# In Which We Discuss Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation and the art of the written communique. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 5, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608 "2011-08-05T16:10:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/1 "2011-08-05T16:10:00Z")
My Dearly Beloved™ got an email this morning. One sentence read, " We got two rental cars so you could each figure out the best root. " No doubt about it. The person who wrote the email simply did not know what word to use. They believed that root, not route, was correct. We began to decry the slow death of writing. There was a time, perhaps in the mid-1990’s, when email punctuation, spelling and grammar was not held to the same standard as that applied to a printed letter. Emailing was shorthand, it was intangible and did not carry the same weight in the eyes of many. Now? An electronic signature is legally binding. Almost all communication aside from some contractual documents are sent electronically and read and responded to in the same manner. I say that it’s 2011 and if you are writing an email, posting to a web site or using any kind of electronic communication opposed to sitting at an IBM Selectric or taking your Waterman fountain pen in hand, you should be held to the same level of expectation regarding proper form. It’s not root you ninny, it’s route. It’s not enuf, it’s enough. It’s not nite, it’s night. –twitch– The email was sent by a new employee. It was sent to people within the company as well as the clients who are in on this project. The writer has made an abysmal first impression. Spell Checking software wouldn’t have caught this. If there is software that is grammatical and contextually based, and would have caught the fundamental error, that’s fine on one level. On another level, we as educated people should know what word is to be used, and what word is not to be used. It’s not asking too much. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/2 "2011-08-05T16:26:25Z")
I agree. We need to route out this kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/3 "2011-08-05T16:28:03Z")
This is an extordinary subject. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/4 "2011-08-05T16:35:42Z")
> [@](#): > > The person who wrote the email simply did not know what word to use. They believed that root, not route, was correct. They? > [@](#): > > [Though singular they is widespread in everyday English and has a long history of usage, debate continues about its acceptability.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/5 "2011-08-05T16:39:15Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > They? I am a strong advocate of the singular they: it’s been used for centuries when you want to talk about a person and you don’t know if they are a man or a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Bri2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/48db29/32.png) [@Bri2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bri2k)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/6 "2011-08-05T17:48:38Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I am a strong advocate of the singular they: it’s been used for centuries when you want to talk about a person and you don’t know if they are a man or a woman. Concur. I find using it especially handy in this instance. Bri2k -rooting for better grammar and the return of competent copy editing ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/7 "2011-08-05T18:02:10Z")
I’m as picky as anyone about accurate written communication, but I will confess to occasionally suffering a brain fart and putting down the wrong homonym. Most of the time I catch my error, but not always. So it’s possible your coworker suffered a similar cranial flatulence. Or that person is not too bright. Either way… But I agree that whenever one writes work-related correspondence, one should use conventional English spelling and grammar. And I reserve the right to ignore or mock those who use “b4” or “u” or “r” or similar extreme abbreviations. It’s my personal snobbery. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/8 "2011-08-05T18:06:42Z")
Eye awl weighs ewes my spell checker. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/9 "2011-08-05T18:08:12Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I am a strong advocate of the singular they: it’s been used for centuries when you want to talk about a person and you don’t know if they are a man or a woman. I support “they”. “He or she” is needlessly silly; “they” has been repurposed to serve both roles. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/10 "2011-08-05T18:10:28Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Eye awl weighs ewes my spell checker. Aye relie on my spill chequer. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/11 "2011-08-05T18:17:50Z")
It especially annoys me since the word ‘route’ is not pronounced the same as ‘root.’ When my kids do it I just remind them that roots are for trees and polynomial equations. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/12 "2011-08-05T18:23:27Z")
I never mispell anything, and my grammer is perfect. (I always get a chuckle out of how common the errors are with those two words.) ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/13 "2011-08-05T18:25:13Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > It especially annoys me since the word ‘route’ is not pronounced the same as ‘root.’ It is in many dialects of English, including my own. I would find it hard to pronounce “route” and “rout” the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/14 "2011-08-05T18:53:12Z")
