Spelling Scolds and Grammar Grumps

Most American adults consider themselves to be good spellers but get annoyed at everyone else’s spelling and grammar mistakes, according to some new research from Dictionary.com.

This research found that most of us think pretty darned highly of our own spelling: 80% of those polled saying they consider themselves to be good spellers.

However, seven in ten adults polled say they often find spelling mistakes in written correspondence from others.

Then there are the grammar grumps. As shown in a new study from Dictionary.com – called Grammar Gripes 2015 – 59% of Americans say that improper grammar is their biggest annoyance when it comes to the English language.

Bad grammar really annoys people, it seems. We’re somewhat surprised to see bad grammar besting text speak (OMG! OMG!) or common slang (Yo! ‘Sup dude?) in the pet peeve category, but the numbers don’t lie.

Dictionary.com does point out that people might be better at finding mistakes in others’ writing than in their own. We should therefore be somewhat cautious when criticizing other people’s writing.