[Vision2020] Grammar

[Melynda Huskey]

Tim asks some interesting questions about grammar--I know, I know, there are 
people reading this who can't imagine an interesting question about grammar, 
but once an English teacher, always an English teacher.

>I'd like to know if others think it's ok to criticize someone's grammar, 
>and
>under what conditions. I'd like to know if people who receive criticism
>might appreciate it, if it is done discreetly, and for that matter, how one
>might do it discreetly.

Grammar is a signifier of social class.  It can tell us how seriously we 
have to take someone's utterances.  Setting aside spoken English (even the 
President's) for the moment, which has a whole bunch of other issues 
connected with it, I think grammar establishes credibility.

For example, I recently received an email from a senior UI administrator 
which was almost illiterate.  Subjects were separated from verbs with 
commas, a male graduate was referred to as an alumnae (the feminine plural 
form), words were misspelled . . . it wouldn't have passed muster as a 
freshman composition paper.  This administrator was representing the 
University, making an official comment on a policy matter to me, an alumna 
and taxpayer.  The bad grammar and carelessness of the communication cast 
doubt on the competence of the administrator and on the institution that 
elevated that person to a position of power.  In an institution of higher 
ed, you'd like to think that the professors were educated people, not hacks.

On V2020, there's a lot more leeway; we're here for the fun (!) of it.  An 
error or two in a message probably doesn't even register with most readers.  
But there are messages which are really hindered by the grammatical and 
mechanical errors in them (are you listening, Rose?)--and it's easy to 
dismiss the content, fairly or unfairly, if the mechanics are weak.

Melynda Huskey

P.S.  Formal grammar instruction, interestingly, has not been shown to 
improve students' use of correct grammar in writing.  Reading--lots of 
unrestricted reading for pleasure--is the best predictor of good grammar.  
No Child Left Behind has nearly ended the opportunity for students to read 
freely as part of their instruction--remember SSR?--which should lead to a 
decline in scores on standardized tests.

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