supposibly, some pet peeves
byThe dam has burst around here and I must say something. In my ‘business’ at my ‘company’ attention to detail is paramount. We need to make sure we are accurate, timely and precise. My co-workers tend not to realize the importance of such things and let grammar, etiquette and all out common sense just leap right out the window.
I thought about Tod Maffin’s grammar post [I love Radio.org] before writing this and was inspired. Maffin writes:
WRONG: “Use an anti-spyware program (i.e., Ad-Aware).â€
RIGHT: “Use an anti-spyware program (e.g., Ad-Aware).â€
The term i.e. means “that isâ€; e.g. means “for exampleâ€. A comma follows both of them.
He then links to this post here, which is priceless: “10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid” [zdnet uk] e.g., #5: Effect for affect, #6: You’re for your and #3: They’re for their for there.
Now, I’m all for being casual, a little witty banter and it IS just a job… but don’t you all have someone in the office (or even at home) that constantly misspells, mispronounces or misuses grammar in some way? I am not innocent here folks but at least I can catch myself most of the time. Here are some examples that drive me nuts.
a) People who use smileys in business emails/correspondences e.g., “Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call :o) ”
b) People who use “re:” when they are sending the first email in a string.
c) People who use terms like “eom” in the subject line of an email, then write their life story in the body.
d) People who use ‘fancy’ terms or acronyms and have no idea what they mean but think they’re cool for knowing them OR pronounce the acronyms e.g., “ASAP” = “A Sap”
I’m not saying people who say these things are stupid, it’s just a pet peeve. John thinks it’s annoying the way I pronounce the word “bag” and don’t get me started on him and “roof”.
Should we correct these mistakes, just let them be or pass them off as quirks? I know I say stupid things sometimes and it’s best to be corrected so I don’t repeat them. Like when I write a worried, concerned post about an article in the Georgia Straight and people tell me to chill out, well, it’s muchly appreciated :p
Edit: I don’t hate people who misspell at all. That’s not the point of the post, I just have pet peeves at the office… isn’t that a fairly common thing? As for spelling mistakes in blogs, that’s a whole other can o’ worms that I dare not open. I’ll defult bck to tihs fun ltle gem😀
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Those spelling & grammar glitches get to me too…I don’t know if your title was meant to be ironic or not, but it should be “supposedly” not “supposibly” 😉
haha yeah it’s taken from Joey on Friends “Supposibly”
I don’t mean to call you stupid or anything but you are way off on your second point (b, for the record). People were using Re: in typed memos long before you were writing emails. It is an indicator of what the missive is regarding 😉
There is only one “t” in etiquette.
And I agree with Anon. on (b). “RE:” hearkens back to proper business letters where the topic is stated at the beginning. For a proper email on a new topic to a superior, I want them to interpret the contents more efficiently. For example, “RE: Setting up a meeting next week” instead of “Can we set up a meeting next week?”
Stupid spell check missing “t”s. Well then the joke’s on me eh?
“People were using Re: in typed memos long before you were writing emails.”
I don’t dispute this, although my “pet peeve” is concerning emails in my office in particular. I suppose I didn’t cite specific references because… they’re watching me 😐
my grammer errors in my anger response to ass face where paramount today. choice. i should not respond to people when my blood is boiling.
my ‘bad’ grammer in my writing whether on GG, my column or whatever is always on purpose. i will not conform and will write how i want in MOST cases. you know well that i can’t spell 😉
Re: was used prior to emails in order to indicate what the subject of the memo was. However, there is a reason that there is a ‘subject’ portion on emails and thus, it is redundant to put Re:
Nobody is perfect certainly, but in the work place people ought to be more diligent as it appears sloppy to clients to make basic errors.
I have to agree with both miss 604 & Jenny. The reason “Re:” was included in written memos was to draw your attention to what the subject of the memo was. To use “Re:” in the subject line of your email makes it redundant and annoying. When I see an email come into my inbox with “Re:”, I assume that it’s in response to an email that I’ve sent the person previously. It’s deceptive to include it on a first string email.
PS – I used to work there, too. The same things bothered me. Especially when you’d correct the mistakes and the person your were proofing for would come back and say “That looks fine to me”. 😐
Um, but it’s wrong…. 🙁
Sorry to bother you, but as a Chinese guy I am not sure if it is wrong to pronounce the acronym ASAP as A Sap. I heard it in the TV show Las Vegas. Thank you.