LizzyBee Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Do you find that re-learning grammar with your kids is a curse on being able to enjoy reading modern works? Even before homeschooling, I was often unable to finish magazine articles, etc. because of poor grammar. Now that I've relearned some of what I'd forgotten, I am having an even harder time enjoying modern books and other writing. On the bright side, I have a much greater appreciation for Dickens, Austen, and similar writers. I read the first chapter of Twilight earlier this week and encountered six types of grammar errors just in that one short chapter. I don't know if I can stand to read the rest of the book, but I'd like to read the series because my 15 yo is into it. Shouldn't people who get paid to write know grammar? Or if they don't, shouldn't their editors correct their errors? FTR, grammar and spelling errors on message boards and facebook don't bother me. Nobody is paying us to write, so I don't think we should be held to the same standard as a professional writer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Are you the person who fixes grammar and spelling errors in the library books we check out?! P.S. I agree that editors should catch these things. . . P.S.S. Oddly enough this was one of my gripes about "Climbing Parnassus" - oh the run-on sentences and the lack of noun-verb agreement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Are you the person who fixes grammar and spelling errors in the library books we check out?! P.S. I agree that editors should catch these things. . . P.S.S. Oddly enough this was one of my gripes about "Climbing Parnassus" - oh the run-on sentences and the lack of noun-verb agreement! No!! It's tempting once in a while, but I don't write in library books! :tongue_smilie: I haven't read Climbing Parnassus, but it's interesting that a book about Classical Education would have more than an occasional grammar error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I'm almost oblivious to grammar errors, always have been. While adequate grammar is necessary to communicate clearly, writing is about a whole lot more than correct grammar. If a book had an interesting plot and engaging characters, I would never even notice the grammar errors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 P.S.S. Oddly enough this was one of my gripes about "Climbing Parnassus" - oh the run-on sentences and the lack of noun-verb agreement! Really? Now I want to go read it. I am often more disgusted with pseudo-intelligence, when authors use complicated, often grammatically incorrect language to obscure their meaning, as if they're saying, I'm smarter than you are nannynannypoopoo, when, in fact, they aren't. I don't know if that's what is going on in Climbing, but your comment reminded me that this does happen. To answer LizzyBee, grammar issues do bother me, but I don't have time to read much non-school material. I did have a friend who would mark up the text in her sons' picture books, correcting errors. I am bothered by grammar and usage errors in news articles. (For instance, I read tonight that "evidence mounds" in an investigation of the disappearance of a local woman. Shouldn't that be mounts?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) Yes! It drives me batty!! On the other hand, its really quite gratifying, especially in the case of Twilight, because dd came to me and said the same exact thing!:lol: ETA - I suggest duking it out and finishing the story :-) The grammar really doesn't get better, but the story does. Edited December 21, 2009 by LauraGB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 ETA - I suggest duking it out and finishing the story :-) The grammar really doesn't get better, but the story does. Okay, I will. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 (edited) I'm almost oblivious to grammar errors, always have been. While adequate grammar is necessary to communicate clearly, writing is about a whole lot more than correct grammar. If a book had an interesting plot and engaging characters, I would never even notice the grammar errors. I agree there's much more to writing than grammar. It's just that I find grammar errors distracting because they interrupt my concentration on the message or plot of whatever I'm reading. If someone were speaking to me and someone in the background rang a bell every 30 seconds, it would be hard to concentrate on what the speaker is saying. My irritation with the bell would make it difficult for me to process what is being said. For me, grammar errors are like that bell. I'm usually oblivious to spelling errors, though. It's as though my brain sees what it expects to see rather than what's on the page. Edited December 21, 2009 by LizzyBee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 ETA - I suggest duking it out and finishing the story :-) The grammar really doesn't get better, but the story does. That may be a matter of opinion. :blush5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 That may be a matter of opinion. :blush5: :D Fair enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 It depends. If it's a style thing (i.e. beginning words with conjunctions) it doesn't bother me much, especially if the intention seems to be to make the text conversational. Run-ons, errors that obscure the meaning so that you have to read three times to figure out what they're saying, noun/verb disagreement, incorrect verb tenses--those kinds of things drive me nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Yes, it drives me bonkers. Worse yet, once a grammatical error leaps out at me, I no longer have any faith in the accuracy of the information (assuming it's nonfiction). