Language Pet Peeves

I see lots of posts on the internet about people's pet language peeves - about how irritating it is when other people say "irregardless" or "I seen" or "their" when they really mean "there." Not to mention typos - gods in heaven, don't let there be any typos in online conversation!

So let me put it out there - my biggest pet peeve is when people correct other people's use of language.

Sometimes it is necessary. For example, if the person is a student of English, and they have a teacher whose job it is to correct their language. Or if the writing is so garbled that it can't be understood, then obviously they need some help - not for the sake of correctness, but for the sake of clarity.

But otherwise, I don't see any need for it. And not only is it unnecessary, it's also incredibly patronizing and insulting, for a number of reasons.

First, not everybody speaks English as their first language, and it's a difficult language to learn - even native speakers often get tripped up by the examples noted above.

Also, I have a university education, and I read a TON. Not everybody does, and I recognize how privileged I am to have the education, the access to printed materials, and the time to read them. It feels snobbish to me to assume that everyone can or should have the same level of fluency as I do. I happen to be good at language in the same way that other people happen to be good at sports, which I am not. I won't judge you for your language ability, if you don't judge me for my athletic ability, okay?

Finally, I have decided that there are way more important things to worry about. I just don't have the brain space to worry about the difference between "their" and "there" when somebody else is using it. As long as I can understand what they're saying, I'm all good.


Related reading:

Equality 101: Standard English Privilege and Teaching
Feminism is Not a Four Letter Word: Privilege, Education, and Language
Shitty First Drafts: Why I'm Not Proud of You For Correcting Other People's Grammar