Grammatical Versus Pragmatic Error Journal Article

Overview

abstract

• Many communication instructors make allowances for grammatical error in nonnative English speakers’ writing, but do businesspeople do the same? We asked 169 businesspeople to comment on three versions of an email with different types of errors. We found that businesspeople do make allowances for errors made by nonnative English speakers, perceiving these errors as less bothersome than those made by native speakers. We also found that businesspeople perceive pragmatic errors of politeness and tone as even more bothersome than grammatical error—a finding we share with our students to persuade them of the importance of polite and professional email correspondence.

CU Boulder Authors

• Shanmugaraj, Nisha

publication date

• December 1, 2016

Date in CU Experts

• February 4, 2025 12:55 PM

Full Author List

• Wolfe J; Shanmugaraj N; Sipe J

author count

• 3

published in

• Business and Professional Communication Quarterly  Journal

Other Profiles

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

• 2329-4906

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

• 2329-4922

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• https://doi.org/10.1177/2329490616671133

Additional Document Info

start page

• 397

end page

• 415

volume

• 79

issue

• 4