Thursday, October 15, 2009

Why has the average American become so lazy about grammar?

A lot of people do not care if they use the wrong form of there or your or its... but I do. I care very much. Then there's the than and then issue and the fact that alot is not a word. Alot is a word the way corn is a vegetable... just because most people think it's right doesn't make it so. It looks right (to you), no one ever said any different and well... it's easier that way. Easier is usually wrong, the public school system taught us all that, if nothing else (I went to public school and I got a great education, but that's because my mother cared about my education and she made it important to me... but that is for a different blog entirely).

I can go on and on with examples of how grammar is butchered in society today, I really could, but I think you get my point. It would take an extra second of thought to say or write the correct thing. And don’t go throwing the whole education crap at me… it just means your lackadaisical attitude started in the 2nd grade and that, my friend, is your own damn fault. Speaking correctly, communicating well, and being understood clearly have always been important to me and should be to you. So maybe it boils down to priorities?

It has been said that people that read on a consistent basis have better communication skills than those who do not, as they are exposed to the proper use of the English language more often. “Me and Joe are going to the store…” should be “Joe and I are going to the store.” My mother taught me a trick when I was younger and I am going to let you in on it; take away the other person and say it the way you would say it if it were just you and that is the proper way to say it. And then the order… always say everyone else before the pronoun that signifies you, it is just proper etiquette, as well as proper English, at that point. That brings to mind the effect of affecting, effect is a noun (think special effect) and affect is a verb (that affected me), if you remember that then it should make it easier to use the right one.

I am not even going to get into punctuation this go round…

Laziness has become part of our culture and we are raising a nation of grammatically lazy children that will grow up and have to compete globally.  How can we, as a country, be a voice in the world if that voice is illiterate?

10 comments:

  1. Bom dia amiga
    Bendito seja o SENHOR JESUS DEUS de ISRAEL e nosso Salvador.

    Que DEUS nos dê sbedoria para descobrir o correto, a vontade para elegê-lo e a força para fazer ue seja duradouro.

    [freses bonitas]

    _______________________________________________

    Vigilância:

    Mas o dia do SENHOR virá como o ladrão de noite no qual,os céus passarão com grande estrondo, e os elementos ardendo, se desfarão,e a terra e as obras que nela há se quiemarão.
    [ 1 Pedro cap 3]

    A paz de Jesus o todo poderoso.
    Meu nome -Geraldo Barreto da Silva
    Daiamntina-BRSAIL

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  2. As Americans, are we 'allowed' to begin a sentance with And...??? Just askin'....hehe.

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  3. is that a god comment up there?

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  4. I can't speak for everyone but early in my academic career, I resented thwe hell out of having to take english every year of high school. I mean, what the fuck, we speak english. Anyway, maybe that's why my grammer is so bad. I tuned out by 10th grade.

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  5. ...my point, the written word is an expression of who we are, as is the spoken word, we have 'licence' to express ourselves in 'freedom'. This is America. We americans have been choosing ourselves to hell in a handbasket. We choose to allow ourselves to be taught 'proper' ways of doing things...but what is the standard? Your Mama would be a good 'standard setter'...too bad you had her all to yourself. That guy Steve could have benefited from her teaching and encouragement.

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  6. im better then you because your not as cool as me.

    ¿que?

    BTW ash, I think this is just me, but when posting a comment i can't paste things into the comment field, I can't navigate using the arrow buttons, and I can't use the home or end buttons either...any chance you can fix that?

    CHOP CHOP! ;-)

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  7. Yes...you can start a sentence with "And" whilst still employing proper English. There are many "rules" that aren't really accurate...many of which are taught to grade school children. In the end, the most important thing is that you're conveying your message clearly and avoiding distracting grammatical errors that may confuse the reader. It's okay to start a sentence with a conjunction, such as "and" or "but," and it's okay to end a sentence with a prepositions such as "with" or "from." Often, clarity is better preserved employing those methods and often clarity is lost by avoiding them.

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