Comments on: Y’All Stupid.

By: Justin

Justin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:46:01 +0000

Beth: By all means, if my own grammar is worthy of an hourlong correction in order to validate the above article, please do have your mom post her corrected version of my article on your blog (or hers) and let me know so I can link to it. She may not be able to correct the grammatical mistakes of the individuals in the examples I’ve cited above, but if she can improve my communication skills, perhaps some good can come from this article after all.

By: Beth Richards

Beth Richards — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:40:10 +0000

Most interesting to me was what I experienced after showing this to my mother, a collegiate English and composition teacher. What followed was an hour-long grammar correction session of the above article. She sincerely wishes to post her improvements. Perhaps this would be possible?

Thank you,

Beth

By: John Keogh

John Keogh — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:47:41 +0000

On the other hand – language evolves through use and to be used. As one of my semantics professors put it: Language is what people speak, not what some university professors says it is.

On the other, other hand – language and communication are separable things. What I find most cringe-worthy isn’t the lack of vocabulary that afflicts so many in our society – it’s the inability to put even basic words together into a comprehensive sentence. I think the aforementioned vocabulary problems are indicative of a much larger inability to communicate clearly.

By: John Keogh

John Keogh — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:38:42 +0000

I love this article! If you leave culture in the hands of the lowest-common denominator, you end up with a lowest-common denominator culture!

However, I don’t think this is as new an issue as your article implies. Both my parents are intellectuals and they tell me stories exactly like these from the 50s and 60s. I look back at the Middle Ages and see all the superstition and charges of heresy that brought down some of the greatest minds in history. In my childhood, growing up in a fairly rural, small town, being smart was one of the worst things you could be in the eyes of your classamtes. There has always been resentment towards the well-educated and well-spoken. And given how intimately education has always been tied to prosperity and resources – even today in our supposedly egalitatian society – I can’t say this resentment isn’t justified on many levels. What we need to do is show that education and discourse don’t have to be tool of oppression, that it can improve a person’s circumstances, that it can be the best tool to confront and redress inequities in our society.

By: rasager

rasager — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:46:19 +0000

I love this. Thanks, Justin.

I would never claim that my grammar is flawless or that my vocabulary is particularly robust, but the value of speaking in clear and concise terms does seem to be dropping.

I hear unfamiliar words all the time and I STILL look them up in the dictionary. Anyone that deems a word not worth knowing because they didn’t learn it in the fifth grade is not only missing out on a rich language, they are resisting the idea of effective communication.

If the nuances of language are being bleached out to accommodate the average, doesn’t that mean the average will continue to fall lower and lower? 200 years from now, will we still be able to read and appreciate Jane Eyre? I hope so.

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:58:32 +0000

I mean “you and me.” Sorry. :)

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:57:13 +0000

Oh, wait. This explains it: http://www.betterwritingskills.com/tip-w026.html

So, in the above case, “you and I” would be correct.

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:52:28 +0000

I was always told (by my father) that “you and I” is correct as opposed to “you and me.” So which is it? Also, I believe uberVU used the word cliche as an adjective. To use it as an adverb, one would have to say something like “He talks clichely” which is a monstrosity no one should ever utter, or even write again for that matter.

By: Daisy

Daisy — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:00:41 +0000

If the lay reader doesn’t have a dictionary, the writer needs to make sure the context makes sense. In that way, the reader can comprehend the piece, even if it contains a few unfamiliar words. Interpreting vocabulary in context is a skill we teach — in elementary school.

By: Chris Baltzley

Chris Baltzley — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:57:56 +0000

Came over from World’s Strongest Librarian – I think I love you. ;p
Two things you brought to mind:
I knew I was in trouble with my new roommate in college when she complained about all the big words I used and the one she was referring to at the time was “opportunity”.

I forget that I tend to hang out – even on Twitter – with a higher-than-average crowd (at least in terms of thought process and grammar) when I go check out the public stream for a minute. That usually sends me fleeing back to my safe world of people who can actually put together a coherent sentence – even in 140 characters. (And, yes, I know I overuse hyphens and sometimes start sentences with “and”. Girl’s gotta let loose once in a while!)