I think we've all arrived at a very special place...spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically.
I was doing some preliminary research for a project when I came across this sentence:
So she went to the local community college and remembers that in some way she had become "less ambitious than when I was younger."
The first thing I noticed was the pronoun disagreement, but since I've not had any formal grammar training since 8th grade and wanted to be sure my suspicions about how to use brackets were accurate, I passed on the sentence to the trusty Green, asking if it was correct. Her response:
Absolutely not. I don't know where this writer got a degree, or what the copyeditor was thinking. Mixing up tenses and subject-verb agreement is something you should expect to get right by the time you leave elementary school. It should run:
So she went to the local community college and remembered that in some way she had become "less ambitious than when [she] was younger."
And even that is a sloppy sentence. This is why I quit journalism.
I busted out laughing when I realized that, in addition to the pronoun disagreement, the author managed to squeeze present tense, past tense, and past perfect all in one sentence. This was not just some blog post (I'm certainly not innocent there). This was a report of an empirical study, published in a peer-reviewed journal. What does that say about those who call themselves scholars?
How important is grammar, really? Should it be a basic expectation in any kind of scholarly communication? I think so, but I also feel that the disregard for correctness in writing in all places is diminishing the beauty of written communication. The above example is from 1995, so it has nothing to do with texting, tweeting, or internet communication in general. But Web 2.0 is certainly not helping the problem, when a blogger's foremost credential is how many readers they persuade to return from day to day.
So is the English language in danger? Probably not any more than it was when "ain't" was added to the dictionary. But such a disregard for quality writing--and editing--still irks me sometimes.
Oh, well. Some rules are stupid anyway, as evidenced by the frequent use of the "singular their" by Austen, Shakespeare, The King James Bible, and many many others.
posted by: | comments: 7
10 Jan 2010 11:04 pmcategories: Life observations
I meant for the "singular their" to be linked here: http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/austheir.html, but it seems we can only edit comments--not rants!
Actually, you should be able to edit your rant without problem. I'll look into it.
I do not feel that grammar should be a basic expectation in any kind of scholarly communication. Rather, I believe that correct grammar should be a basic expectation in any kind of written communication.
Is the English language in danger? No. It is a living language, and it is changing. While I resist many of the changes, the fact remains that it will not stay static. Who knows what it may eventually become? But I, for one, will certainly do my best to follow the rules of usage and grammar and always strive to augment my vocabulary.
Oh, I didn't know you were going to quote me on that. People always tend to want to quote me. I wonder why.
I will say that I have no grudge against the singular their. I do not allow my students to get away with using it in their essays. Yet, it seems to be a lot of trouble to go to when you have to rephrase everything. In my Grammar for English Majors class (which sounds quite dull but was in reality very entertaining) we discussed the line of several English language scholars who believe that we should simply invent a new word to be used in situations like that. Now, wouldn't that be fun? If only they could just agree on a word, and they haven't. And even if they did, how would they publicize it?
I just don't know.
As long as you put your apostrophes in the right place, I won't think any less of you.
You know, you'd think my English would be better now that I'm teaching it in a foreign country, but now it's just screwed. Every time I hear something that sounds wrong, I have to cross check it with British English. Like the word revision. It took me forever to realize that I wasn't being asked to completely rewrite my lesson plans, I was being asked to go over previous material, or in other words review.
But I'm always amazed at how incorrect grammar is being taught across the board because most Czechs have been learning from other Czechs. The one that drives me insane is how they use the word until. "Please have that form returned until Friday." BY, BY, you mean return it BY Friday!!!!
I can't correct anyone anymore because now I question how well I know the language.
Happy birthday, Janeheiress. I think you should celebrate with a fancy dinner. After all, it isn't everyday that a girl turns 32!
If you're going to err on my age, it would be a little more polite to say I'm 24, wouldn't it?
And my roomie is making manicotti for dinner tonight. I haven't had it in at least 10 years, so I'm excited!
Oh my. Did I say 32? It must have just slipped. I am chagrined. I stand corrected. You are every minute of 24 years.
I need reconcile myself to the notion that I have a lifetime of being malapropos ahead of me.