I am a firm believer in the power of clear communication. I have seen it land jobs, repair relationships, teach others and sway large audiences. Many of us have heard the phrase that knowledge is power, and without going into an extensive exploration of postmodernism and the allusive concept of knowledge, i feel that knowledge of the English language can lead to higher levels of respect and appreciation.
On 7 September 2007, The Age published an article by David Campbell titled; Bad English, bad grammar, bad manners. Given my love for the intricacies of the English language, this article immediately caught my attention. This article is primarily written about the spelling and grammatical errors of British university students. Perhaps one of the more interesting points in the article is the finger pointing to modern technology as a catalyst for the demise of correct English usage.
The article suggests that with the use of instant messaging services, networking sites, blogs and the idea of instant ’self-publishing’ has created a loss of respect and understanding for appropriate English spelling and grammar. In a high speed environment, it seems as if high speed responses are more important than accuracy, and consequently users are becoming lazy, careless and inconsiderate.
Although this topic deserves much more exploration, i just want to put it out there… Is language evolving with the Internet or deteriorating? Should language be as adaptable as the environment in which it exists? Is it still important to abide by traditional language rules of accurate spelling and grammar? Finally, does bad English really result in bad manners?
June 11, 2008 at 1:09 am
I don’t know about the connection between bad English and bad manners, but I do know that technology isn’t entirely to blame for the deterioration of the language.
I’ve read many high school and undergrad essays, as well as unedited book manuscripts in my time, and there has always been people who can’t spell or don’t understand grammar or have trouble getting their thoughts into coherent sentences on the page. (And a whole lot of them were around long before SMS.)
In my opinion, the problem lies not with mobile phones or blogs or whatever, but in the classroom. My generation was taught no grammar beyond nouns and verbs. And now that we’re teachers, we have no idea how to teach grammar to the kids we’re responsible for.
The surrounding environment of shortcuts and speed no doubt has its influence. But I really think if kids were taught the rules properly from the beginning, breaking them wouldn’t be such a big deal.
June 13, 2008 at 2:52 am
I think this is a valid and important thought. I’m sure that a lot of problems do begin in the classroom. However, even classroom teachings are shifting due to developing technologies, with a lot of tutorials and assignments being submitted online. Sadly, teaching is no longer a profession that attracts some of the nations brightest students. I suppose this is why teachers have been asking for more pay, and why the government has implemented initiatives to attract young people to teaching as a career path. If teachers were payed more, perhaps the brighter students would be more inclined to teach, which means that students will be educated by high-quality teachers.
Furthermore, I know a lot of people who have trouble spelling, and quite often they blame spell-checkers, as the computer essentially corrects a lot of mistakes and users do not necessarily pay attention to the changes. Our relience and dependency on computer technology began long before the Internet.
But i have had a thought about the evolution of language. In the days of Shakespeare, they did not even have dictionaries or precise methods/rules for grammar. So perhaps the rules of the English language actually intensified for a period, and now, in an era of digital communication technologies the rules are being ‘loosened’ yet again. Also, in a ‘global’ environment, spelling and grammatical rules are less clearly definable as different countries use slightly different forms of english ie. Color (US), Colour (Aust/Eng).
So, i suppose ‘bad english, bad grammar’ can be attributed to education, instant digital communication technologies, and society’s push as communities develop and organise their own rules.
July 30, 2008 at 8:07 am
Select the correct sentence?
Q – 1> (a) Take two copies of each.
(b) Take two copy of each.
Q – 2> (a) Take two copies.
(b) Take two copy.