Comment Hallelujah! (Score 1) 2360
Reading many of the responses to this question has made my day - so much so that despite it being so late in the discussion I'm going to past a response anyway!
For many years now I have been on this very bandwagon - trying to improve the use of the English language as much as I possibly can for two distinct reasons.
Firstly, and most importantly for me, I am dyslexic and so have trouble with language even when used correctly. If, however, language is used incorrectly then it becomes that much more difficult to read and understand.
Secondly, the misuse of language can be harmful. Take for instance the word "paranoid" often used in ways much like "I'm paranoid my head is going to explode!" or "I'm paranoid I've got bowel cancer" or similar, when what is really meant is I'm scared, worried, frightened, fearful, terrified, anxious or otherwise afraid. If, then, a person goes to a doctor complaining of paranoia - what do they really mean? How do you treat that individual? Although perhaps a poor example it demonstrates my point and I'm sure more quick minded people than I can come up with more serious examples.
Those are the main reasons I continue my crusade for better use of language, but let us not forget language is also an art form when used correctly. Bastardising language detracts from that beauty, which is a loss to us all.
Of course I make many mistakes myself, I am only human after all, but I encourage people to pick me up on them whenever I make them so I can continue to learn and improve my own use of language.
One further thing to note is that often words are spelt more like they sound than people think - the problem, in my uneducated view, is two fold, one of laziness on the part of the speaker (a problem we all succumb to at some time or other) and the other is the lack of the ear of the listener to pick up nuances in the sounds that can make all the difference (not a disability in any way but rather an indication of sounds not registered as important during early childhood - as can be shown by the oriental difficulty of distinguishing between the 'l' and 'r' sounds of the English language). However, these issues are to some extent the drive of language evolution - and without them we may have less rich language now.
Finally anyone with trouble with spelling and/or grammar may be well advised to use their favourite word processing package to write all their post, notes, comments, etc. At least that way you can be fairly certain you're correctly representing your thoughts and ideas!
