We have members from all over the world. And a few grammatical error something I completely overlook. I am more concern with the message content. To keep it short. Does the poster deserve my help or not.
As an aside here is a funny grammar Nazi(or Roman) clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAfKFKBlZbM

 

I seriously don't give a rat's petute about an apostrophe. Like t06, I care much more about the information being conveyed. I can almost always infer meaning from context.

 

Steven Wilhite, the inventor of GIF, says so:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...finally-declares-file-formats-pronounced.html

Well he's wrong. Just because he's a computer expert doesn't make him a grammar expert (and isn't that the whole point of this thread?).

It's annoying, like when parents give their kid a name that is spelt one way, but insist everybody must pronounce it differently. Being the originator of the name doesn't make them right, they're still idiots.

Re your link, notice the Whitehouse pronounced GIF right. They actually employ people with good grammar.

 

A common mistake is people thinking they can "control" language. It doesn't work that way, everyone gets a vote. So to declare that what a possible majority of people is doing is wrong is a form of arrogance. Language evolves, and changes, where it will.

 

This is true, but I 'd prefer it if languages stuck to rules while evolving.

 

The inventor of a word should be able to choose its official pronunciation when its spelling is ambiguous. For example, let's take a common English name like Stephen (pronounced steev-en). If you name your child Stephen but say that it is pronounced "Stef-ahn", then people should pronounce it that way. Sure, some people won't realize that it's actually pronounced that way, but when they learn they should start saying it the way the parent (or child) wants it to be pronounced. It is no different with the GIF.

Also, RB, what did your exclamation points after it's and its signify? Were you showing that they were the wrong ones, or did you think you used them correctly?

It's = It Is
Its = Belongs To It

Matt

 

You can also insist that your name is "Step-hen".

 

This is true, but I 'd prefer it if languages stuck to rules while evolving.

While it seems that English has an exception for every (spelling) rule, it is mainly because English has adapted so many foreign words.

 

... So to declare that what a possible majority of people is doing is wrong is a form of arrogance. Language evolves, and changes, where it will.

And the majority pronunciation is?

I've been using GIFs (professionally, because I was doing desktop publishing)since the file format first started and in all those years have never heard anyone say "JIF", amateurs or professionals.

But then I'm in Australia where our educational system more cloesly resembles the British model and we are a bit more "proper" about pronunciation than the US model which I think does approach a fashion or popularity contest. Especially these days when the US pronunciations are becoming very "Mexican" compared to US pronunciations when I was young. Things like "assessory" instead of "accessory", or "splode" instead of "explode".

...Also, RB, what did your exclamation points after it's and its signify? Were you showing that they were the wrong ones, or did you think you used them correctly?

I was poking fun at the apostrophe police, of course.

 

The grammar offense that most annoyed me, and is now thankfully dropping out of common usage, is the "overuse" of "parenthesis" for some kind of "emphasis."

Most oft seen in signage such as: BIG SALE "TODAY"

I read that not as TODAY but as "be warned, it's not really today but a clever substitute."

One thing I as personally concerned is punctuation sneaking into into quotes. Say I wish to describe a certain file to you named "123.gif." While that sentence is grammatically correct I have an extra period inside my quote that is NOT part of the file name I am trying to explicitly define.

My work-around is (very occasionally) violate the rule and dump the period outside the quote (clear but ugly). Better is to rephrase the sentence so the quote is not at the end of the sentence, so "123.gif" is the certain named file.

 

Especially these days when the US pronunciations are becoming very "Mexican" compared to US pronunciations when I was young. Things like "assessory" instead of "accessory", or "splode" instead of "explode".

Sounds like you've been watching too many "I Love Lucy" reruns.

 

What's wrong with starting a list out with a colon?
Like this:
(1) thing
(2) other thing
(3) colons rule!

My last name is Staton, but I insist people pronounce it "Strantor" - am I wrong? It's my name, after all.

 

The grammar offense that most annoyed me, and is now thankfully dropping out of common usage, is the "overuse" of "parenthesis" for some kind of "emphasis."

Most oft seen in signage such as: BIG SALE "TODAY"

Hate to break it to you, but "" aren't parentheses. (These are parentheses)

 

I was poking fun at the apostrophe police, of course.

