What Was That You Were Trying To Say??

More and more I come across websites for American companies which have content that seems to be written either by a non-proficient English speaker or someone severely dyslexic or semi literate. Not one sentence is coherent. It is impossible to figure out what they are trying to say about their products. Now these products may or may not be made in America, so it is possible the product descriptions and sales pitches are written by someone with limited English skills. The Chinese are known for doing this. But if you are going to advertise in English for an English speaking audience, then you should make sure whoever writes your ads or puts information on your website can write well in English.

I do not know about you, but I lose confidence in the product when the company making or promoting it cannot even create a sentence about the product that I can understand.  It is like reading a poorly edited book.  The author may be knowledgeable about his subject matter, but he just loses credibility if his book is full of misspellings, grammatical errors, etc.  Does this mean the product is deficient?  No, not necessarily. However, it means sloppiness and if you are sloppy in advertising and promoting, why should I assume you take great care in making your products?

My nephew and I sort of discussed this same issue about misspellings on signs.  What you have to say may have merit, but if you put up a sign about it and you have misspellings and your thoughts are poorly expressed, people will dismiss you as being not credible.  I am not a grammar snob.  I realize there is the common jargon and that we speak differently according to our purpose and our audience.  On FB and emails, we do not always check our spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I am as guilty as most people.  And I certainly do not always use proper grammar when I speak. That is okay in casual communications among friends. But, honestly, if I were putting my product and reputation out there for all to see, I would be very particular, as if my business depended upon it, because it just may. And if I were to advertise my product in a foreign country, I would  be sure that the person I hire to write about the product is proficient in both speaking and writing in that language. 

The reason I bring this up is that I was so irritated by the grammar on a site selling kitchen cabinets, that I actually began writing them to let them know the impression they were giving of their products and services.  Then, upon second thought, I decided I may be a little anal about this so did not send my criticism.  I am sure they would have made themselves clear in their response to "F*** off!".  But still, I cannot help but wonder about why this problem is becoming so common.  Is this part of the dumbing down of America?? Or is it part of more and more dependency upon foreign goods and ownership of companies?  I don't know.