WATCH YOUR GRAMMAR!
Good grammar seems to be something that is slowly going out of fashion these days. For instance, did you see the recent reports about that nutty professor who wants to do away with good spelling, grammar and punctuation? Imagine the chaos that could ensue! How do these people get their jobs??
Poor grammar reflects badly upon your company. Customers would be entitled to think that if you can’t be bothered to write correctly, you might not pay too much attention to detail when developing your products.
Grammar was developed for a reason – so that people could understand each other more easily. It’s a bit like those old adverts for self-assembly furniture: life is much easier if you just follow the simple instructions!
Back to basics
I’m still surprised by how many people don’t seem to know the basics of grammar. I’m not really concerned with the intricate technical details, as long as the end result is clear, readable and makes sense.
Okay, some fashions change – for example, the split infinitive is now generally acceptable – so Captain Kirk would be permitted ‘to boldly go’ without most people raising an objection. However, we have to be careful that passing fashions (such as the terrible habits used in texting) don’t ruin good grammar.
Next time, I’ll focus on punctuation.
Until then, look after your grammar!
Phil
Freelance copywriter
Web: http://www.phila
Email: info@phila.co.uk
Phil's Weblog 
One very big reason for the atrophy of grammar is the phenomenon of Text messaging – mobile, twitter, IM, etc – where using acronyms, phonetic spellings, etc by everyone (especially the younger generation) is the norm. Reading through sites made up of twitter feeds is quite an effort. Is it possible that when people think, they think in “Text-messagese”?
Comment by anannyad — September 22, 2008 @ 12:18 pm |
Hi – thanks for your comment. I’m afraid you’re right: I dread to think what writing will be like in 20 years’ time! Phil
Comment by Phil Allcock — September 22, 2008 @ 1:36 pm |