In reading the Big Bad Book Blog, I’ve discovered that many literate, educated, and otherwise intelligent people are perfectly fine with the continued bastardization of the English language.
Apparently, I was lied to by my English teachers, through grammar, secondary, and post-secondary schools. (Please note what “elementary” school is often called.) Apparently it is perfectly acceptable for writers and speakers of the English language to:
- Begin sentences with a conjunction. (Please note that the very etymology of the word “conjunction” refers to the joining two items, not hanging around one.)
- End sentences in prepositions, simply because they do in other Germanic languages.
- Split infinitives.
My problem with the above isn’t in that I was taught these things and now I have to “un-learn” them, it is that our language is dying. It is changing and morphing, just as any good language should, yes, but it is not moving in a forward fashion: it is moving backwards. It is acceptable to say things now where before writers and speakers would have been shunned. By employing the “cheats” above, the speaker and/or writer will sound uneducated. The reason? It is okay to break grammar rules if you know what the rules are and why you’re breaking them. My guess is that someone who learned the rules of English grammar would have a hard time breaking these rules with the exception of for the purpose of creativity (such as fiction novel, blog post, song lyric, etc.).
Knowing the rules of grammar enabled me to learn both German and Italian with relative ease (though I have since lost some of my language proficiency due to lack of practice, at one point I was a proficient speaker and writer in both these languages). Those learning ESL will learn to speak English far better than the majority of the American population, because they learn the rules. From where those rules originated is a moot point.
It is absolutely no wonder why worldwide we are ranked 17th for science (about where we’re at in reading and math as well) , far behind other countries. It is also absolutely no wonder why most foreign nations have no respect for us. We are truly a stupid nation.
4 Comments
December 14, 2007 at 5:40 am
Now, is that last statement really necessary, considering the individual that lives in our White House??
*shaking head at blatant obviosity* LOL!
As for the bastardization thingee, I dunno, I kinda like it. AND, what can I say, I’m from the South, destruction of the English language is a warm fuzzy for me
B’sides, I’m one of those creative, freedom-lovin’ folk who feels rigid rules are for rigid peoplez…funnily enough, we Gumby types love to make ‘em snap, lol
Sorry, cain’t hep it
December 14, 2007 at 2:00 pm
‘Tis true. Forgive me for stating the obvious:)
For many years I was a big fan of the lack of capitalization (for creative purposes–I would intentionally leave the pronoun “I” lowercase if and when it didn’t warrant the “weight” that capitalization lent it). As I’ve grown older, I’ve tried to use the power of diction in lieu of the capitalization tool, and I think it’s made my writing stronger.
Some rules are made to be broken, and others not. My brother-in-law is unaware of the proper use of the past-tense of “see.” Whenever he relays information about the past he says “I seen them” (or it, or what have you). After nearly ten years, I still cringe when I hear it. But, we continue to incorporate new and “correct” words into our language, and that is how a language grows and mutates. “Google” is now a verb–I hate it, but yet find myself using it. It is officially recognized as a word–that’s why we have committees for that sort of thing
December 14, 2007 at 2:47 pm
“I still cringe when I hear it.”
Oh lordy, that would make me cringe too, lol
But I have to admit, sometimes I enjoy saying, “I googled.”
Where do they get all those wun-duh-ful wuds? *said with mad look of Jack’s Joker dude (Batman)* hehe
January 23, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I cringe at the very thought of atrocious grammar, improperly formed sentences, and the blatant disregard for even the most simplistic rules of the written word.
However, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful things about the English language is that it is an evolving, living entity.
We don’t speak or write Shakespeare’s English and I am so thankful for it!
That being said, I must unwillingly admit as a society our use of the English language has become more than lax.
What does that say about our culture and society? If, as you say, our use of the English language “is moving backwards”, is our country also being sucked into this downward spiral?