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 Update: I borrowed Twilight on CD from the library. The poor grammar was easier to listen to than to read. The conversational tone helped. However, I still couldn't finish the book, but it was the theme, not the grammar, that sent me over the edge. Edward and Bella's relationship has all the hallmarks of an abusive relationship, and listening to the stories of how Edward was manipulating Bella brought up all kinds of buried memories for me. When I turned into a sobbing emotional wreck, I took it back to the library. I might try to finish it later, but I am really disturbed that this kind of relationship is being glorified to today's teens. I really have to sit down with my 16 yo and have a talk with her about Edward and Bella's relationship vs. a healthy relationship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingSimplicity Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Grammar may or may not bother me, it depends on what I'm reading. The way I see it, language is always growing and changing. While I see a need for perfect grammar in formal situations, a lot of modern works are meant to be read in the same tone that we speak. So in that case, I'm not worried about grammar at all. What does drive me batty in any case, is when it looks like instead of checking the book for misspelled works it looks like it was just run through spell check. Yesterday I was reading a book that was talking about a briar patch. They spelled it right the first time, then the next time it was mentioned it was path instead of patch. And here lately almost every book I've bought has that kind of error. I hate to pay for something that should be professionally done, then find that it wasn't really edited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Shouldn't people who get paid to write know grammar? Or if they don't, shouldn't their editors correct their errors? Well, that would be nice, but junk food is junk food regardless of the form. I have found that the level of good grammar generally corresponds with the intellectual level of the material. Not to sound snooty, because there's nothing wrong with reading for sheer entertainment, but I really don't expect Twilight (which I haven't read) to have impeccable grammar any more than I would expect Twizzlers to have lots of B vitamins. When I read nonfiction books about things I am interested in, I find that the level of writing is better. Mass-marketed fiction is simply not going to have the quality and attention to detail that more scholarly works would, because for the most part people aren't going to worry about it. It's mass-market fiction for a reason, kwim? Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 Not a problem at our house. If a book is written so poorly as to interfere with reading it, we dump the book. I can't think of many times that has happened, though, because we select books carefully. (I am not saying that other people are sloppy, just that we want to make the most of our reading choices, so pre-screen by habit.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truscifi Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 It depends. If it's a style thing (i.e. beginning words with conjunctions) it doesn't bother me much, especially if the intention seems to be to make the text conversational. Run-ons, errors that obscure the meaning so that you have to read three times to figure out what they're saying, noun/verb disagreement, incorrect verb tenses--those kinds of things drive me nuts. :iagree: Exactly what I was going to say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 No, it doesn't bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 I have a worse issue. Now that I'm starting to learn grammar, I've lost all confidence in my vocabulary. I'm pretty sure that I've been spelling, pronouncing and using incorrectly, every word over five letters that I ever knew. I'm beginning to be afraid of reading aloud to my children just in case I'm pronouncing something incorrectly, and we're only reading picture books! Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschoolally Posted February 26, 2010 Share Posted February 26, 2010 ETA - I suggest duking it out and finishing the story :-) The grammar really doesn't get better, but the story does. :iagree: It bothered me as well, but as the story unfolded I was able to ignore it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 but but but....then you can never read anything...not nuthin'. and my answer is no...doesn't bother me. to read or to type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 I find it difficult to accept b/c a book should pass through many sets of eyes before it is printed. The whole purpose of editors (esp. w/such a successful franchise) is to edit grammatical/spelling/syntax mistakes. This is their job. I would expect a taxi driver to know their way around town, a pediatrician to know childhood diseases, and a mechanic to know when to use which wrench. Words are the tools of the literary profession, and they should be respected. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saille Posted February 27, 2010 Share Posted February 27, 2010 (edited) I think some of this is attributable to the concept of staying in character. I'm thinking Twilight is written in the first person? The writer is using the character's "voice", which is that of a modern teen. If the story is written in third person, and there's not some clear reason why the narrator is using slang or vernacular, I'd see it as laziness. Edited February 27, 2010 by Saille Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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