I don't let a deaf person's grammar bother me. But if it does get to a point where it interferes with that person's views and way of life, then I don't want to associate myself with that person.
I've dealt with people whose grammar was so bad that communication was nearly impossible. There was one girl I saw at a local Taco Bell who had difficulty ordering her food. She didn't understand "without". So, she would use "no with" instead. She also didn't understand half of the menu because it was written in English, not ASL.
When the worker wrote down "what would you like to order?" She got mad and said, "no order. want eat." The worker was puzzled, but got the idea. She then wrote down "5 no with tomato." The worker rang her up for Combo #5 with tomato included. When her food arrived, she yelled at the worker for giving her tomato. Since I was behind her, I happened to see the whole argument. I got tired of seeing the argument and decided to help out. She showed me the paper and I had to sign to her a few times before I could figure out what was going on.
She was trying to say "Combo #5 without tomatoes." The worker saw "5 no" and thought she meant "Number 5" since "no" also means "number". If she had said "5 no tomato", he would have understood it. But she included "with", it made the comment more confusing.
When I signed "So, you asked for Combo #5 without tomato?" She got mad at me because she said she didn't want tomatoes. That's where it was confusing for me cuz I did say "without". After a few tries, I pointed out that "without" is the opposite of "with".
At the end, Taco Bell apologized and gave her extra tacos WITHOUT tomatoes.
I also have some friends who don't have good grammar, but they're kind and patient enough to understand when someone else is frustrated and they're willing to try and work it out. Those are the ones I'm willing to put up with.
