Let me start this post by giving my readers a little bit of background on myself. I was raised by an English Major. As such, my reading, writing, and grammar quickly excelled beyond my grade level, despite dyslexia. It was never forced on me, beyond the normal childhood concept of preferring to go play rather than doing my homework. However, I was raised to do tasks well.
I have always had a bit of a fascination with languages, dialects, and accents. I know some might hold strong counter-opinions to this concept, but when I read Brian Jacques’ books growing up and when revisiting them now, I thoroughly enjoy reading and hearing, with my mind’s ear, the mole speech, which is almost like another language until you learn how they speak.
There is one thing that gets my goat about modern writing. When I see the breaking of very simple grammar rules, worse, when I see these very simple grammar rules being broken more and more frequently, it simply astounds me. Yet, there are still proofreaders, and there are still editors. If there are no grammar rules and anything goes, why do these jobs still exist? If there are no grammar rules, there should be no software, no apps for grammar checking, and no job descriptions which include fixing other people’s grammar. Why are there still articles and studies being distributed which show that bad grammar makes others think poorly of you? This situation seems to be a near paradox.
Involved in this paradox are articles on writing, which criticize and belittle those who use good grammar. I would like to pose a question. Should people be belittled for doing a good job or is that simply a way for those who do a poor job to make sure no one shows them up? Comment below.
I believe there are a couple of problems. One is the idea that we should formulate the written word the same way in which we speak it. I think I hardly need to point out how atrociously sloppy the spoken word can be. I know that I, for one, when I speak, tend to use very poor grammar. We do not think before we speak in order to formulate our sentences properly. This has been going on for so long that we now believe that this is the way in which the English language is spoken. This is not the case. The truth is that English speakers have simply become lazy and careless. I’m sure we have all heard the term “Think before you speak.” It is something that is not occurring as a general rule.
This sloppy English, or Sloplish, as I would like to call it, (let me know below what you think of the word) is now becoming the way we write. In the not too distant past, even if people spoke with poor grammar, failing to think their sentences through before the words came out of their mouths, writing was held at a higher standard. Writing is made to last, while speech is to convey meaning here and now. The written word gives time, and takes away many of the excuses for not thinking. Even if you write as fast as you can to get thoughts down as they come to you, therefore neglecting sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation, there is a process called … editing. The editing process is specifically for the purpose of polishing the written word. Why then, are we not seeing evidence of this polishing going on? What are your thoughts?
I believe that the human species should take a leaf from the Entish (the Tree Herders from Lord of the Rings) branch and consider that if something is worth saying, it is worth taking a long time to say it.
There are, of course, variables and degrees. I would hope that we would not go to the extreme of taking an entire day to decide that Hobbits are not Orks. Though, who of us would not argue, that with red tape being what it is, this extreme is already being practiced in modern society? Problems with society as a whole, however, are beyond the scope of this post.
Good things take time. Good writing should as well. However, we can speed up the process, to some degree, by simply going back and relearning our grammar and sentence structure. I think a good place to start would be Grammar-Land by M. L. Nesbit. It starts the reader out at an elementary level thus solidifying the building blocks of all grammar, the parts of speech. This may seem far too basic, but, remember, reviewing the basics makes sure that we do not neglect the basics. If you already know the information, well and good, but now you have just made that knowledge stronger. Besides, Grammar-Land is a fun read. (Please note that Grammar-Land was written in the late 1800s. As such, some of the world views mentioned in the book are outdated and misguided. A good rule of thumb is “Take the best and leave the rest.”)
In conclusion of my first point, one of the difficulties is a combination of laziness and carelessness, as well as a desire for instant gratification. This is one of the downfalls of NaNoWriMo, which makes people believe they should be able to get a novel written in a month. While one might be able to get the rough first draft written in one month, if one has the month to devote almost solely to the novel, it will not be something worth reading without, sometimes extensive, editing. Our modern culture encourages, throwing something together without thought or care, and then expecting others to sing praises over the result.
The second problem, I believe, is that many of us have either not been properly taught, or simply not taught in a way that will help us learn. In many cases, rules are simply thrown at us, and we are told, “learn them” or “just do it.” If you were able to learn like that; fine. If not; too bad. There are many brains that will not learn that way. I would like to propose that most brains do not learn that way, at least not for proper retention. This sort of learning might, and I repeat, might, obtain good test scores, but once the test is over, what was learned quickly fades. Yes, I have seen real life instances, and I am not the only person who acknowledges this tendency.
“What’s the big deal?” you might ask. It is clear, when people slop together a project, that they really didn’t care. When you, as a reader, pick up a book, wouldn’t you rather it be a book that the author actually cared about? I have picked up several books that made me feel as though the author didn’t consider me, as a reader, or the story they were telling, worth much effort. I have read books where the author didn’t bother to collect their thoughts and so wrote in a jumble that was difficult to decipher. In both cases, I am offended that the author expects me to waste my time in reading something that they didn’t think was worth their own time to write well. In both cases, I tend to end my reading sessions tired and sometimes confused. In both cases, I tend to put the book down and not finish reading.
This is, obviously, not what we want our writing to produce in our readers. If we value our writing and our readers, we should make it clear through our writing. With this in mind, I intend to write some blog posts on different aspects of grammar. This way, we can make good grammar more second nature so that editing is less of a problem for us. This way, as we write, we will have more time to enjoy the wonder.
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