![The English language is third most popular language in the world, and it's a very difficult language to learn.[picture via: pexels.com]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/4/14/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-english-language-is-third-most-popular-language-in-the-world-and-its-a-very-difficult-language-to-learnpicture-via-pexelscom_1936581.jpg "The English language is third most popular language in the world, and it's a very difficult language to learn.[picture via: pexels.com]")
English is hard to learn. It isn’t the hardest language to learn, but it’s also not the easiest. The English language has so many rules that almost everybody has difficulty at some point in time.
Writers obviously write more than people with other professions. This leads people to believe that writers know everything about writing. They don’t. Nobody does.
Grammar police
One of peoples' favorite things to do in the comment sections of social media is to correct every single mistake they see. Everyone is up in arms about the more common mistakes (i.e.
their, there, they’re) when in reality, those mistakes are so common because they are so simple. Freaking out about such mistakes isn’t going to help anybody. In fact, freaking out in the comment section isn’t going to do any good either.
Everybody knows a person like this, and a lot of people roll their eyes because, seriously, who cares? If you really enjoy correcting people’s grammar that much, maybe you should become an editor because there are tons of writers who could use your genius intellect.
Typos in Books
Even some of the more popular novels have simple spelling and grammar mistakes. If you’re an avid reader you’ve probably already found a ton of them, and those simple mistakes will continue to happen.
Why? That’s just the way it works.
Most authors go through some serious checks to try and locate all the mistakes, but even then, it’s not uncommon for some to be missed. The whole reason that authors must hire editors and proofreaders is so that simple mistakes like this (as well as storyline screw ups) can be caught and taken care of.
Social Media posting
The days of Myspace and Myyearbook brought on some serious acronyms and shortened words (slang). Those shortened words are still used today and many people have mastered their comprehension. The good news is that even those who seem to write purely in slang can still have a good understanding of the actual English language.
For those that don’t, we are looking at a much bigger problem which includes the fact that 32 million adults can’t read. Illiteracy has been a problem in the United States for much longer than people like to admit, and the use of slang has almost nothing to do with it.
But grammar is important
It is, really, I agree. Being able to spell and use the correct words are two wonderful skills to have. I, personally keep a grammar book in my bag at all times and pull it out when I have any issues. A lot of writers practice this same thing.
Adults are expected to be able to read and write in almost every profession. Some jobs require a college education, but most jobs require a resume which is usually typed out and must sound intelligible.
So, we really shouldn’t expect anybody to be perfect when it comes to grammar and spelling (especially not on social media). However, if you feel that something needs to be done you are free to take the steps yourself to make even a slight change. You can become a teacher, you can volunteer to tutor, or you could find another way to actually make a change.
