Bad English runs Rampant

Posted by Greg March - 17 - 2009 - Tuesday

I spend a lot of time online. If it’s not for work, it’s for my own enjoyment. I simply like finding entertainment online more than I enjoy flipping channels.

As I weave in and out of the various sites I come across, I often notice typos or outright spelling/usage errors on people’s sites. Usually, these are small businesses who probably have a limited budget for marketing, and don’t see hiring an editor (or even a proofreader– not the same thing!) as a priority. 80% of the time (unless I’m on a mission), if I think the person might care to fix it, I drop them a line. I do not correct anybody’s informal language if I can help it. Lard knows there’s gonna be a bunch of it on this blog. In any event, most people are appreciative… particularly if it’s just a typo that had somehow escaped their attention.

But when I really get to head-scratching is when a site is owned and developed by a company with enough resources to get the job done right (ie. they can hire someone), and I see a typo in what seems to be priority-positioned sales or marketing verbage. If you ask me (and you didn’t), you’re going to have a hard time selling when your credibility has been crushed in one quick blow.

I mean, seriously. A typo I can live with. An informal site with informal language and some spelling errors, I can live with. But a serious website with some fundamental mistake like “Do things you’re own way”? Just about drives me batty.

It occurs to me that in a well-written blog, this is where the link or list of examples goes. ;-) Maybe I’ll get to that some day. Until then, how about some Bad English instead? (also gives me an excuse to see if I got the idea of Viper’s plugin right):

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Monkey House is populated by three lovely and wonderful simians–Greg, his wife Alex, and their son Cole. He is a jack of all trades, she is a scientist/athlete, and their son is a poopsmith.