Why do so many people not use correct English?

Question

The people that are natively from America are taught English from school. They are taught this for 13 years and sometimes more. Why, then, do people continue to use incorrect English? This has puzzled me for a long time. You would think that a person wouldn't want to sound uneducated and this would cause that person to speak correctly. I'm mostly just curious what other people's opinions are on this matter. Am I the only one that is bothered by this?

Answer 1

No, it bothers me, too. I notice a lot of incorrect, mixed-up verb tenses ("had went", etc) and it drives me nuts! Also, people just don't get it when to use "I" and when to use "me." Argh!

I think its several factors:
-partly a lack at home (parents don't back up the school lessons because they're too busy or too tired or just uneducated themselves and don't know that they should) so those kids just never internalize the school lessons
-partly laziness on the part of the speaker/writer. Everyone's in too much of a hurry to spend a fraction of a second thinking about the sounds the word makes and matching up the corresponding letters
-partly a lack of interest in getting it right. The media glamorizes "ghetto" or "hip-hop" style language and makes fun of proper grammar. Who can blame kids for wanting to be cool instead of a geek?

Answer 2

Just because a child is being taught doesn't always mean that they are going to learn. English is a pretty tricky language if you really think about it. If a child is not paying all that much attention in class to what the teacher is teaching they are not going to learn proper English. In some parts of the US no one in town uses proper English.
Truthfully I hated English in school and did just enough of the work to pass my classes. Yes I regret it today since I know I don't always use proper English and will notice how bad it sounds.
Although I also feel that languages came about so humans could comunicate amongst themselves and as long as a person is understandable then why is it all that important if they are speaking properly or not. I rather doubt that the first humans on Earth were all that concerned about proper pronunciation and usage.

Answer 3

There are many educated people whose English is terrible. One of the main reasons this bothers me is that my own English is deteriorating due to my communication with these people. But unfortunately it's unavoidable.

I think, though people are taught English at school for about 13yrs, most of them just don't absorb it and apply it in their speech.
Another reason is that, some of them find it necessary to sound 'cool' at the school and college level and hence speak in unfinished or grammatically incorrect sentences. This becomes a habit difficult to break and is carried into their professional lives later on.

Another reason maybe that, in every country the influence of a local language on English is almost a certainty. In India, very few people speak proper English without any local additions or alterations to it. Now picture this; US has the citizens of almost every country in the world. Indians, Chinese, Germans, Italians, Latinos etc. talk about modified English and you've got it. I'm sure it leaves a lot of people confused.

Answer 4

You are not the only one. It is a pet peeve of mine, too. I think people get lazy and don't want to try to form the words they want to say, correctly. I guess in America, we are always looking for the quickest way to do something, and by blending words together or not saying all the sounds, people relay their ideas faster. For some, it is a cultural thing, they were taught how to get their ideas across using English words incorrectly. I wish people would just want to sound educated, like you said, and speak correctly. They would be so much more respected for their thoughts and opinions! I teach Kindergarten and when my students say words incorrectly, I make sure I teach them the correct way to say the word. If they are not going to learn how to speak at home, I feel that it is my job to teach them.

Answer 5

you're the only one who's bothered by it. ;)
no, not really.

myself, i'm canadian, and my english is pretty poor too.

the problem, i think, is that most americans have no interest in reading outside class time and can't become as familiar with english as, for example, british people.....
there are lots of resource available, like the internet, newspapers, books.
and kids only need to either stick to school a little bit well or do a little out-of-class work and they'd be fine.

people watch too much tv. girls are too interested in shopping and ditzy girl talk.

another point>> sometimes people *do* want to sound uneducated so that they fit in, and so they might dumb down their vocabulary a bit.
also, it happens naturally when you spend time with less educated people.

Answer 6

I would say you are correct. The problem seems to be farily widespread. I have one co-worker that frequently uses a singular verb with a plural subject ie. We was working on this. It drives me nuts. This is a professional place where we speak to clients every day, so I would think it would reflect badly on the company. The strange thing about it is that this guy is considered very intelligent and a good reference source for certain information.

Personally, I just think people concern themselves with other things rather than speaking properly.

Answer 7

A better way to phrase your question is "Why do so many people use 'incorrect' English. As for your question, you have answered it yourself. It is the lack of education that causes a person to sound uneducated, and his or her desire to sound otherwise isn't going to make much of a difference. Also, be aware that our language is constantly changing. For instance, in most circles and in some circumstances, it is quite acceptable now to start a sentence with 'And' or 'But'. And young people often communicate in their own genre...the important thing being to be able to communicate effectively with our peers. Of course, it helps if one has the proper tools to do so, and the lack of vocabulary severely restricts the ability to properly convey our thoughts and ideas. But we should not be judgmental of those who lack our level of education. To keep this in proper perspective, we should not lose our ability to laugh at ourselves, as I am doing now, since this reply is quite overblown and a bit of a farce. But it was fun.

Answer 8

Some people don't care. Others can write the language correctly but speak differently. Especially online, people like to take shortcuts to lessen the amout they have to type. Also, English has so many dialects that people always argue certain words and usages.

Answer 9

It bothers me too. The schools need to make it where a student needs to receive a B or higher in English class to move up a grade.

Answer 10

It's either because they want to be rebels and try and change what is viewed as correct, or they are just not smart enough to grasp the concept of correct English. I would not rule out laziness as a reason as well.