Human Dictionary

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During my life, I have been referred to as
"Computer"
"Calculator"
"Dictionary"
"Walking Encylopedia" and
"That Weird Girl, Is She ret*d Or Something?"

Proof-reading has long been a part of my job description. I think the number of spelling mistakes has increased over the years. Most newspapers don't even employ proof-readers anymore, but rely on spellchecking programs. Books seem to have more spelling mistakes in them too, not to mention advertisements.

It has to be said that I never thought this topic would get quite a bit of replies in the first 24 hours, so I'm quite happy about that. Nice to know I'm not the only one who does this .
I correct teachers all the time in terms of their spelling and grammar, but I also correct people on facts (I'm fully aware it annoys others because they've told me as such. When I had a very short-lived job last summer, my cousin told me to try my hardest not to correct people because it wouldn't make me very likable. I ended up correcting the manager at times

I was called "walking dictionary" in school. It was a lot better than some of the other things I was called. I put those skills to good use as a teacher, freelance writer/editor and proofreader at my local newspaper. I now work at the library. My current job doesn't have to do with editing, but it does involve organization and language usage skills. I also participate in the annual Literacy Council Spelling Bee.

I'm the same way, and have been all my life. In first grade everyone came to me when they couldn't figure out how to spell something, once they realized I could spell better than the teacher. (I would correct her spelling mistakes.)

I get so miffed when someone says the wrong definition for a word, or mispells something.

I used to do it all the time until I realized (after many, many years) that it annoyed people, although it certainly annoys me plenty if people can't take the time to spell correctly. I try to be more subtle about it now-- if something is misspelled in an email, for instance, I find a way to repeat the word in my reply so that the "offender" can at least see the correct spelling. I used to think it was because my first job was as a proofreader, but now I know it's the AS.

I'm a Human Dictionary / Grammar Checker. Mistakes do not bother me. They merely catch my attention. I understand that most people do not have this talent so it would be silly to expect perfection. I often "tone down" my grammar. My natural inclination is to write in a most formal manner. However, I am under the impression that to many, this seems pretentious or even literally exclusive, as some have trouble reading things written in this style for various reasons.

AngelUndercover,

Same here. I don't volunteer help unless somebody asks. I have been told it's wrong to do this. I learned that it is somewhat "snobbish" to correct people's grammar. I never meant it to be that way. That seemed to be the only thing I did well as was growing up.

I have read many published works with typos. One was a book called "Kids in the Syndrome Mix." It was a good book, but it's quality was undermined by typos and poor sentence structure. I nearly tore my hair out reading it. I wish sometimes that I could write to the authors and editors of these books and send a list of mistakes and typos.

When I was at a summer camp at 16 I got a nickname "Polish teacher" because of my habit to speak in a formal way.

I love correcting other people's mistakes in speech and in their writings - also speaking of those for whom in contrast to me English is a native language. I never made spelling mistakes at school. Once we were writing a composition in primary school and one boy who was sitting with me told our teacher that he's sure not to make any spelling mistakes because a living dictionary was sitting on his left

My mom hates my habit of correcting her incorrect sentences as well.