whats more important a persons message or their grammar?

Question

only mindless grammar folks will fail to get this message!

Answer 1

The message. Unfortunately, many grammar sticklers will tell you that communication doesn't happen unless the grammar follows their rules, but that's just not true. Consider this example:

Schoolchild: Teacher, can I go to the bathroom?
Teacher: I'll have to ask your doctor about that.

The teacher is pretending that a miscommunication happened by pretending to think that the child asked about his/her ability to use the bathroom by using "can" instead of "may" when asking the question. But everyone knows that the teacher understood very well that the child was asking for permission. Just because you pretend communication didn't take place doesn't mean it didn't.

There are a few grammar rules that, when followed, will actually clear up ambiguity in communication. Most of them, though, are arbitrary, and are unfortunately used as a way to discriminate against certain people or social groups. Caveat emptor.

Answer 2

The message is the important part, however the grammar can be important as well. I guess it can be situational. Take an interview for example, if the interviewer is hiring someone for a position where writing is crucial than correct grammar is just as important as what the person is trying to convey. A person may be very personable but in that case the grammar would hold them back from that particular position.

Answer 3

I won't lie to you: I'm a stickler for grammar. But I do understand what you're saying and do agree that the message is the most important thing. I would like to point out that on some occasions, poor grammar can confuse the meaning behind the message. This is not one of those cases. The absence of a few apostrophes and capital letters do not convolute the meaning of your message, so I have no problem reading it and understanding. The message is important; the grammar just helps it along.

Answer 4

I think it does depends on the type of grammatical errors. I would hope people would at the very least use some type of spell check device since its in most word processing software and implemented in web browsers such as firefox. Personally I do not sweat the small stuff but when I care barely decipher what the person is trying to communicate then I get irritated.

Answer 5

If the grammar interferes with getting the message across, then it's as important as the message. Otherwise, as you obviously think, the message is more important.

Answer 6

A person's message. It would be rude to penalise someone for not having had the resources to learn correct grammar if their message was pleasant and genuine. Lazy grammar and spelling are offensive though!

Answer 7

Please don't attack us "Grammar Folks" for helping out here. We really want to help people out, using our own time to do it. But some of these questions are written/spelled very badly, and in the real world, a person needs to communicate properly. I don't care if you're a ditch digger or doctor - Your questions are a reflection of who you are here in YA. We're trying to help, and if we scold for bad writing or texting style messages...we want to help!

Answer 8

It depends on the situation. I think the message is more important generally. However, that wouldn't be good enough for a job interview or a school exam.

Answer 9

depends on the message and how bad the grammar is. bad grammar can make someone appear uninformed and therefore fewer people will listen to the message.

Answer 10

the grammar because the grammar occurs first because if you send a message you have to know grammar