Englishing Good

An Ode Obituary to Grammar

The effects of technology, social media, and mobile devices on the English language are by no means a secret. However, despite the fact that we primarily communicate using acronyms, Emojis, and limited punctuation, I had managed to convince myself that it didn't make much of a difference to 'real life'.

As a perfectionist that excels in attention to detail, I thrive when given rules and formulas to work within (and while the English language has numerous exceptions to every rule, I seem to have associated spelling, grammar and sentence structure with a strangely mathematical sense of right and wrong). I'm the kind of person that can't leave spelling or grammatical mistakes unfixed. At the risk of sounding like an absolute snob, I also notice errors in other people's works: whether books, emails, websites or text messages, it really irks me. The best part is that I am relatively young and tech-savvy - exactly the demographic of 'young people these days' that 'don't care about good English anymore.'

The point being that I utilise my proofreading skills for what I believed was the betterment of human communication.

HOWEVER

You know that feeling you get when you used to believe in something strongly, but now that belief is slowly wavering? That's what's happening to me. A series of events has left me questioning whether there is even any point anymore. I hope it's something that others can empathise with, because I'm struggling to process it.

The apathy

When I left the academic environment of university and entered the workforce, I had a sudden realisation that high (read: perfect) standards of spelling and grammar were not the norm. Not only were my proofreading skills less common than I thought, but very few people could be bothered correcting spelling errors (let alone grammar) unless it was an official publication. I couldn't, and still cannot, understand how people can knowingly send typos in emails to their co-workers, or leave them in all but the final version of any document; but nevertheless they do. I should be thankful, of course, that my pedantry was (generally) considered an asset to the company's brand. However, I did initially notice that very few others believed in the importance of grammar and sentence structure, in particular. When there was a sentence that needed structural revision and I asked for advice from those I was working with (either because I couldn't figure out how to improve it, or because I wanted to find the optimal solution that maintained the meaning and readability of the text whilst having minimal impact on any space or layout constraints), most people would just shrug their shoulders.

The stereotypes

Those few that were all for spelling, grammar, and even consistency, were (jokingly, of course) labelled as 'old people' (in my case, 'old person in a young person's body'). While the banter didn't bother me, it did drive home the point that this obsession with syntax was considered unusual, and almost archaic, and it eroded my confidence in the essential nature of good grammar from a marketing perspective.

And being stereotyped as a snob wasn't really ideal either.
(For the record, even if I am a grammar snob, I'm not a snob with many other things)

The experts

What further eroded my confidence was the realisation that our supposed digital marketing specialists also didn't seem to care about good grammar. It was at that point that I seriously started doubting.

The icing on the cake was when our copywriter, again apparently a marketing expert, wanted to try something new to target 'the younger generation'. I took one look at it and groaned. My co-worker asked me if I realised that 'marketing grammar' was very different to 'grammar in, say, an essay'. Apparently, grammar often went out the window in order to allow for effective marketing for the younger demographics: it was more about writing things as you would say them rather than as you would read them.

A caveat

Now, full disclosure, I am not a marketing expert (in fact, I consider my knowledge of the subject to be on par with a lay person, if that). However, as a young person myself, I questioned whether this really was effective marketing. Either way, wasn't it a false dichotomy? Shouldn't we be aiming for both good marketing and good grammar?

And so the doubt continued to creep in...

More apathy

Totally unrelated was a realisation that I had been spelling a particular word one way without realising that there was a different spelling which, according to everyone's favourite search engine, was the preferred spelling. When I asked various friends which spelling they believed was correct, the overwhelming majority said:

Doesn't matter, either is fine

The spelling that I hadn't been using (and had only recently been made aware of) came in at a close second, way ahead of what was previously my preferred spelling.

I understand that some words have regional variations or multiple valid spellings; however, given the history of the word in question and the sources of the two versions, I was more confused by the lack of preference from friends that I considered to be lovers of the English language and/or grammar snobs.

The confusion

I am fully aware that language is dynamic and constantly evolving. When people complain about English being misused I do see the other side of it - that language conventions arise from preferences (among other things) and therefore change when usage and needs do. However, I don't believe this is a question of what is right and wrong in the English language; it's a question of is there a right and wrong. Or perhaps more specifically, does it matter if we do English wrong? The nature of the conventions is not a concern to me. What is is the lack of adherence to the conventions, to the point where they are not seen as a necessary part of good communication. If this is where English is heading, so be it. But then what is the point of conventions? And why are some adhered to more than others? Will this hierarchy of importance give way to the phasing out of 'less important' conventions, or will it lead to the whole system being overhauled?

The point

And so I come to my main question: what should I do?

Should I continue striving for ideal grammar?
How do I know what this 'ideal grammar' is if my standards are different to others'?
What's the point?

Should I adopt the grammatical apathy of those around me?
What about spelling and other language conventions?
What's the point?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this topic as I have lots of questions but not many answers!