And the Grammar Nazi in me died!

I know I’m not the only one, I mean, there has to be someone else like me out there.

I made my peace with SMS language a long time ago. You=u, have=ve, ttyl, brb and several other useful abbreviations that make typing on WhatsApp easier. But there are some things that get my blood boiling.

I received a message like this: ‘HapPY NeW YeAR!! Have A Grt YeAr AheaD’. Nope, it’s a sad new year as long as people like you keep typing like that. I mean, what is the point of using alternate small and capital letters? You are not typing a password, it’s just a normal sentence that can be typed normally. And every time I hear someone say lappy I feel like giving them a slappy! And if at al ua smeone who typs lyk ds, plz don eva txt me, plzzzz!

(Deep breaths, calm down)

Given how the times are changing I had no choice but to get used to all of this. However I recently heard something that triggered me to write this post. A girl in my office came up to my friend and said, ‘Hi house you?’. It took me two seconds to realize that she said ‘howz you’ which meant ‘how are you’. That’s when the grammar Nazi in me died. I’ll tell you how I am. I am frustrated that people have become so addicted to WhatsApp language that they have to use it even while talking. There’s a reason we use LOL while chatting. Since the other person cannot see us we are letting them know that we are laughing out loud. But when I’m in front of you, you can actually laugh out loud instead of saying ‘lol’ or even worse ‘looollllzzzzz’ (what does that even mean, did you doze off laughing?). You cannot say ‘its kewl’ or  justify it saying ‘ma lyf, ma rulz’. It’s our eyes and ears that read and hear it.

Hey don’t get me wrong. I’m all for using shorthand while typing when it makes sense (nt lyk ds). But I think it’s necessary to draw a line when it comes to speaking. I’m not saying that I’m perfect in grammar. Every time I have a doubt regarding the spelling, meaning or usage of words I Google it and that’s how I learn. I do make a lot of mistakes and thankfully I have friends who point it out to me. And I even came across a fun video (Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic) that taught me several things I was saying/using wrong.

Basically what I’m trying to say is let’s not exploit a language to such an extent that the words lose their meaning. Let’s make it easy for the person who reads our messages by using simple, straight language. Oh and also, Grammar Nazis like me will no longer wish for you to just drop dead (not kidding).

(Do watch that video on YouTube, trust me, it’s a grammar Nazi’s anthem!).