Grammar: National hotlines


in-nuce.com AP Language hotline
Well, is this the bee’s knees, or what? Because internet access is available to much of the public through libraries, schools, and home, I had assumed that call-in hotlines were pretty much a thing of the past.

Not so

While the New York Times reports that 98 percent of American homes have access to a high-speed internet connection, 20 percent of the population, for whatever reason, does not feel comfortable navigating the web. 

And while I’m grateful for the remarkable surfeit of information readily available online, I have to admit that there are times that I would much rather ask questions of a real person—assuming, of course, that they know what they’re talking about.

So for all you grammar geeks, here is some good news:

There are knowledgeable professionals out there
ready and willing to deal with your
messy grammatical minutia issues
.

Sleep well tonight knowing that if you’ve got a grammar question, you can phone it in. And apparently you’ve been able to do so for the last thirty years. Where have I been?

Go ahead, google “grammar hotline,” and see what comes up. Or cut to the chase and visit the website of the Official Grammar Hotline Directory, created and maintained by Tidewater Community College in Virginia.

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