed learning” and that I’m the one with the problem.
Anal people of the world, unite!
That reminds me, is there a nice word for a person who likes to point typos and things? Or, if not nice then a bit more positive than anal?
Didn’t anyone else think it would be utterly *cool* to be able to shop in the Stockmann warehouse?!? It’s not every day you’d get to see the stuff not on the store shelves!
I’d insist on getting what was promised, too!
The ‘warehouse’ part is my favourite. How can anyone be so stoooooopid?! Sure, it’s a direct translation but I don’t understand how the writer didn’t realise it’s completely WRONG!