Several years ago I was a writing tutor at the writing center of a university. I was horrified to learn that my job was not to help people learn how to avoid grammar errors. The sole purpose of my job was to assist students in learning to communicate clearly; grammar corrections were to be avoided unless there were regular problems distracting from the student clearly communicating.
I did my job as I was told, but I resisted the concept about that clarity and perfect grammar didn't go hand in hand. I "knew" deep in my heart that grammatically correct writing created the clearest, easiest to read documents. Interestingly, I continued to avoid worrying about that in my everyday life. My personal emails, blog, and texts continued to be filled with typographical errors, grammar mistakes, ramblings, and other problems. I type quickly and skim too much in my personal writing. I use virtual keyboards with badly trained autocorrect functions. I do all these things while expecting others to follow the rules.
Requiring perfect grammar is snobby; it is a way for me to say that I know something you don't know. Believing that my highly educated grammar and writing skills are best provides an opportunity to mock those who didn't receive our education and to treat people who aren't "in the know" with scorn. Insisting that all interactions be completed with "proper" grammar places folks who use English as a second language at a disadvantage to me. As a feminist grammar snob, I've fought the gender imbalance in grammar and believe strongly in the concept of using "they" in the singular, but I've continued using our grammar requirements as part of maintaining a power imbalance. I've demonstrated my inherent racism in our language. While I haven't purchased the app, I've used grammar to separate out who I talk to OKC and avoided folks who type quickly or on virtual keyboards because typographical errors and autocorrect mistakes screw with our typing. I've let my grammar separate me from others.
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| Gee, what a thing to be proud of. |
I did my job as I was told, but I resisted the concept about that clarity and perfect grammar didn't go hand in hand. I "knew" deep in my heart that grammatically correct writing created the clearest, easiest to read documents. Interestingly, I continued to avoid worrying about that in my everyday life. My personal emails, blog, and texts continued to be filled with typographical errors, grammar mistakes, ramblings, and other problems. I type quickly and skim too much in my personal writing. I use virtual keyboards with badly trained autocorrect functions. I do all these things while expecting others to follow the rules.
Requiring perfect grammar is snobby; it is a way for me to say that I know something you don't know. Believing that my highly educated grammar and writing skills are best provides an opportunity to mock those who didn't receive our education and to treat people who aren't "in the know" with scorn. Insisting that all interactions be completed with "proper" grammar places folks who use English as a second language at a disadvantage to me. As a feminist grammar snob, I've fought the gender imbalance in grammar and believe strongly in the concept of using "they" in the singular, but I've continued using our grammar requirements as part of maintaining a power imbalance. I've demonstrated my inherent racism in our language. While I haven't purchased the app, I've used grammar to separate out who I talk to OKC and avoided folks who type quickly or on virtual keyboards because typographical errors and autocorrect mistakes screw with our typing. I've let my grammar separate me from others.
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| Capitalism and grammar! |
Grammar books and dictionaries are written by highly educated individuals who want to tell the rest of us how things should be done. Why is it that I've been so willing to just go along with the crap they tell me? Heck, they don't agree anyway - MLA, AP, Chicago, NYT, Washington Post, TRB, etc. They all have their own style guides because they want things done 'their" way and not the way the others insist upon. Plus, they are updated regularly with changes, too!
Why on earth have I been saying, "Gotta follow the rules," when the rules change, albeit at a slower pace than language itself does. This has been a slow journey for me. Writing is a form of communication. It should be enjoyed and praised and used in whatever manner best increases our ability to talk to one another.
Now my preachy grammar ideas are leaning the other way, and so I'm getting preachy on the other side of the line. Apparently, I just like to judge people.
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