{"id":70136,"date":"2017-04-21T14:05:42","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T13:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/grammar-vigilante-pedantry-important-public-service\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T17:21:15","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T17:21:15","slug":"grammar-vigilante-pedantry-important-public-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/grammar-vigilante-pedantry-important-public-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Grammar vigilantes \u2013 annoying pedantry or an important public service?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nMaking the streets safe for pedants everywhere\u2026<\/strong>
\nEarlier this month, BBC 4 featured an interview with Bristol\u2019s self-styled \u201cgrammar vigilante\u201d<\/a>, who makes a hobby of correcting street signs and shop fronts with emergency apostrophe surgery. He works in the dead of the night with a customised tool, the \u201capostrophiser\u201d, taking care to match the font and colour of the sign in question.
\nHis 14-year crusade piqued the interest of media outlets across the UK, who were charmed by his cheeky yet pragmatic response to the scourge of poorly-placed apostrophes blighting signs across Bristol. As a new resident of Bristol and an apostrophe aficionado, I confess to feeling some\u00a0admiration and pride: \u201cYep, we\u2019ve got a grammar vigilante, \u2018cause that\u2019s how we roll in Bristol!\u201d *insert smug head toss here*
\nPolarising punctuation<\/strong>
\nIn fact, I\u2019ve been surprised by the number of my family and friends across the country who have seen the story and mentioned it to me in the last month. However, their response has not always been as positive as my own, with some wondering what the big deal is, and whether correcting other people\u2019s writing is pointless pedantry and *gasp*\u2026 maybe a little bit rude.
\nThis is a conversation I\u2019ve often had with my husband, who has suffered more than his share of unsolicited corrections (turns out being married to a communications professional is not all sunshine and lollipops). He often asks plaintively, \u201cBut you knew what I meant, so why does it matter?\u201d. And my answer, invariably, is: \u201cYes, this time, this time! Who knows what the unintended consequences might be next time??!?\u201d. *husband\u2019s eyes roll skyward*
\nLet\u2019s be clear<\/strong>
\nAll joking aside, there is a very good reason for grammar and punctuation in any language, and it\u2019s not just to make those of us who paid attention in school feel smug. They are crucial tools in giving our writing clarity and emphasis where needed. I\u2019ve included my favourite amusing examples here.
\nBehold the life-saving comma:
\nLet\u2019s eat grandpa. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\"\"
\nLet\u2019s eat, grandpa.
\nAll are correct, depending on what you\u2019re aiming to do\u2026but I think you\u2019ll agree the commas are important.
\nHere\u2019s another example from the internet:
\nSay this in your head: \u201cYes.\u201d
\nNow try this: \u201cYes?\u201d
\nDo you hear the difference? What about this: \u201cYes!\u201d
\nOr (let\u2019s get crazy) even this: \u201cYes\u2026\u201d
\nYou see what we did there? That\u2019s punctuation for you.
\nIt\u2019s the law!<\/strong>
\nIn more serious examples, misplaced or omitted punctuation can be central to legal disputes. The Guardian reported a case in March<\/a> where the absence of an Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) resulted in the awarding of overtime pay to a group of delivery drivers who would not have been eligible if only a comma had been used to indicate that \u201cpacking\u201d and \u201cdistribution\u201d were viewed as separate activities under state law.
\nAnother well-publicised example<\/a> is the dispute between Rogers Communication of Toronto and telephone company Bell Aliant. \u00a0In this case, the inclusion of an extra comma allowed Bell Aliant to end an agreement worth approximately $1 million (CAD).
\nSloppy seconds<\/strong>
\nCloser to home, a more prosaic reason to polish your punctuation and groom your grammar is that first impressions count. And, in the information age, often what somebody reads about you is that first impression. Whether it\u2019s a restaurant menu, an online portfolio or a business website, poor use of punctuation, grammar and spelling can instantly colour someone\u2019s perception of you. Although your audience might \u201cknow what you mean\u201d, poor grammar can be interpreted as a lack of attention to detail which could influence their decision to do business with you.
\nWork to be done\u2026<\/strong>
\nI\u2019ll admit that I could relax my unforgiving standards somewhat around the house, but I remain adamant that correct punctuation and grammar is incredibly important in making sure we communicate with meaning and impact. So, a grammar vigilante taking to the streets to show us how apostrophes should<\/em> be done is an important public service, in my view. One that will become more important, not less, in the digital age, as how we write about ourselves and communicate with each other become paramount.
\nIt’s safe to say, from a quick walk around the town centre, it seems there is still a lot of work to keep our grammar vigilante busy for some time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Making the streets safe for pedants everywhere\u2026 Earlier this month, BBC 4 featured an interview with Bristol\u2019s self-styled \u201cgrammar vigilante\u201d, who makes a hobby of correcting street signs and shop fronts with emergency apostrophe surgery. He works in the dead of the night with a customised tool, the \u201capostrophiser\u201d, taking care to match the font […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[460,489],"class_list":["post-70136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us","tag-copywriting-us","tag-english-language-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGrammar vigilantes \u2013 annoying pedantry or an important public service?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Grammar vigilantes \u2013 making the streets safe for pedants everywhere... good grammar and punctuation are important tools for clear and effective communication.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/grammar-vigilante-pedantry-important-public-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Grammar vigilantes \u2013 annoying pedantry or an important public service?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Grammar vigilantes \u2013 making the streets safe for pedants everywhere... good grammar and punctuation are important tools for clear and effective communication.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/grammar-vigilante-pedantry-important-public-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Stratton Craig - 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