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What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar - Education - Nairaland

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What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Brunosamel(m): 12:08am On Jun 02, 2017
The Attack
No experience seems more common in social media practice than having one’s grammar corrected. The Grammar Bullies hide and then pounce on any typographical misstep or the your/you’re mix-up faster than you can click “submit.”

Reasons exist for such rude behavior. Slate attempted to explain the phenomenon, but if your gut instincts have told you some element of superiority is involved, your gut was right. Polite, secure people do not correct other people’s grammar. If they have the meaning of what one is saying in conversation, most listeners will overlook slight errors. Unfortunately, we don’t always talk with “most listeners.” Sometimes, in person, online, and against our better judgment, we talk with snooty, self-appointed, and insufferable grammar police.

What’s Really Happening
Behind all grammar corrections, back-handed compliments, and “it’s-only-a-joke” jibes lies hidden anger. When a Grammar Bully corrects your grammar (especially strangers online), you can rest assured that you are not the cause of his anger. Your word usage was simply the trigger of that anger. The Grammar Bully is in need of companionship, so publicly correcting you sends the homing beacon out to other Grammar Bullies. Grammar Bully is ringing in the friends with whom he can bond over mutual hate of the their/they’re misstep.

When we are angry or stressed, a bonding hormone called oxytocin is released, urging us to form social connections with other humans so as to better our chances for surviving the cause of the stress. A Grammar Bully is feeling insecure in some way, and the insecurity is driving her to gather up friends. Many observers may think the Grammar Bully is about belittling others, but really, the Grammar Bully is just looking to find other Grammar Bullies because she is feeling angry and/or stressed.

Anger can be subconscious and many times it is. We are discouraged from expressing anger when out and about in polite society, so we suppress it. Unfortunately, anger is one of those emotions that bubbles up to the surface. Grammar-correcting behavior is one of suppressed anger’s outlets.

So, now that we understand that insecurity and resentment are forms of anger that are being suppressed in the Grammar Bully, we can now learn how to behave in the event that we happen upon one of these lovely people.

Fight Back
Here are a few steps you can take:

Pat them on the head and say “That’s nice, Dear.”
Shout, “I WIN!” while jumping up and down and holding your fists in the air.
Immediately sign up the offender to every spam email list known to humanity.
Just kidding. That’s just our own anger at someone attempting to belittle us in public. We’re Zen. We’re secure. We aren’t thugs who call up other thugs to beat down others. A little serenity goes a long way, and in the end will gather you more friends the more you share it.

Be Gracious

Here’s what a secure and confident person can do when faced with Grammar Bullies:

ONLINE:

1. Correct your text. Now that you know the Grammar Bully’s main issue is deep-seated anger and not about you, you can just chill and make the change.

2. Delete the tweet or update and tweet it (or update) anew. This only takes a few seconds and strips the wind from the Grammar Bully’s sails.

3. Apologize and leave it. Life’s too short.

4. Ignore the comment altogether. This may mean the homing beacon will signal even more Grammar Bullies to congregate, but at times it is best to not engage a Grammar Bully at all. Use your best judgment.

1 Like

Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Nobody: 12:16am On Jun 02, 2017
You just say THANK YOU and move on!

2 Likes

Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by AloyalNigerian(m): 12:22am On Jun 02, 2017
Just say thank you or ignore. Use your brain.

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Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Nobody: 4:43am On Jun 02, 2017
With a smile, just say: "Oops!! My bad." This clears everything. Most people try to justify their "bad" sides not only in grammar, and this is what compounds [the] bullying. A guy once wrote: "I will try to meet you their" - when I politely told him it's "there" and not "...their", he said the two words are the same in meaning and can be used interchangeably. Na so I just weak.

2 Likes

Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Brunosamel(m): 7:22am On Jun 02, 2017
Laive:
With a smile, just say: "Oops!! My bad." This clears everything. Most people try to justify their "bad" sides not only in grammar, and this is what compounds [the] bullying. A guy once wrote: "I will try to meet you their" - when I politely told him it's "there" and not "...their", he said the two words are the same in meaning and can be used interchangeably. Na so I just weak.
haha! Everybody is right to be wrong.
Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Dface2: 9:06am On Jun 02, 2017
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Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Nobody: 1:55pm On Jun 02, 2017
But where is lalasticlala sef undecided
Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Brunosamel(m): 6:20pm On Jun 02, 2017
Keneking:
But where is lalasticlala sef undecided
I can't find him either.
Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Me77: 9:05pm On Jun 02, 2017
Most of these Grammar police pisses me off angry all they do is to search for little inexorable errors on people's post and anxiously jump at it for correction, and they start feeling like some kinda genius with little or nothing to contribute to the original post.
They also use this tactics to escape argument when you finally got them at a tight angle with nothing reasonably to counter your points. #pathetic

1 Like

Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by Brunosamel(m): 10:06pm On Jun 02, 2017
Me77:
Most of these Grammar police pisses me off angry all they do is to search for little inexorable errors on people's post and anxiously jump at it for correction, and they start feeling like some kinda genius with little or nothing to contribute to the original post.
They also use this tactics to escape argument when you finally got them at a tight angle with nothing reasonably to counter your points. #pathetic
you're on bro. One wipe ass nigga tried it make a Fool out himself after I accepted his correction, he still went ahead with his critics and I show him what am being made off. Grammar error Is a natural thing even in native language.

1 Like

Re: What To Do When Someone Corrects Your Grammar by FemiEddy(m): 10:55pm On Jun 02, 2017
Hmmmn issokay

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