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[INTJ] INTJ: a stickler for grammar. Why?

A

A window to the soul

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Title says it all.

Why does the typical INTJ tend to be such a prick when it comes to grammar.. why do they hold it in such regard?

Good question. Some ENTJ's too. :smooch:

...could be a 'J' thing..?
 

Katsuni

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Good question. Some ENTJ's too. :smooch:

...could be a 'J' thing..?

Well J's in general tend to have preference for order and structure; grammar provides a specific structure to build language around so that it makes sense.

I don't care much for spelling, but grammar I do find has rather important value; it coordinates things in a way that makes sense. While it doesn't matter if yeu say cat or kat, people know whot yeu meant. If yeu say "The cat chased the ball of yarn." then yeu know it's a full sentence, that it has a main object, and a secondary object, and that they interacted somehow, and there is purpose behind it. "ball chased yarncat" doesn't make nearly as much sense, especially with lack of punctuation, even moreso if it's dumped into the middle of several run-on sentences which lack punctuation to distinguish the end and starting points. Even in and of itself, it doesn't really make alot of sense, and would normally be interpreted to have reverse meaning of the original context.

That being said, as long as the message is gotten across clearly, grammar can once again be sacrificed, same as spelling. Grammar, however, tends to be far more important towards creating a sense of context from which one can determine whot is being said. Yeu can use made up words, or total nonsense in a sentence, and it can still make total sense to those listening, simply by means of the context its' used within. Remove the grammar and such context is lost, leaving one without a basic structure to attempt to make sense from. Yet, even so, grammar itself isn't always required, either, and sometimes can even be detrimental.

Yoda, and lolcats, may irritate some people to the core, yet at the same time, they can also provide some rather interesting insights at times, despite the awkward sentence structure.

I think the bigger issue, as a whole, comes down to the fear of looking unprofessional, though. That a lack of order in speech, or text, somehow automatically means an inherent lack of order, and therefore logic, in the reasoning itself.

Such is not an accurate comparison, and really needs to be discouraged, as it just isn't true in the vast majority of cases.

In the end, language is a means to an ends; the means to describe clearly one's thoughts and ideas, and present them to another in a method with which the listener can understand.

One can have absolutely perfect, flawless spelling, with precision grammatical skills... and yet fail to describe even simple concepts. In contrast, one who has no capacity for speech at all, can often be quite clear as to the message they wish to convey. Be it a cat, a baby, or a deaf person, they can still get their message across quite clearly most of the time; language just allows for more intricate details and specifics is all.

Anyways, grammar has its' uses, far moreso than spelling, but still, it does not trump the message; the importance is the communication of the idea, and specifically, that the idea itself is conveyed. So long as this occurs with relative ease, the methodology by which such is transmitted, truly doesn't matter.
 

GYX_Kid

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I'd think that lack of Ne could make navigating chaos very unenjoyable. Ni and Ne are different paradigms from which pattern-decoding is done. Maybe it's just more of a J thing.

suoppSe ! tpyed lkie htis. Someone playing a word game would readily solve that little puzzle; someone wanting only pragmatism would get that out of its face immediately.


To dig deeper: I've experienced numerous (not all) INTJs who would use language as basically a vehicle for what would be called narcissistic supply. Feeling comfort in being what they'd perceive as "elite." Not really sadism, as much as fear of not having control. The English language functioning as a game which they've agreed upon the rules to, and can master with clear purpose.

If a different game were suddenly presented out of nowhere, it would be instantly seen as something they didn't have as much control over; so would be rejected. It could also be rejected because the Fi values and the J would immediately deem it something ridiculous and stupid. Some other types might have more of a knee-jerk reaction to understand a new game, to be able to navigate it also.
 

Coriolis

Si vis pacem, para bellum
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Grammar is wrong??

I suppose such an assertion is not exactly bad grammar itself, but it is bad something.

(See: INTJs can be sticklers for more than just bad grammar. We are equal opportunity dispensers of correction.)
 

highlander

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Grammar is wrong??

I suppose such an assertion is not exactly bad grammar itself, but it is bad something.

(See: INTJs can be sticklers for more than just bad grammar. We are equal opportunity dispensers of correction.)

:laugh:

The implication is that we are a stickler for grammar - criticizing things that are incorrect. Therefore, the "wrong" grammar is implied.
 

skylights

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Sloppy grammar is just ugly. :shrug:

It's one thing to consciously decide stylistics (preferring or not preferring the Oxford comma; comma-splicing; not using capitalization; etc.), or to accidentally misspell an occasional word (we all do), but Whrsn ur writing lookz liek dis, it garbles the message being sent and makes communication more difficult. Plus, it destroys the inherent aesthetics embedded in standard language - patterns of letter order, sounds, the flow of communication as indicated by punctuation, and so on.

And we all know NTs aren't particularly shy about pointing out something that is stupid... and with INTJs being the most laser-focused and uptight of the NTs...

;)
 

LucidLegend1984

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I could care less about grammer, so long as I know the subject your trying to convey. Correct spelling is overreated also.
 

Avik

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I speak only for myself as an INTJ, as opposed to the INTJ populace in general. Grammar is one of the rule sets that I've accepted as concrete. It is one of the systems I follow to make my work simple. When I correct anybody's Grammar, it is not to "attack" them, but to protect the system, and to keep it alive. It might come across as an attack because after a point, I tend to lose my patience with people who brazenly disregard Grammar. It's more subconscious, than intentional. For example, the many grammatical errors in your post itself set off the mental alarms, but a few years of conditioning have taught me to let things be, if the point is clear.
Since I mentioned it, I think getting one's point across, in this case, ought to be treated a a different matter altogether, as opposed to one correlated to Grammar.
 

Within

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It's a precursor and a symptom of OCD.

It's going to be in the DSM-V.
 

KDude

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I suspect they might be even greater sticklers for inventing new words (not silly words, but useful/actually representative ones).
 

Froody Blue Gem

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I've always prided myself on how I do in Lit/English class as well as on my vocab. When reading, I always want to expand upon it. Something about word usage can be so powerful, how words can build people up, be used as a weapon, can have so many different meanings. I tend to obsess over the way they are used, and think about the different possible meanings, different ways I can use words. When people utilize bad grammar, it does annoy me, but I won't say anything because I don't want to get on people nerves.

I'll admit with spelling, I'm a bit worse with that, but not terrible. So I'm not one to talk with that because it's not my strong suit. There are worse crimes that people can commit, so no need to get hung up on it. Kind of a Twilight Zone something's wrong with this picture type of moment. It is usually pretty obvious to me when people use bad grammar though.
 

cacaia

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I have to say, I'm also not an INTJ, but precise language, spelling and grammar are also very important to me. No one is perfect, however, and of course we all make mistakes. I sure as all hell made a lot of them.
What gets my blood boiling, though, is when people put apostrophes for plural words, such as "banana's" when they mean "bananas". But...then again, I'm sure some of you math wiz people out there will roll your eyes at the incompetency of my math skills and just how bloody long it will take for me to calculate stuff....A lot of people who have strong language skills will lack math skills, so...touche.
Over the years I have learnt to be more tolerant of others. If these INXJs you speak of are well developed, they will also, I'm sure, find it in their hearts to be more open minded.
 
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