"Double negatives are incorrect grammar," he corrects you, idly.
She scoffs and smiles with a hint of sarcasm, adding, "You didn't pronounce that word correctly."
"I'm just trying to help you," your friends might insist, but that's never how it sounds.
Besides just being annoying there's a real problem behind the notion of grammar elitism, especially when it comes to the political stage.
Why you should abandon the title "Grammar Nazi."
People flash a smile and smugly call themselves "grammar nazis" all the time and everyone who uses the term is ignoring the glaring offense of the title. If you are comparing a desire of grammatical correctness with the Nazi Party, the one that committed genocide against millions of Jewish, LGBT, and disabled citizens throughout Europe, please exit to the left.
I repeat, if you are comparing grammar neatness to being a nazi, the door is to your left.
What's wrong with wanting people to use "correct" grammar.
The problem with "correct" grammar is rooted in a disdain for vernaculars and slang words as a whole. This becomes particularly problematic for people of color (POC) who speak various English vernaculars such as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Caribbean English. Often times their vernaculars are labeled as "unintelligible" or that it sounds "unintelligent." This then uses race to deem a group less intelligent by the way they speak.
This tactic is not just race specific, however. Young women have long since been known to be the agents of linguistic shaping. Young women perpetuate and create slang words that evolves into temporary vernaculars in themselves. These women, too, are discounted based on how they communicate versus potential intelligence.
By insisting on correcting people's spoken grammar and demanding linguistic "perfection" you are excluding people who are just used to communicating in an entirely different fashion. Additionally, you don't even need to use correct grammar to be completely understood in English. The beauty of this menagerie of dead and dying languages is that it is not defined by concrete rules and structures. No language is. So if you can understand what someone is communicating to you then why even correct them at all?
Examples:
"Proper" English: Hi, my name is John. I'm from France and I'm attending Smithtown University. Nice to meet you.
"Broken" English: Hello. Name John. French. I go school, Smithtown. Nice meet.
Internet English: John | France | Smithtown U | hmu if you wanna chat
You see? English is not a be all, end all language. It comes in many forms and fashions. Correct grammar has a place and that's in the scholarly field where casual conversations are not held.
Lastly, there is nothing more rude than someone who keeps interrupting you as you're talking just to correct your grammar. It's just plain rude.
Why "correct" grammar isn't accessible and what to do about it.
- You can communicate meaning without proper grammar.
- Proper grammar is often used to exclude people from scholarly and political fields.
- The social change platforms are often dominated by people who demand the use of proper grammar which excludes the voices of those who benefit from said change the most.
- Many people are denied job opportunities based on vernacular-to-competency stereotyping
"So what can I do to help?" Excellent question!
Look around in your community. Is the issue of vernacular stereotyping denying people from jobs and disenfranchising voters? Is this an issue of school funding or teacher quality? Does a local community center need English as a Second Language (ESL) or English tutors?
And make sure your commentary on these sorts of issues is not just in words. A like and a share is good effort, but actions will always speak louder than words.
