Friday, July 21, 2006
Is good grammar really that stuffy?
I'm addicted to Facebook. I fully admit that. Acceptance is the first step to recovery, yes?
I joined a group called "Good Grammar is Hot". Random capitalization aside, I found a home away from home in this group of 1000+ of grammar nerds (both English majors and non-majors) .
However, I also discovered a group of people who believe in good grammar only in formal circumstances. It's acceptable to have poor grammar on AIM, but not in a paper. You can ignore rules of capitalization in Facebook (a habit I really need to break), but not in an e-mail to your superiors.
I argued (shocking). I've said this before: people judge you based on how you speak and write. It's that simple. For the most part, I have no close friends who use "u" instead of "you" when talking on AIM. Now, granted, I do have snobby friends. Either way, though, you use the same keyboard to type everything. In my mind, there's no real reason not to write like an educated human being rather than an ignorant teenager. I know when I read an instant message that's grammatically correct, there is no question in my mind about the author's meaning. The subtle use of sarcasm and wit disappears when language becomes a code that only the well-versed in "AIMspeak" understand.
The posts after that implied that I'm a snob--that I take too much time typing and re-typing my blog posts (for instance) rather than just putting the words out there and hoping my meaning magically seeps into your brain. It doesn't, does it?
I'm making a new goal for myself: I will follow the rules of the English language so that I can be better understood. No more random capitalization. No more writing "youre" when I use the contraction of the words "you" and "are". It's a small contribution, but maybe I can inspire others to be better. Maybe, just maybe, the English language can be saved. But I'm only one man. Help me out here!
I joined a group called "Good Grammar is Hot". Random capitalization aside, I found a home away from home in this group of 1000+ of grammar nerds (both English majors and non-majors) .
However, I also discovered a group of people who believe in good grammar only in formal circumstances. It's acceptable to have poor grammar on AIM, but not in a paper. You can ignore rules of capitalization in Facebook (a habit I really need to break), but not in an e-mail to your superiors.
I argued (shocking). I've said this before: people judge you based on how you speak and write. It's that simple. For the most part, I have no close friends who use "u" instead of "you" when talking on AIM. Now, granted, I do have snobby friends. Either way, though, you use the same keyboard to type everything. In my mind, there's no real reason not to write like an educated human being rather than an ignorant teenager. I know when I read an instant message that's grammatically correct, there is no question in my mind about the author's meaning. The subtle use of sarcasm and wit disappears when language becomes a code that only the well-versed in "AIMspeak" understand.
The posts after that implied that I'm a snob--that I take too much time typing and re-typing my blog posts (for instance) rather than just putting the words out there and hoping my meaning magically seeps into your brain. It doesn't, does it?
I'm making a new goal for myself: I will follow the rules of the English language so that I can be better understood. No more random capitalization. No more writing "youre" when I use the contraction of the words "you" and "are". It's a small contribution, but maybe I can inspire others to be better. Maybe, just maybe, the English language can be saved. But I'm only one man. Help me out here!
Comments:
I don't think there's anything wrong with cutting corners, here and there. For example, when sending a text message, there's no need to spend time writing out "you", when a simple "u" will suffice.
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