Most of the correspondence I receive these days is via email and text messaging. I won’t name names, but much of the mail I receive barely qualifies as readable, let alone anything resembling proper grammar with punctuation. It is digital rubbish, and those responsible (you know who you are) should be ashamed. Most of you are old enough to know better.
I don’t expect much, but capitalizing the first letter of the first word in a sentence would help…gosh, what a novel idea; and maybe a little punctuation tossed in to separate phrases, clauses, or thoughts really doesn’t seem too much to ask. It’s not that I expect a miracles…like no dangling participles or a sentence not ending in a prepositional phase; after all I am a realist…but come on, it’s just common sense and courtesy.
Rules, I agree, are meant to be bent from time to time, but total disregard is chaotic and disrespectful to the reader.
Have we become grammar lazy and punctuation poor?, or just another causality in the dumbing down of America? We can and must make an effort to do better.
Both good grammar and punctuation serve a purpose. But just to be clear, punctuation is not grammar. It does fall under the grammar umbrella in the mechanics of writing category. In short, grammar provides standardized structure and punctuation assists in the process through symbols and marks that give meaning to readers and writers.
To illustrate the importance of punctuation, here is a humorous example I came across a few years ago. In this particular instance, a missing coma could well cost an old man his life.
A. “Let’s eat grandpa!” / B. “Let’s eat, grandpa!”
It goes without saying I’d rather be invited to dinner, not part of the main course.
To be fair, I was discussing my grammatical / punctuation angst the other day with an old friend, and he noted that through no fault of our own, that the times they are a changing.
He was quick to point out, for example, that Generation Z (Gen. Z), those born between 1997 and 2012, often omit punctuation, especially periods in texts.
Why would you do that?
Well, it seems that Gen. Z in all their wisdom, who make up some 20% of the US population, perceive periods as overly formal, passive-aggressive, or angry, and prefer to use emojis, exclamation points or capital letter to set the tone instead. Gen. Z or Zoomers, prioritize speed and conveying emotion subtly in formal settings, making traditional punctuation feel unnecessary or hostile.
Apparently a period can make a simple text like “ok” seem harsh or angry, while no punctuation feels casual and friendly.
I have found over the years, that the use of words and sentences , proper grammar and punctuation have served me well whether writing online or sending snail mail. Proper grammar and punctuation affords us the opportunity to tell someone to go to hell in a way that they look forward to the journey.
My advice is: Slow down…take a deep breath…compose a thought…breathe…and write. Some believe everything needs to be done at break-neck speed…Just Stop…take time to smell the metaphorical ink on the page and enjoy the fruits of writing well.
And while we are on the subject of grammar, I’ll plead the case for why Words Matter. Proper word selection goes hand in hand with good grammar…say what you mean and mean what you say. I don’t understand, particularly in this day and age why we are throwing around words and bandy them about without giving consideration or too much thought to the usage and exact meaning. There are over 600,000 words, past and present, in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) for us to choose from. Just so you know, the OED is accepted as the authority on the English language and regarded as the quintessential guide for meaning, history and pronunciation. There is really no excuse to get it wrong or not get it correct when we write. Of course no writer should be without the Chicago Manual of Style and the Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.
As a youngster growing up, I heard the phrase ‘sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt me’. The school yard rhyme was of course used to stave-off name calling and repel verbal attacks. Sometime that particular defense worked, other times not so much; I recall a fist fight or two that might have resulted from verbal hurlings before punches were thrown.
The second half of the rhyme, ‘names will never hurt me’, is just one of several variation to the original phrase that used ‘words’ instead of ‘names’.
And just to be clear word can be hurtful, perhaps not as much as a physical punch in the nose…but still hurtful. A punch in the nose or a broken bone will eventually heal, but hurtful and unkind words can linger in the memory…sometimes lasting a lifetime.
So…WORDS MATTER, I repeat: WORDS MATTER, and that’s the point. It should be the ink slinger’s motto. I sport a t-shirt from time to time that reads: ‘Words Are Weapons…Choose Wisely’…enough said.
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