Is it rude to correct someone while they're speaking?

Answer 1

Its pompus an sort of post-college grad'ish. If you want to come off like a dick them sure.

Otherwise don't focus so much on speech.

(note to question person, how do you like the spelling and grammar?) ... Get yourself checked for a obsessive compulsive disorder.

Answer 2

This is an annoying question because the answer is yes and no. First of all it depends on your reason for correcting them, if you are correcting them to help them then no but if you are doing it to prove them wrong or showoff then yes. Add to that it also depends on who you are talking to, if it's a friend or family member it is often not rude however to a perfect stranger it usually is. Also if someone asks you not to and you keep doing it once again then yes it is rude. It is not an inherently rude thing to do. People seem to think that when you correct someone's speech you are doing it to be mean or show superiority when it is often at least in my case to inform them of the correct way to say it. If they personally ask me to stop I try my best to stop. It is all situational so know why its being said and to whom and you'll have your answer.
But those doing the correcting need to realize that slang is not wrong and that because they say something differently that they are wrong. "Sup" is perfectly fine because it is purposefully done in that manner. If you are correcting someone make sure it is something that is actually truly wrong in the first place.Hope that was helpful.
-JayStander

Answer 3

Yes, I believe it's very rude in the majority of situations. What is the person's goal in correcting another? Did they have to do while the other was speaking? Could they have waited till later, and not embarrass them? While there are obvious exceptions (a teacher correcting a student) I feel that usually people are doing this out of selfish motivations.

Answer 4

I look inside myself and my motives for the answer to this question. If I find I've completely focused on the error, and I'm no longer following what the speaker is saying I realize that my little sidestep is what is rude, and try to get back on track, not giving it another thought.

If I am helping someone learn - at work for example, or a friend who is struggling with a concept, then I try to bring the conversation back around to the issue.

In general I also question myself a lot - do I really know what I'm talking about? Who says I have the right version? And then I leave it behind.

Answer 5

I used to have a serious problem correcting people with their English. I've reached the conclusion that correcting the way someone speaks is unacceptable, unless that individual explicitly asks that you help him. I am always shocked when someone corrects my English, even though I'm eventually grateful that I will no longer speak incorrectly and look stupid. I reflexively become defensive and argumentative. That's because I pride myself on using proper English, and I can't believe that I'd be so stupid as to not know how to pronounce a word or use proper grammar. I'm only human, after all, and being obsessive is not good. I reread everything I write many times before posting it so I won't look stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if I had OCD. Or a superiority complex.
People always became defensive when I corrected their English, so I eventually stopped. It just made people dislike me, and feel as though I was trying to look smart and make them feel stupid (which I was, now that I think about it).
I assume that your question is whether or not correcting an individual's English is rude, and not whether it's rude to correct someone's facts.
If someone makes an incorrect statement as a fact, I'm apt to correct them, if I'm positive that I know the correct fact. But I steer clear of English, because I live in a...rural area. Most of the people around here have extremely poor English, and correcting their English would be on par with discrimination. They're rednecks, and they're proud of it...oh well.
I love the English language, and I hate to see it being abused, but what difference does it make to me? I try to treat the language nicely, and if they don't care about looking stupid (what's more, if they're proud of being stupid) then it's their own problem. I'm not their teacher. I won't correct the English of family members, or anyone I'm close to--or anyone else, for that matter. Sometimes a correction will slip out, and it comes off as a nasty insult. That makes me feel bad. "I'm going to warsh the windows." "Okay," I say, "you go 'warsh' them. Oops." I won't even insult someone's poor English as ammunition for an argument, because it's pathetic to stoop that low.
Here's a ridiculously common English mistake that virtually everyone makes. EVERYONE. Somebody says, "There's cows over there." If you remove the contraction, you have, "There is cows over there." Almost everyone will use "there's" when referring to a plural object instead of "there are," or the contraction "there're" because it's clumsy. I notice when anyone says it, and everyone says it. I suppose it just makes me feel a little superior to know that they're wrong. It's sad, yes, but I'm only human. My mother, who compulsively reads and is very intelligent (she estimates that she has read 4,000 books in her lifetime--and that's a low estimate), says "there's" while referring to plurals.
Oh well. I don't want to come off as a jerk, so I just keep it to myself.
In short, don't correct unless you're asked to.

Answer 6

Yes, it is rude. Allow someone to finish speaking first because they just might realize their mistake as they are talking. Also, if you correct them during conversation they may lose track of what they were saying OR they could be offended or become embarrassed and not want to continue with their thought.

Answer 7

It probably depends on what is being said. However, I might suggest that the person be given the courtesy of saying his or her piece, and then if you feel correction is necessary, that's the time to do it. I guess most of the etiquette books would say that interruption is rude.

Answer 8

Well that all depends on the context.

Parents should interupt and correct their children, that's how children learn how to speak English properly.

The same is true for school teachers.

However most of the time, you are correct, that it is rude.

Rude amoung peers that is.

Pastor Art

Answer 9

If it's my kids or husband, or if it's a name being bispronounced then no. If it's just slang then yeah it can be perceived as rude.

What I try to do id use the word in a conversation so the other prosn will pick up on the correct use.

Answer 10

Yes, very rude indeed. The polite thing to do is ignore the mistake or ask the person to repeat it because you want to understand their point.