My language peeve has more to do with how words are pronounced. In the south, I seem to frequently hear the word "ask" spoken as "axe". It is an easy word that needs to be pronounced correctly.
Probably not, directly, it's "Ebonics". Frequently heard amongst the street folks in Chicago. They use the phrase often while holding barbecue parties in drained swimming pools. I'm serious. My co-worker at Sears, Karl Deffenbaugh, witnessed the feat next door to him.
Soon after I moved from Manchester UK to Birmingham UK as a student I went to the outdoor market and decided to buy some cheese. I asked for some Cheddar and what I heard in reply was "Strong or boiled?" It made no sense to me. This is more or less how the conversation progressed : Me : Pardon Cheese seller : Strong or boiled? Me: Strong or boiled? CS : Yes. Silence Silence CS : Do you want strong or boiled? Me: I'm not sure, I've never had boiled cheese. CS: Strong then? Me: Do you have mild? CS: Yes! Boiled! Brummies with a strong local accent really do sound like they're saying "boiled" when they're saying"mild". Similarly, they say "lung" for "long", "loik" for "like", "sumthink" for "something" , "poi" for "pie", "cluck" for "clock", "toylit" for "toilet", "I ent got nun" for "I haven't got any" ....... think Ozzy Osborne.....
I hate when people say I seen, instead of I've seen, or I saw, this is one very common in the U.S. To me, who ever says it sounds like a complete dunderhead. Some people who are otherwise intelligent insist on using this glaring grammatical error though. I don't like obvious spelling mistakes either, they can be grating, although I realize, I may be calling the kettle black on this one!! I prefer to refer to them as "typos."
This isn't a peeve exactly, but does anyone know when it became acceptable to put the dollar sign on the opposite side of the number? I've noticed this for a few years, and it still looks weird.
One that irks me, connected to 'back in the day,' is 'back in YOUR day'- like 'Were you popular, back in your day?' Hey, I'm still alive&kickin', so this is 'my day,' too!
I feel your pain, though the particular example you use, "he or she" is something for which I have found a solution. I write "s/he," as in "When a person hits a home run, s/he should toss the bat to the ground and run like heck!"