Questions for a Language Ninja: Is grammar important, really?
Question: Ninja, tell me truly. Is grammar important, really?
Answer: Yes, of course! With a caveat.
See, grammar exists as a structure for the efficient communication of ideas. When we uniformly accept the common standards for a particular language, we are able to say what we mean and mean what we say. However, humans made the rules, and humans can gosh-darned well break them, too. Screw you, academia!
Language is Fluid
Language is fluid; usages change and we may even begin to use basic terms in radically different ways. The word hack may seem innocuous enough, but there are no less than seven common definitions for this one little term, and we aren’t even counting the archaic falconry and cheese-making associations (“I’m still hacking[1] up my lungs from when I had to hack[2] my way out of my burning apartment with a Rachel Ray kitchen knife, after that hack[3] who hacked[4] into my life-hack[5] website dropped a lit joint on my shag carpet, then called a hack[6] and fled because he couldn’t hack[7] it”).
There is also an element of group-think when it comes to using language (well, duh). One term could have multiple meanings or appropriate usages, but one usage could have been adopted by a particular segment of the population. It will therefore will have come to be forever associated with that population. (“Smith, I’d like to dialogue about the synchronization of your processes before the next quarterly review.”)
Additionally, the improper, or sneered-at modification of a word can come in to accepted common parlance over time. The word normalcy, at the turn of the 20th century, was largely considered a misuse of the perfectly agreeable word normality, which had already existed for several hundred years. However, Presidential candidate Warren G. Harding (an amateur poet and journalist, FYI) used “Return to Normalcy” as his campaign slogan, and ultimately legitimized the use of the term. He then went on to head one of the most shamefully corrupt presidential administrations in American history; helping to usher an inelegant noun into the English language was ultimately the least of his transgressions.
Calm Down, People!
Inventing new meanings for common words; using a bloated verb to convey professional competency and incorrect adjective to noun conversion will continue to occur, whether we like it or not. These phenomena might be considered fissures in the foundation of good grammar and, hence, society itself, but… calm down, people! English hasn’t exactly been stagnant for the past 800 years, only to undergo devastating shifts in structure and usage once people started texting. We’ve stopped saying thee, thou, thy and thine, after all, and the English-speaking world has pretty much gotten over it.
Nevertheless, there is such a thing as sloppiness: using a phrase inappropriately and thereby communicating a completely different idea from what was intended. I could care less is an excellent example of linguistic sloppiness. Grrrr.
I Have Standards!
It is important to maintain some standards with regard to communications, even though it might seem elitist and gilded-cagey. We can’t have sophisticated ideas without a sophisticated grasp of language. Nevertheless, is it really necessary to constantly needle people over accidentally using your instead of you’re? The problem with the un-appointed grammar police force is that it seems as though its ultimate goals are (a.) getting everyone to sound as though they just walked out of Downton Abbey, and (b.) making themselves feel superior because they recognized the improper use of a reflexive pronoun.
The Language Ninja’s stance on the subject is this: A relatively firm grasp of linguistic rules indicates intellectual curiosity and an interest in appearing moderately learned, but if it doesn’t help you communicate ideas succinctly and efficiently, it’s just a lot of status-groping pedantry. While you should know the difference between a written who’s and whose and a spoken who and whom if you are applying for a job, you don’t have to be William Butler Yeats whenever you order a combo meal at the drive-thru. That’s just annoying.
[1] To cough heavily, repeatedly, and in a frenzied manner. [2] To strike an object with non-uniform and heavy blows, in a frenzied manner. [3] A person who is exceptionally untalented at their chosen profession and yet alarmingly successful. Typically an artist of some sort. [4] To surreptitiously access computer data. Frenziedness is implied, though not mandatory. [5] A tip for quickly modifying an object or routine for the purpose of performing an unrelated task. They range from idiotic to things you’ll never remember to do. [6] An illegal taxi with negotiable rates. Arriving at your destination un-murdered isn’t guaranteed. [7] To handle something, or cope with the barest of competence. There may or may not be frenzy involved.
Holly Troupe is a professional web content writer and an amateur everything else. She spends her days writing, eating, and looking for ways to incorporate the term “perfidy” into the urban vernacular.
