Linguistics

So I was looking through my posts, mostly because I knew that it wouldn't take too long as I do believe I only have seven to this date! I warned you...

Anyway, one of my posts was about grammar. It is so weird to think how important that was to me just six months ago! This second semester of college I am taking two linguistics classes and it's basically taken my previous philosophy, stripped it naked and laughed manically at it. Nothing personal or anything...

I struggle with "grammarian" vs "linguistic" and how grammar isn't necessarily incorrect because of dialect differences. It's hard for me to see this in a personal standpoint because in school I had Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" shoved down my throat to the point where all I believe is right or wrong. It's even harder for me to grasp this concept as a future educator because as an ESL/ENL teacher I'll want to tell my students what is right and what is wrong. Yet here I am in two different English classes where I'm told not to correct people's grammar. This is a confusing business...

It's crazy, because I made it my goal this semester/year not to correct anyone's grammar because it's not my place to correct. I've slipped up a couple of times but for the most part I have stopped. Because of this, I've been able to see how petty I've been correcting people's grammar. It goes back to my elitist control need I'm sure. In my head, if you want to be taken seriously you need to talk seriously. Last I checked you can't talk seriously by saying "jay kay, el oh el Imunuh go now tee tee why el". But by the same token, very few people respect someone who constantly corrects them.

My new view is that I can correct anyone as much as I want...in my head. I've also been introduced recently to an extremist grammar nazi...and I thought I was bad. This guy refuses to talk to you unless you use correct grammar...did I mention he's only 19? He complains because he sees so many professional documents with incorrect grammar and literally FLIPS OUT. Definitely a dose of my own medicine...and even more reason to quit while I'm ahead so I don't lose anything of value.

If I can understand what someone means, then I have no reason to correct them. I'm going to leave all judgments in my head and go about my day with a smile on my face. This is one of the first steps I'm taking in hopes to not be such a control freak. Here's hoping!

Personally, I do my best to make sure that my spoken and written language are parallel because I don't want to slip up and have a 'lol' or 'gonna' or anything that's common in today's IMing world go into my professional written papers. I don't feel like I stand out because of it, because most all of us somewhere has been taught this form of writing, so it's not as though it stands out or anything. If more people did this than yes language would still evolve...but I feel like the grammarians of the world would not be having as big of a conniption as they are now.

...yup.