I dislike people who are grammar purists, who quibble over
“who” and “whom.” or over “that” and “which.” (This is mostly because I have
trouble with these myself.)
But when people can’t tell the difference between “to” and
“too” and “two,” or between “their” and “they’re,” or “its” and “it’s,” I get a
little riled up.
So I suppose I’m one of those damned grammar purists too.
I am on the Internet a lot, and I see the way people write.
I know how spell-check works, and I am very
forgiving as a result. But there’s no possible way that spell-check can change
“their” into “they’re.”
Well, what’s the difference? Our ancestors didn’t worry much
about spelling. Well, I say, they had an excuse
to write phonetically. We, having gone to Modern Schools, don’t have that
excuse.
This
is exactly the point made by Michael Skapinker in a recent Financial Times
article. We can speak however we wish, in any circumstance. But if we want
a good job, or a position of responsibility, we need to be able to speak Proper English (with grammar rules and
everything) upon command. We need to be able to write memos in it, and letters,
and spell correctly.
Skapinker makes a couple of other good points too: grammar
is a good mental exercise, rather like logic, and helps us speak and think more
clearly. This is also a good argument for learning a foreign language: it makes
you think about grammar in the abstract, with rules different from those you
grew up with, and allows you to switch back and forth because it’s natural to do so.
(I knew merchants in the Tunis medina who were able to
cajole and haggle in six languages. I was walking through the medina with a
Hawaiian friend when one of the local merchants yelled “Konichi-wa!” at us, and we both laughed. “That’s
because of you,” I said. “They know a little Japanese. But I bet we’ll never
hear Chinese.” And just as I said it, one of the local merchants yelled out: “Ni
hou ma!” And we both laughed like hell.)
Language is a tool, and grammar is a tool. Learn them, and
learn to use them cleverly, and they will take you a long way.
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