Speak Good English Movement – Don’t be a Grammar Nazi!
One of the things that I hate most when blogging is Grammar Nazi. People who leave comment on your blog to correcting every single freaking Grammar mistake you made. Some of them meant well and truly want to spread the good use of English. Most of them are just plain rude when correcting your English, as if they are some sort of English elites who are one level higher than us not so perfect English speaking mortals. I call them Grammar Nazi. I’m sure everyone encountered a Grammar Nazi before.
The people behind the Speak Good English Movement are starting a guerilla tactic to “promote good English”. They want Singaporeans to paste a yellow post it note over bad english and correct the grammatical error. When I saw that idea, my first impression was “Fuck, why is Speak Good English Movement promoting Grammar Nazism?”.
Face it, not everyone is proficient in English. People make mistakes. Some make more mistakes than others. Is there a need to publicly shame those who make mistakes in English by pasting a bright yellow post it note? Which smart alex English elite came up with this idea? What happen to speaking nicely to the person face to face? What happen to being a gracious society?
So what is Speak Good English Movement trying to achieve? Are they trying to improve the English standards in Singapore or are they trying to shame those who are not so proficient to an extend that they are afraid to use the language? I still remember my Secondary School English teacher telling us that we should not be afraid to use the language. It may be broken. There may be lots of Grammar mistakes. But as long as you keep using the language, your proficiency on the language will improve over time. I agree with her totally.
My blog readers all know that my English standard is quite bad. There’s lots of spelling and Grammar mistakes. Couple of years ago, I got a Grammar Nazi stalking my blog everyday and correcting every single Grammar mistake openly (and very rudely) on my comment section. It’s was very frustrating. I know I was wrong. But I do not deserved to be publicly shamed for my poor English standard. The Grammar Nazi was so rude that at one point I thought of shutting down my blog and never blog again. Looking back, I’m glad I didn’t give up blogging at that point. I know my English is still quite bad. But I never give up and I keep practicing.
But I also wonder how many people gave up on blogging because of rude Grammar Nazi.
Stop shaming people who aren’t proficient in English. Who do you think you are? I know it is Speak Good English Campaign. But you should also be gracious when promoting Good English.
Don’t be a Grammar Nazi. Stop shaming those who are not proficient in English. If you have to correct the person, do it in private. Not with a bright yellow post it pad for the whole world to see. Shame on Speak Good English Movement to come up with this stupid idea.
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Hi DK,
Thanks for bringing up this issue (and I really like your Grammar Nazi sticky notes!).
The goal behind the sticky notes is not to shame anyone. It is to increase awareness of the use of proper English among Singaporeans, which as you rightly point out, not everyone is proficient in English.
I am sorry that there was a rude grammar nazi on your blog previously. There really is no need for anyone to be obnoxious about the English language – it is a lifelong learning process.
No one is aiming to be a grammar nazi to nitpick on the smallest things. The objective is to let people learn, both ourselves and our children.
Let me give you an example.
There is a sign on a building door where children frequent. The sign reads “Please keep the door close”. This is asking for people to keep the door close to them, instead of asking for people to keep the door closed.
I know you don’t have kids (and neither do I), but if we did, wouldn’t we want our children to be exposed to the right form of English, instead of growing up thinking “please keep the door close” is the right way of expressing the phrase?
We are talking about everyday examples of broken English. We’re not talking about perfect English, nor are we talking about taking things to extremes. We want Singaporeans to share your approach to continually using the language and being aware of signs in bad English is just one way to approach it, not a be all end all solution. I hope you understand
Daryl Tay
Speak Good English Movement
Daryl Tay´s last [type] ..“Communicate Confidently” This Weekend
I can already spot mistakes in this post. i dont want to sound mean but it’s kind of cringe-worthy to see such mistakes.
it would be good for you to improve your English so that people wont have any reason to make horrid comments. i mean like because you’re a blogger so you should at least have some standards right?
no offense. just want to see Singaporeans display better English standards.
im not part of the speak good english movement btw haha.
A: Thank you for reiterating my point.
Hi DK,
I wrote an earlier comment but unfortunately I lost it while typing, so here it goes again:
First, thank you for the grammar nazi sticky notes! I think they are awesome.
The Movement’s objective is not to be some grammar police to nitpick on technicalities of the English language.
What we do want to do, is to help create an environment where proper English is used. By proper we mean simple, grammatically correct English. This has nothing to do with accent or complicated “Queen’s English”, but merely structurally correct sentences.
Let me give you an example.
There is a building where children frequent. On some of the doors, there is a sign that reads “Please keep the door close”. This is asking people to physically keep the door close to them, which has a very different meaning from “Please keep the door closed”, presumably to keep the cool air in.
Now I know you don’t have kids (and neither do I), but if we did, would we want our children who go this building, to be exposed to the bad sign and internalise it as the right way to ask for the door to be closed? How long will they grow up thinking this is the right way to phrase it before they realise that it’s wrong, if they ever do realise that it’s wrong?
