Why My Grammar is Slipping
by Bethaney Wallace
Every few months or so, I get a real itch to write about grammar. Mostly how everyone else is doing it wrong. I’m usually inspired by the incredible failures of others, and writing a good “you are ridiculous” post just makes you feel better. In the process, however, I’ve also gotten schooled myself. While pointing out others’ flaws, I recreated the very same (or slightly different) mistakes. Like a real hypocrite.
After years of copy editing and more years of writing, it’s not because I don’t know better, it’s because the odds are just against me. A perfect track record is impossible to keep up, no matter how knowledgeable you are (and I’m by no means on the list of most-knowledgeable grammarians.) And here’s why.
When you type thousands of words per day (I’m assuming, I’ve never actually counted), typos are bound to take place. Commas get misplaced, words misspelled, etc. And for the most part, Microsoft Word is there to save the day. “Whoopies” it tells me with each red underlined word, “I’m pretty sure you need to revisit this letter combination.” Then, should I have created an incomplete sentence, which I often do on purpose, it’s green. These suggestions are less welcome, but still there so I can re-look things over.
The problem, however, is that Word can’t be trained. It doesn’t understand context. It can’t know if I meant psyche vs. psych, it can’t be uploaded into social media, and it can’t determine correct punctuation placement … most of the time. So, unfortunately, mistakes slip through. Even though I read and reread everything written, with the sheer amount of words formatted each day, a mistake or two is bound to happen. It’s just a matter as to whether I find it or it’s left on the Internet for all eternity.
My Copy Editing Shift Days are Done
In college, I copy edited for two publications, which meant hours upon hours of analyzing grammar and punctuation. This also meant I was always learning new rules. AP is this way, Chicago is that, and so on. I was a practical human book of how to format every kind of text. And I got no sleep because of it – both because my shifts lasted until 3 a.m., and because I couldn’t let it go when I saw permanent errors in public. What’s printed on menus, billboards, etc. still continues to haunt me.
Without that constant need for adjusting grammar, however, it’s facts that seem to fall out of the brain. They’re still in there somewhere (and they’re certainly still in my reference books), but it’s a much slower process.
The Fandom Reasoning
In the same way that I love Harry Potter and hate Draco Malfoy, I love Oxford Commas and hate clauses – independent or otherwise. Rather than immersing myself in everything grammar, I want to learn about the sections that interest me, and sectumsempra the ones that don’t.
Inability to Stay Impartial
The biggest problem with any writer – and the whole need for copy editors – is that they can’t stay impartial. Sure biases can be removed and opinions deleted, but when it comes to spelling and/or grammar, staying spot-free is impossible. Why? We know what we mean. So if something reads out of place, our brain fills in the pieces without us even knowing it. For instance, not finding that “here” is actually “her” or “hear” – it’s a literally oversight.
Despite the above, I still remain a loyal grammar fan, but I’m also learning to admit that punctuation perfection (or even a top-notch grade) is beyond me. though I may never be able to forgive advertisers that don’t check sources before printing each 20-foot mistake, the smaller errors are becoming, err, smaller. As for the everyday stuff, the blogging errors, and the almost unnoticed, here’s to hoping we (I) can gain some steady traction.
The post Why My Grammar is Slipping by Bethaney Wallace appeared first on The Social Robot.
