Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by kyeb 2294 days ago
I tried to read this article, but unfortunately the lack of grammar was too distracting and I just couldn't get through it.

A lot of these are things that Google Docs or Microsoft Word will notice and ask you to change. I highly recommend using one of those to write (especially if English is not your first language) and trying to understand the suggestions it makes. Your articles will come out much more readable to others.

3 comments

Counterpoint: I used to "and I stopped reading" when I ran into grammar issues. I gradually realized that it's worth the effort to focus on the underlying ideas and evaluate that, rather than someone's 2nd language ability. People are smart, even when they talk funny, y'all.

(The worth/validity of the underlying ideas is a separate matter.)

Counterpoint 2: Automated grammar corrections are risky unless you're a native speaker. Ironic.

I think it’s helpful to recall that the language is called English, not American, and the people who are experts on it think we don’t talk good.
Most English speaking people everywhere speak with some variation on "formal" English. Even the received pronunciation in South england and london is relatively modern.

If anything, some American accents are closer to the English of the late 18th century than many British ones are, and the "official" received pronunciation is not without its fair share of critics.

> the lack of grammar

How ironic, right?

> lack of grammar

   lack of "proper" grammar
or

   bad grammar
How ironic x 2!