Here is one of my occasional grammar rants. Only this time, it is in a written form, for the first time. I am not a philologist by education, and I cannot say I always speak correctly. Probably no one does. However, when it comes to my native language, Serbian, I tend to try to be as accurate and correct as possible. As with every language, there is a varying discrepancy between the spoken and the written form, depending on the language and especially on the generation using the language. My generation, from my experience, is not the worst when it comes to the use of our language, but it is far from the best. As with everything else, there are notable exceptions in both camps. This bland rant is about a topic that can sometimes exasperate me because of its widespread occurrence in my language.

I must inform You, the reader of this article, that without at least an intermediate understanding of Serbian, you probably will not understand much about why this bothers me and what this article means. Therefore, I am writing this "heads up" warning so that you do not have to waste your time on this text anymore. If you, in fact, intend to continue reading, then I wish you a good read and thank you.

Phrases such as "Contact us" or "Contact me" are commonly seen on web pages written in English. There is nothing wrong with them, as far as English is concerned, and I have no problem with them. However, I have a problem with the most common use of incorrect translations of those phrases in Serbian.

Whenever I see a website in Serbian which has a page with contact information or a contact form, it is usually titled with the phrase "Kontaktirajte nas" or "Kontaktirajte me". I get very upset when I see this. The verb "kontaktirati" (to contact) cannot be used in this form. Saying "Kontaktirajte me" is just as incorrect as saying "Pričajte me" or "Hodajte me". Instead, it should be "Kontaktirajte sa mnom" or "Kontaktirajte sa nama", just as it is "Pričajte sa mnom", "Pričajte sa nama", "Hodajte sa mnom" or "Hodajte sa nama".

It really is not that hard to remember, and it is very easy to correct. Unfortunately, I see many new websites pop up with the contact page having a title or a part of it saying "Kontaktirajte nas" instead of "Kontaktirajte sa nama" and it annoys me.

If you are a Serbian language speaker or are learning Serbian, please remember to say "kontaktiraj sa mnom" instead of "kontaktiraj me". The verb "kontaktirati" is used differently in this situation. Ask yourself a question: "Sa kime treba da konktaktiram?" instead of "Koga treba da kontaktiram?" and you will not make this common mistake.

Thank you for taking the time to read my rant on this topic. Until next time, feel free to "get in contact with me" if you have any questions.