Skip to main content

On Grammar and Corrections

I was reading "Overheard at the Ateneo de Manila University" on Facebook and I realized how much Ateneans are irritatingly corrective when it comes to grammar and pronunciations.

Perfect examples:



I will not be a hypocrite and say that I have never corrected or even laughed at anyone before but there are times when you just have to ignore the mistake and let it go. At first I thought that this was a common thing in the Filipino culture but after some reflection, I noticed that only my Atenean friends do it. Something as simple as a mispronunciation is laughed at or corrected, making the speaker conscious; and therefore, more prone to mistakes. Even smart people make these errors and they ARE aware of these so there really isn’t a reason to correct them, especially in public. Sure, I laugh whenever Sherald, our friend, tells us about his misadventures.. "from pelvic Vones" to "going to the gEEm"; but I would never correct him in public.

I have to admit, I am a person who does not like being corrected on anything but that is beside the point. This constant pressure to speak perfect English is downright irritating. I am often amazed at how Singaporeans speak with Caucasians so casually; while here I am, an English speaker since 2 years old and still so conscious when talking. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve delivered speeches for hundreds of people because I often take leadership roles in my projects. However, the fear of saying something wrong prevents me from confidently speaking!

This might be just a mindless rant, and some 'serial corrector' might react violently or even correct something that I wrote here.. but I really don't care.

As I always tell Ayney, "Tomato is the same as tomáto!"

Comments

  1. I agree! But I guess we really can't help but be conscious of what comes out of our mouths. As Ateneans, people expect you to speak perfect English all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I guess but it's so IRRITATING!!! Haha

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hospital Cheat Sheets

Hello mommies! Sorry I have been busy trying to balance spending quality time with my baby, the pastry shop @joaniescupcakes and our newly launched online store, Petit Bébé PH.  Check out our IG and FB pages if you have time, @petitbebeph. 😍 Anyway, a lot as been asking about the hospital lists that I made for my delivery so here they are! As some of you might know, I am quite OC about paperwork and I have no pain tolerance so I really wanted to make sure that my doctors did not miss anything about my medical history. I was also confined 3x during my pregnancy. This is why I wanted to make sure that my list is detailed so we could avoid mistakes. Information Sheet This is the information sheet that I made. I consulted my OB prior to my delivery about the things that will be asked during check in/ labor. The text is RED are things you need to fill out on the way to the hospital as you might not have enough time to print them when you start contracting. Birth Plan ...

Eating at Home

Reg and I have been trying to lose weight to better control our sugar intake. We ate out a lot when I was still pregnant so he gained "pregnancy pounds" as well. Haha! I have been going to the supermarket to buy 3 weeks worth of dinners the past 2 months and I have been making weekly menu plans to help us achieve our goal. Honestly, I have always felt lazy to do this menu because the meats available at the grocery varies every week. I tend to buy what looks good so I can't stick to 1 set of menu come marketing time. First, let's start with the supermarket. We are closer to Unimart Greenhills but I feel that prices there are higher and there are times when their stock delivery is delayed. I always end up not being able to buy everything that I need. In order for this menu planning to succeed, I now go to my trusty Landmark Supermarket in Trinoma. I used to shop there when I was still single but I stopped going when I moved after getting married because I hated the ...

Hospital Packing List

I’m an OC person when it comes to packing. I love checklists! When I was at home on bedrest, I had plenty of time to get ready for the delivery. I didn’t want to go to the hospital with incomplete things so I started researching online and mommy blogs on what to pack when D-day comes. I made this list 3 months before my due date. I was paranoid because I had 3 hospital confinements during my pregnancy. I wanted to make sure that everything was ready.  When my OB told me that I was being induced on my 37th week, I made sure I ran through everything with my husband and our nanny. I have very low pain tolerance so I didn’t want them asking me where everything was when I was recovering! 😂 I divided the list into 3 categories: Mommy Daddy Baby I had to make sure my husband had an extra pillow and blanket so his back wouldn’t hurt from sleeping in the couch. I was expecting us to stay longer than normal as I was being induced. He needed to be in tiptop shape for our bab...