pet peeve!!!

[Zoe Girl]

So I work in a city school district. I have accepted that it is different than the other places I have lived (mountain town, suburban, small town) and tried to watch for my own prejudices and assumptions. Dress is different, some ways of interacting, etc. But here it is, proper English. I work with English learners or people who use their neighborhood type dialect, but in many situations I find I have an expectation of proper English. The biggest thing that bugs me is "I seen". I had a great meeting with my new supervisor but it is hard that I was told I am pretty much un-promotable in a department with rampant poor English, and to have a supervisor saying "I seen", I hear it is totally acceptable in the urban area. I have lived so many places and it just isn't professionally acceptable where I have been.

Anyone every address this at work before? It is so touchy, there are many qualified people who use this and other phrases. I can't imagine any way to do a professional development on professional standards of communication in speech without being offensive. Or look for an opportunity to sell myself for advanced positions based on my correct English.

[iris lily]

I work in an urban environment of diverse employee backgrounds, and administrators and managers don't say "I seen." There might be supervisory level people who speak this way (custodial and maintenance guys come to mind) but it's not common.

I wouldn't give this a pass. But I'm not sure that I'd focus on it during a professional development session either, unless it is a brief mention.

[Tradd]

My manager is a spelling, grammar, and mixed up word use train wreck. She sends out emails to customers that make me cringe, constantly. She also uses that stupid comic sans font. In purple. Verbally she's a mess, too.

I have a journalism degree and newspaper experience. As does another woman in the department. We are highly amused by what the manager comes up with when mixing up words.

[iris lily]

Oh my emails are full of misspellings, like my posts here. But mainly as a bad habit, I swear like a sailor. I lost interest in being promoted decades ago and simply don't care, and swearing is fun!

But "I seen" would grate on me. Still, some urban phrases are kinda fun.

[Packy]

Tell you what--I seen people say way worse stuff then that, and that ain't no joke!

[cdttmm]

I'm an English grammar nut with a background in linguistics. I simply remind myself that languages continually evolve; otherwise how would words like "baller" come to have a tertiary -- accepted --definition?

[Miss Cellane]

There's a difference between bad grammar and local usage. If everyone, included the educated folks, is saying "I seen," then I suspect one of two things. Either "I seen" is such a regional expression that everyone uses it and no one thinks anything of it, or that your manager is trying to fit in with the population that she serves, by trying not to sound educated, if that makes any sense?

I've been an English teacher and am now an editor. Trust me, I feel your pain. The most I've done, way back in the day when I had to type out my boss's letters from his rough copy, was to fix the grammar and spelling. He was appreciative of that. But I never attempted to fix his speech.

I'm sorry you were told that you are basically un-promotable. That stinks.

[sweetana3]

I would not bring this up. Your correct use of grammar is in front of them every time you speak or write. Those you would be trying to reach would not grasp it and those you dont want to reach would think you are trying to be superior. If you were in a higher or more secure position, you could try but perhaps not at your level.

My pet peeve: I have a husband (and his mother) who for 60 years has said "acrost" every single time they wanted to say "across". Nothing has or will change them.

[CathyA]

I'm a stickler for good grammar too..........especially the wrong verb tenses. But.........sometimes I like to talk like a hick and say things wrong......and I might say them like that so often, that I have to be careful not to say them wrong when I'm in my own character. haha
For example, I had an old friend who said she had an old acquaintance who would refer to someone she thought was dumb as so "igranant". So my friend and I started saying 'ignorant' that way and after I while, I had to think how to say it right. hahaha

When I worked in the E.R., one of the nurses would take a tetanus shot to a patient and say "Okay, I have a tetnical shot for you."
And once a guy came up to the counter at the E.R. and said "I have pain in my 'tenacles'".

But I digress.............. I find it disconcerting when anyone uses bad grammar, but especially people in higher positions.
DD is very educated, but for the life of me, I can't get her to use pronouns correctly........Instead of something like "He and I".........she'll say "me and him". I try to correct her every time, but I don't think she hears me.............

[CathyA]

To add..........Sometimes I do think "so what if grammar isn't perfect..........we still understand them, right?" Then I start wondering if correct grammar actually IS that important, and why?