By: BRENDAN HALL
Move over swine flu, there is a new epidemic sweeping schools, and it harnesses much greater consequences than a little cough or a stomach ache. That horrible epidemic is poor grammar.
Students need to be aware of this horrible disease. It has spread throughout high school campuses like wildfire, contaminating proper speech and forcing correct grammar to stay home sick.
The importance of proper grammar has plummeted on the list of priorities for most individuals. Grammar is being viewed as trivial and unimportant. Common errors are being disregarded more and more consistently. If someone were to point out a pronoun antecedent disagreement in common speech, the wittiest rebuttal most kids could conjure up would be “Yeah? Well, your mom’s an antecedent.” Oh, the brilliance of today’s youth.
The horrible truth is that most people overlook the dire ramifications of improper grammar. Although it is viewed as insignificant, grammar is one of the premier mediums used to establish a first impression. The appropriate or advanced use of grammar, as well as a diverse lexicon, can leave a positive and lasting impression, a concept particularly important in settings such as job interviews or college applications.
For instance, one of the most common grammar faux pas is the response to the question “How are you?” More often than not, the person will respond with an abrupt “Good,” the completely incorrect response. Not only is it rudimentary, but it is wrong; the correct response is “I’m well, thank you.” “Good” is an adjective where “well” is an adverb; the same rule applies to why a person would not say “She played good.” Saying “well” is both polite, formal and grammatically correct, a subtle detail that could mean the difference between having a job and being unemployed.
Redundancy is another concept which people tend to ignore. When people say or write something redundant, it makes them look both naive and uneducated, showing they clearly do not understand what they are saying or writing about.
During the SAT on Oct. 9, a proctor wrote on the board “SAT Test.” Most would overlook it, but during an exam that determines students’ writing skills the phrase “Standard Aptitude Test Test” was on the board in front of them. Just another one of life’s ironies that should be duly noted.
Bad grammar cannot be fixed in a few days or a couple months or by a small group of people. What is the most disappointing is not that people use bad grammar, but that it is ignored and sometimes even encouraged. Taking an interest in proper grammar has been depicted as this annoying, even deplorable trait; hence the name “grammar nazi.” The average person thinks it is not cool to speak correctly.
This twisted ideology is wrong, though, and needs to be reversed and retooled. By embracing the many wonders of grammar, colloquial speech can only be improved. By integrating diverse and elevated grammar into everyday speech, students can not only come across as more educated and sophisticated but also spark a movement toward a more beautiful, gramatically correct world.
The long-term effort to reverse this horrific trend must begin soonIf society continues at this rate, people will eventually digress into using internet lingo as common speech. People will be distraught and lying on their death beds uttering “Ily, ttyl” as the final wordsto their loved ones.
All that is needed is a definitive effort from the public. It only takes one person to spread the word that being a grammar nazi is cool. Do not be afraid to correct someone’s improper use of “Me and Kyle” instead of “Kyle and I,” or call someone out on using “good” instead of “well.” Just remember to support the cause for proper grammar because, if everyone stays committed and works together, everyone will have the ability to talk good.