I come
across people who think they are English language professionals. Their hobby is
to correct every pronunciation of the conversing person. In fact, it looks like
they listen to words and not the entire conversation. These people end up
correcting grammars and spelling errors, even in the SMS people casually send (Basically,
SMS intends to convey a message than to show someone’s language proficiency).
These days the automatic dictionaries of the mobile phones give you weird
spellings too.
Of any kind,
these self-proclaimed language professionals irritate people. Many times, they
do not realize that they are making enough of mistakes while using the language.
Other people sometimes do not point out them. But, if you do not correct their
errors, they end up thinking they are flawless. In case, if you point their
mistakes, they will get offended, but it’s better than bearing his/her
self-proclamation.
From an
Indian context, English is not a native language and our education system does
not teach the language properly. As the child grows, it picks up the language mostly
by itself and in such cases, being error-free is unimaginable. The only way is
to improve as the time goes. There is nothing to feel embarrassed when someone
corrects your language. Remember, the person who corrected you is also not a
pro. He/she is also on the path of learning.
Also, it’s
never right to accept the corrections said by people as such. Better to cross
check and use. I always felt that the best way to find a self-proclaimed
language professional is to check his/her written English. Mostly, it would be filled
with errors, and informal word and sentence usages, which he/she thinks is
right. People employed in writing professions, like me also get erroneous.
Hence, when it comes to language, do not trust anyone. If you are wrong, accept
gracefully and improve.
PS: I was the victim of a self-proclaimed
language pro today. It was happening to me multiple times that I decided to point
his/her errors back (Of course, the person gets offended, after all, who
cares?).
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