Thats...er, that's me.

Here's a quote that I snagged from another thread.

It's a grebe (and its chicks on its back). The magpie got the remaining eggs in the next few days.

Well done! Notice how the lack of an apostrophe in the "its" just before "chicks" makes it clear that Markd77 was stating that the chicks on the back of the grebe belonged to the grebe, as opposed to meaning that the things on the back of the grebe were chicks.

 

You guys are gonna think less of me if I mistakenly and incorrectly use "their " instead of "there".....
or mistype and accidentally forget an apostrophe"...?
Hmmmmm.....
Ok...understood.
D.

 

My last name is Staton, but I insist people pronounce it "Strantor" - am I wrong? It's my name, after all.

You're not wrong in stating how you want your name pronounced; you could insist that it be pronounced "Smith" or "Jones." Just don't be annoyed when people don't know what you want, or have forgotten what you want, and pronounce it "Staton" because they are following the normal conventions of pronunciation.

And I do wonder why you don't change the spelling to reflect the way you want it pronounced.

 

Thats...er, that's me.

Here's a quote that I snagged from another thread.



Well done! Notice how the lack of an apostrophe in the "its" just before "chicks" makes it clear that Markd77 was stating that the chicks on the back of the grebe belonged to the grebe, as opposed to meaning that the things on the back of the grebe were chicks.

Only because I knew you were watching, I'm sure I've got it wrong many times mainly because I'm thinking of the possessive apostrophe, eg. "the grebe's chicks" or "the grebes' chicks".

 

You guys are gonna think less of me if I mistakenly and incorrectly use "their " instead of "there".....
or mistype and accidentally forget an apostrophe"...?
Hmmmmm.....
Ok...understood.
D.

Only the grammer Nazis. The rest of us are all cool with it.

 

This thread started off a lot differently than the later posts and that is where my thuoghts lie.
I was a little angry of the image of some of you sitting at your keyboard...thinking.."what an idiot...he cant even use an apostrophe correctly..." "oh, now look...he's using their when he should be using there...!"
We all want to ask questions and share our opinion without retribution....
Maybe retribution is too strong a word.....
But as I take it..there are some of you that are going to think less of me if I mistakenly use an incorrect personal pronoun or miss an apostrophe....
Are you kidding me?
On an International fourm..?
Then there's Mr. Perfect that calls everyone to task on using a parenthesis correctly..and as it's pointed out ....he cant even spell the word ....
Now, "I aint no Saint" as they say around here....(hope I didnt offend by using Parenthesis there)...
I misjusge people
I jump to conclusions
I am ingnorant in many matters
I make snap judgements...
But I try very hard not to be a hypocrite..
Im gonna make a lot of mistakes...I gonna misspell some words...Im igonna incorrectly use a comma from time to time...
and Im gonna write like I speak...
I guarantee you that there is someone out there in another country who will not ask a question or contribute to the forum for fear of making a grammatical error....

WBahn,Marsden, and a couple of others said it well......very well.
Much more eloquently than I am saying it...
So....
I apologize to you all for my outburst....but you know....looking down on others is one of MY pet peeves...
I know a few things about someone who cant quite put a sentence together sometimes...and then there are some of you who get peeved when a grammatical error or misspelling ocurrs here....
As I sit here and read this before I post it...it may not even be worth it....
Maybe I should look for another place to learn electronics...you guys may be way too smart for me....

 

You're not wrong in stating how you want your name pronounced; you could insist that it be pronounced "Smith" or "Jones." Just don't be annoyed when people don't know what you want, or have forgotten what you want, and pronounce it "Staton" because they are following the normal conventions of pronunciation.

And I do wonder why you don't change the spelling to reflect the way you want it pronounced.

I was just being facetious. But the difference between Staton and Strantor is to the same degree the difference between Smith and Jones, in my book. I was trying to make the point about people who insist on their names being pronounced in a way that is inconsistent with its spelling. For example, the guy who recently sold me my car had the surname Deatherage. He pronounced it "Deethridge". I'm sorry, but your name is DEATHeRAGE. the "e" in the middle is phonetically insignificant; it does not change entire the sound of a 10 letter name. His name is as close to Deethridge as it is to Smith.