Do you notice people misunderstanding you?
That’s how you’d know.
If you are not getting feedback from your readers, then fair enough, you’ll never know; but in that case, how do you even know anyone is reading your writing?
I tend to think my grammar its like a tree falling in the woods, the few squirrels that notice it can probably find another tree to harass.
Ironically, I’ve found that in many cases, frequently I find perfectly correct grammar to be more a hindrance to communication than a boon. In certain cases, grammatically wrong leads to fewer misunderstandings.
I might have terrible grammar and everyone knows it except for me
Do you notice people misunderstanding you? That’s how you’d know.
The case where people know about a grammar issue but still understand the writer is a counterexample to your claim.
As someone who was raised Rural and will drop a lot of dialect into speech, I’ve seen how it colours the response and taints the message. I’ve seen where people spot a bad habit and just let it go. People know.
The more one learns about structure and form, the more one notices these gaffes; and not only does it change how the message was received, but it can also be one-sided. For instance: people who say “some emails” don’t realise how discordant it sounds to people who don’t say “some mails”. People who say “some email” I think aren’t generally noticed by people who say “the mails”.
What you do with what you notice? That’s on you. But in a world where first impressions are actually a thing, it’ll be noticed.
Misunderstanding is where I’d put the dividing line between style and grammar, or at least useful grammar.
I didn’t know anyone cares how I pluralise emails though; I’ll be making sure to include the ‘s’ from now on though, maybe I can use it to literally get some nob-heads to reveal their true nature.
Do you notice people misunderstanding you? That’s how you’d know.
If you are not getting feedback from your readers, then fair enough, you’ll never know; but in that case, how do you even know anyone is reading your writing?
I tend to think my grammar its like a tree falling in the woods, the few squirrels that notice it can probably find another tree to harass.
Ironically, I’ve found that in many cases, frequently I find perfectly correct grammar to be more a hindrance to communication than a boon. In certain cases, grammatically wrong leads to fewer misunderstandings.
Yes, I reckon that mutual sensitivity between parties is more important than any rules.
The case where people know about a grammar issue but still understand the writer is a counterexample to your claim.
As someone who was raised Rural and will drop a lot of dialect into speech, I’ve seen how it colours the response and taints the message. I’ve seen where people spot a bad habit and just let it go. People know.
The more one learns about structure and form, the more one notices these gaffes; and not only does it change how the message was received, but it can also be one-sided. For instance: people who say “some emails” don’t realise how discordant it sounds to people who don’t say “some mails”. People who say “some email” I think aren’t generally noticed by people who say “the mails”.
What you do with what you notice? That’s on you. But in a world where first impressions are actually a thing, it’ll be noticed.
Misunderstanding is where I’d put the dividing line between style and grammar, or at least useful grammar.
I didn’t know anyone cares how I pluralise emails though; I’ll be making sure to include the ‘s’ from now on though, maybe I can use it to literally get some nob-heads to reveal their true nature.