Grammar 101: Tweeting.
Disclaimer: I originally got the idea to do this post from Michael Kwan, as he regularly does Grammar 101 posts. He actually minored in English Lit (and therefore wields incredible argumentative and grammatical powers), and while I am not, I do classify myself a Grammar Nazi… So please take this post with a grain of salt!
Since Twitter took off in late 2008/early 2009, a lot of people have been “twittering”, or “tweeting”. One thing that’s bugged me from the get go was the use of the word “tweet” and its variations. Since there aren’t any real grammatical rules set in stone for this particular er.. verb, I figured I’d come up with my own useage rules for tweeting.
For the sake of argument, let’s start with the root word, “tweet”. Since “tweet” is an actual English word, it’s easy to define it – as per dictionary.com.
Dictionary.com defines “Tweet” as:
- Noun
1. A weak chirping sound, as of a young or small bird.- Verb (used without object)
2. To make such a sound.
It goes on to define intransitive verbs (aka a verb which cannot be followed by a direct object) like tweeted, tweeting, and tweets.
Based on those definitions, it’s easy to define tweet within different actions:
- A tweet (noun): A 140 character (or less) message
- To tweet (verb): To create the 140 character (or less) message
- Tweeting (verb): The act of creating the 140 character (or less) message
- Tweeted (past tense verb): Used mostly to say someone created a 140 character (or less) message and broadcasted it to their followers
- Tweets (noun): The 140 character (or less) message
The problem I have with people putting on Social Media conferences is that they tend to refer to tweeting as “twittering.” I have a huge problem with this, not because it’s grammatically incorrect (you could probably add -ing to just about any verb to make it an action), but because it doesn’t roll off the tongue as nicely as “tweeting.” Twitter is a service. Tweets are messages. Tweeting is what you do. Not twittering!
Now that you’ve read my mini rant on the use of the word “twittering”, feel free to follow me on Twitter. I tweet daily, and they’re really interesting tweets to read!
5 Comments
I’m glad I could be a source of inspiration. On a side note, I wasn’t an English major. I had English Lit as my minor. I majored in Psychology.
Maybe Twittering is the collective use of making a 140 character post and tweeting refers to one individual. Just a thought!
If that were the case, then ‘facebooking’, ‘myspacing’ and ‘youtubing’ could be a verb, but they’re not. And if they were, they’d mean something completely different than ‘tweeting’. It’s like adding -ing to a brand or service. You don’t go “Fording”, you buy the car and you drive it. Another example: Spas. You don’t go ‘spa-ing’, you go to the spa. It’s an English grammar nuance that drives me nuts.
Oops, I shall make the change.
I think English is just one of those languages with a whole host of exceptions to the rules. It doesn’t all have to make sense, especially as language is intently changing and evolving. What was grammar like in Shakespearian time?