> [@perfectparanoia](#): > > It especially annoys me since the word ‘route’ is not pronounced the same as ‘root.’ Never heard “Get your kicks on Route 66”? > [@Giles](#): > > It is in many dialects of English, including my own. I would find it hard to pronounce “route” and “rout” the same way. I’m familiar with both pronunciations, so that I’m never quite sure which to use when I say the word myself. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/15 "2011-08-05T18:55:10Z")
My grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills took a hit 12 years ago when I started dispatching. The computer system we used had only a small amount of space for text, so we had to use major abbreviations for most words, little to no punctuation, and numerical codes. I’ve gotten better at typing full sentences and words over the four years since I promoted out of dispatch, but it’s still difficult. I know some people roll their eyes when I abbreviate things, but most people understand, by now, that the texting shorthand fad isn’t the reason for my error. I simply have trouble remembering that “across the street” is not supposed to be typed as “x the st”. And I can never remember the words for some of our codes. And since I just did it twice… Does anyone else remember that, in school, you were never allowed to start a sentence with the word “and”? I looked it up, not long ago, and discovered that this is now grammatically acceptable. It drives me nuts, but I do it anyway, because… You know… Nobody knows it’s wrong anymore, anyway. Except me. And there’s too much stress in being a Grammar Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/16 "2011-08-05T18:59:48Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > And since I just did it twice… Does anyone else remember that, in school, you were never allowed to start a sentence with the word “and”? I looked it up, not long ago, and discovered that this is now grammatically acceptable. It drives me nuts, but I do it anyway, because… You know… Nobody knows it’s wrong anymore, anyway. Except me. And there’s too much stress in being a Grammar Nazi. Same with ending a sentence with a preposition. Frankly, that is something up with which I will not put. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/17 "2011-08-05T19:05:29Z")
> [@](#): > > **perfectparanoia** : It especially annoys me since the word ‘route’ is not pronounced the same as ‘root.’ It may be pronounced the same. In the TV theme song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” it was pronounced the same as if it were “Root.” Or did I miss your point? I detest the singular “they” and prefer to use the formal “she or he.” Anything else sounds so awkward to my ears. > [@](#): > > **Cartooniverse** : There was a time, perhaps in the mid-1990’s, when email punctuation, spelling and grammar **was** not held to the same standard as that applied to a printed letter. I think you mean **were**. (I’m just doing that to be mean. I congratulate you on caring about good usage. Feel free to pick at my misusages or misspellings.) ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/18 "2011-08-05T19:13:10Z")
> [@Soliloquy](#): > > And since I just did it twice… Does anyone else remember that, in school, you were never allowed to start a sentence with the word “and”? I looked it up, not long ago, and discovered that this is now grammatically acceptable. It drives me nuts, but I do it anyway, because… You know… Nobody knows it’s wrong anymore, anyway. Except me. And there’s too much stress in being a Grammar Nazi. I have to remind my transcriptionists about this every so often. If sentences couldn’t begin with “and,” some of our transcripts would have run-on sentences long enough to make James Fenimore Cooper twitchy. It’s still something to be avoided in formal writing, but in speech and casual writing beginning a separate thought with “and” is pretty well accepted now. ---
**Author:** ![curious11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ac91a4/32.png) [@curious11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curious11)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/19 "2011-08-05T20:25:52Z")
effect is a noun and affect a verb panel, label Hendrik Wade Bode \<- developed the phase/gain graphic for testing system response, his last name is pronounced Bow-Dee (in English), not Bowed. Things taped to my monitor. When I was younger, I used to have a particular usage problem with commas. I would string together, lots of words, using commas when it wasn’t appropriate. I had to do many, many, worksheets with, on, and about, commas. I was using commas as pauses, like I was speaking, which it turns out, isn’t how it’s supposed to work - I learned! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608/20 "2011-08-05T20:47:28Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Same with ending a sentence with a preposition. Frankly, that is something up with which I will not put. Thank you, Winston Churchill, and welcome to the SDMB. mmm [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-we-discuss-grammar-spelling-punctuation-and-the-art-of-the-written-communique/591608.md?page=2)