Those of us who care about trivia such as good grammar are often unfairly derided as pedants, particularly in this internet age where there is a trend towards lighter punctuation. While no grammar purist – I’m sure to have abused a semi colon or three dot ellipsis in my time – certain punctuation marks are quite simply indispensable. This is not about preserving some fondly held tradition – after all, language is constantly evolving – but pure pragmatism: when I write something I want it to be understood.
Just imagine the misunderstandings that can arise from a lack of punctuation. Here’s an example of the difference the common comma can make, courtesy of a website guide to the Dominican Republic, which stated:
“Most of the time travellers to major cities and resorts get a reaction to unknown microbes in tap water.”
Clearly, time travel is a well-known phenomenon in the Caribbean.
Then there’s the classic Sunday Times listing for a programme featuring “Highlights of (Peter Ustinov’s) global tour including encounters with Nelson Mandela, an 800 year old demigod and a dildo collector.”
Who knew?
It is good to see I am not alone in caring about grammar. Kudos to fifteen-year-old Albert Gifford who recently claimed a victory for grammar pedants everywhere when he shamed Tesco into correcting the wording on its orange juice packaging. One litre cartons of its own brand juice were described as the “most tastiest” rather than “most tasty” or simply “tastiest”. The supermarket giant will now correct the error when the packaging is reprinted.
Of course, poor grammar is only one of the factors that can distract from your message so if you’d like some professional help with your marketing communications, please get in touch!
