In Tough Times, Grammar Snobs Get Tougher

'Enuf is enuf,' say spelling reform advocates

(NEWSER) - A small group of protesters, some of them dressed in bee costumes, gathered outside the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington DC yesterday to make their case for spelling reform. The protesters, representing the American Literacy Council, say the illogical spelling of the English language is holding back much of the population from learning to read and write properly, AP reports. More»

It pokes fun at language rulebooks and grammar dictators

(NEWSER) - It's not the likeliest of Internet sensations, but the Fake AP Stylebook on Twitter is well worth the buzz it's getting, writes Mark Peters. Anyone who's been tormented by such rulebooks on language, or by sanctimonious grammarians, will rejoice. And laugh. Typical rule: "When referring to someone with a Ph.D. as 'doctor' immediately follow it with 'but, you know, not a REAL doctor.'" No wonder it's got 70,000 followers and a book deal in the works. More»

Sad kids do not 'literally tear' the heart out of a mall Santa, and other mistakes

(NEWSER) - Some common grammar mistakes are also inexcusable, Johnny Truant writes for Copyblogger. Too many of the following, and your readers may decide "that you’re actually a chimpanzee—and not one of the smart ones, either."

• It's "me," not "myself:" People often "think that complicating the language needlessly will make them sound smart." Usually not. "I did the job myself" is correct. "So-and-so and myself..." is heading down a dangerous path.

Revitalized movement wants to simplify the language

(NEWSER) - Every year, the National Spelling Bee sparks a protest from an 800-year-old movement that aims to simplify spelling by using phonetics, the Wall Street Journal reports. (Think thru vs. through.) “We have 42 different sounds in English, and we spell them 400 different ways,” says the 102-year-old founder of the movement’s modern phase, which blames the high rate of illiteracy on the idiosyncrasies of English spelling. More»