Are y'all fixin' to go over yonder?

I am a southerner. I love the southern drawl (and not just because I have one). Everyone knows we have our own language down here. However, I've begun to notice a sad trend in our communication skills. We southerners are not the only guilty ones either. Anyone who uses poor grammar, excessive slang, inappropriate tone, etc are in danger of giving a bad first impression. Almost everyone uses email as a form of communication also. Capitalize! It isn't a text message! We give the impression of being uneducated, lazy, or indifferent when we send emails that misuse two, to, and two and they're, their, and there. It may seem petty but it's a big deal, I promise. Would you invest your hard earned money with someone who says "um" every other word? This subject is usually my chosen soapbox (oral and written communication) so I apologize in advance. This is just a friendly reminder that how we speak says just as much as what we say.

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Comment by Brad Cambridge on January 18, 2012 at 11:09pm: Great point!! I am very guilty of the 'not capitalizing' thing. (But only on interoffice emails.) No excuse, just something i need to work on. I usually end everything in question marks. Like prompting a deep thought? - see!

Comment by NANCY SIMMONS on January 14, 2012 at 6:08pm: I share in your "pet peave", Adeana. Actually, it is more than just a "pet peave"; it's catastrophic! As a comptroller for a GM dealer for over 20 years, I opened all the mail. Nothing pained me more than receiving a business form letter from a GM executive, utilizing poor grammar and misspelled words! On one occasion, I circled all the errors with a red pen and sent it back...LOL!

Today, email is prevalent for communication and most correspondence is "sent" without a proofreader reviewing the piece. The "sender" of the email loses credibility in the areas of intelligence and professionalism. A poorly written email also conveys the message that the "receiver" was not worthy or important enough to warrant a letter written with professionalism.

There are too many resources available to everyone, so there really are NO valid excuses. One can quickly open up another tab on their browser and type the word in the search bar, or go to one of the dictionary or thesaurus sites, or simply turn their "spell check" on!

Thanks for reminding us all of this very important issue!