I don’t think anyone would be shamed in that example. No one would trace this back to the sign-maker and say “Why is your English so lousy?” – it’s just a correction of a mistake and we move on so that future people who see the sign are exposed to accurate English phrasing.
Would you consider that an example of being a grammar nazi?
I agree with the attitude that your teacher instilled in you, but for that to prevail, we need to be living in an environment where simple, standard English is used, not broken English.
We are not encouraging grammar nazi-ism. We are not calling for anyone to be shamed. What we are calling for is an increase in awareness among Singaporeans that there is a right way and wrong way of using the English language, and encouraging them to know the difference.
I hope this clarifies matters =)
Best,
Daryl
on behalf of the Speak Good English Movement
Daryl: Sorry, spam filter misbehaving. That’s why your 2 comments went to the spambox.
I do not think it is nice to paste post it pad on bad English. There is nothing wrong with correcting someone’s error. If you really want to correct someone, then speak to the person in private. Not tell the whole world that the person make a mistake. While promoting good English, the movement is also promoting the wrong values.
By the way, while removing your comment from the spam box, I notice that your IP address is the same as A. I guess both of you are colleagues?
DK,
As I mentioned in the example above, sometimes there is no way to speak to the person in private. The goal is not to correct any one person’s English, but to enable a wider audience to benefit from being aware of the correction. There is a subtle difference.
That said, this is not a “the Movement says do this so do this” kind of situation. If you have a suggestion on how to correct errors where the person is not immediately contactable, do let me know.
Yes I posted a first comment from the office but wasn’t sure if it got through because my browser froze, so I tried to type as much as I could from memory when I got home.
I’m not sure about the IP address, pretty sure you know my stand on being transparent online, so even if they are the same, I’m pretty sure the person is not a colleague. If and when we do comment, it will be in the capacity as a member of the Movement and not anonymous names like “A”. We have strict guidelines on this sort of thing.
Best,
Daryl
Daryl Tay´s last [type] ..“Communicate Confidently” This Weekend
Daryl: Unable to contact the person doesn’t mean you should shame him/her in public. What if he/she sees it later? Or what if someone else know the person who made that sign? It is good to share with everyone the correct usage of English. But not at the expense of shaming someone in public.
The intention is good. But the way of doing it isn’t.
By the way, I’m curious. If there is a strong wind and the post it note flew off, is that considered littering? Hmmm……
Well, if it is not from the movement, then it must be someone from the board.
The problem is that the whole campaign is predicated on there being a “proper” English which everyone should speak and an “improper” variant which should be removed and not looking at the different functions the two Englishes in Singapore fulfill.
What is “structural correctness?” Singlish has its own grammar too with with its own rules. Singlish also happens to be used in very different contexts as compared to “proper” English. That being said, isn’t it better to teach people how to differentiate between the two and when they should use what?
(Sorry DK for hijacking…my take on Grammar Nazis are that they exist all the time, as long as people think that one code of the language is somehow “better” than the other. Well, Proper English is not better than Singlish. Singlish is not better than Proper English. Apples cannot be compared with oranges…)
@DK: I suppose what you see as shaming, we see as raising awareness and learning. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this point.
@Guojun: You’re totally right and no one is saying one “version” is better than the other. The comparison isn’t between English and Singlish – as you’ve rightly pointed out, both have very unique rules and structure, both serve different functions.
The comparison for the Movement is focused on English and bad English. If you take one of our examples for the year “got people sit here?”, that’s not Singlish. It’s grammatically incorrect English.
Daryl Tay´s last [type] ..“Communicate Confidently” This Weekend
dk,
just because someone corrects you in public, doesn’t mean they’re out to shame you. if you find it shameful, it’s your own problem.
maybe if were less sensitive and more open to correction whether public or private, your grammar wouldn’t suck so bad now.
p.s. even your very first sentence of this post is already salah!
Hi;
me am more interested in others understanding my messages, the substances of the messages and that they are not offended by the conveyances of the messages. However, if anyone likes to laugh, scorn or jeer my command of languages, it’s fine with me.
patriot
Btw, me likes to add that i prefer to speak the Language of the Race that me talks to when i can. Likes to avoid using the English Language whenever and wherever possible.
patriot
xman: Thank you for reiterating my point again.
This is EXACTLY what I’m referring to. People who thinks that they are 1 level above others when they spot someone making mistakes. After blogging for so long, I’ve already gotten used to Grammar Nazi and their behaviors. They don’t just correct you. They insult you by saying your English sucks. Before you say my English suck, identify yourself and don’t be an anonymous coward. Then I’ll have a good debate with you.
So THANK YOU Speak Good English Movement for opening this can of worms. Luckily the campaign is not successful. Else we will see lots of over zealous Grammar Nazi pasting post it notes all over Singapore.
If you are not aware, “Got people sit here?” is directly translated from “有人坐在这里吗?” which is based on Singlish syntax.
According to wikipedia, “Singlish syntax resembles southern varieties of Chinese”.
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Psst…give the campaign a chance, will you? It’s after all “Speak Good English Movement” and rumor has it that there will be a follow-up campaign called, “Speak Good English Movement–Graciously!”.
a_x
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