Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Not an English teacher (anymore), but.....

[areinert (areinert]

Hear! Hear! (says one who got very good grades in English)

On Wed, 1 Feb 1995 Mmariner [at] aol.com wrote:

> But seriously folks, I move we squelch our urges to comment on other folks'
> grammar, punctuation & spelling, except where the "error" causes you to
> misunderstand what the person meant.
> 
> I know spelling and grammar errors are distracting to those of us who got
> good grades in English.  But, please, let's remember that written speech is
> just a crude simulation of spoken language and that a lot of nit-picking
> tends to inhibit communication for those who got good grades in math, science
> and PE but were bored by or hated English class.
> 
> Intense scrutiny of grammar and spelling can also be a stigma that alienates
> some of the diverse people you want to attract who are very eloquent and
> intelligent, but who simply don't choose to write/speak by English teacher
> rules.
> 
> =Mike Mariner, Boulder, CO=
> 
.. or who aren't even eloquent, but still say worthwhile things.