Political Correctness and the Death of the English Language

[femkes_follies]

How did we come to this?

A recent exchange on an LJ comm with another soul left a tidbit from "My Fair Lady" running through my mind:

"Her English is too perfect!! Which clearly indicates that she is foreign. Whereas others are instructed in their native language, English people aren't."

Really, the whole of the plot of that musical is built on the class distinctions created by language. And I don't mean which language you speak, but rather how you speak the English language.

This, I believe, is the final "barrier" being assaulted by the Though Police. They wish you to believe that we live in a classless society. Not true. And that you should not distinguish between one person and another based on their facility with the English language. Even if it happens to be their native tongue.

I stand forth and declare myself a languagist. If I notice multiple misspellings and grammatical errors in your resume, I will indeed place it directly in the circular file. There is absolutely no excuse in this day and age. Even lj has a spell check mechanism. Which, ironically, highlights "lj" as a misspelling. I contend, as well, that anyone proffering written commentary on my A&S entries had better at least be able to spell the basic terminology of the art. Failure to do so will result in my considering said commentary to be baseless, or at least coming from a source ignorant of the craft. Why? Because the carelessness required to draft commentary with such errors makes you look ignorant.

And, I'm sorry to say, no liberal whining about the inequality of the educational system will change that.

Then, there is the aspect of courtesy. How is it rude of ME to refuse to answer questions posed to a list in an E-mail that looks like this:

"Hi all the dress makers form is still avalible along with the singer sowing
mackine and a sewing stand and aunt virg told me she found a portable cloth
steamer 3 ft long call and ill give give you her # to talk direct my # is 989
906 1815

Thanks
*name deleted*

PS I didnt save the numbers of anyone that called"

Whilst it is NOT rude of the poster to clog the list with something that makes my retinas bleed. It takes twice as long to wend my way through it. Why should I be expected to expend the time to read a message that the author cannot be bothered to type correctly?

Anybody with the most basic education can do better than this. Especially when coupled with the electronic aids currently available. I can only assume that the existence of these aids is part of the reason for the general decline in linguistic ability. If you never lose points on an essay for poor grammar or spelling, you never learn it to start with.

Shall we even get started on the recent elimination of cursive script from public school curricula as "obsolete" and "irrelevant?" All the art and beauty is gradually being lost from social interaction. Bring back calling cards!! Engraved stationery!! Dammit, I'm going to teach my girls copperplate!!

This is not to say that I don't manage some impressive spelling and grammatical errors myself. I do. But I make an effort to make public communications as clear as may be. (Gee, did I just end a sentence with a preposition?)

In short (well, too late for that, but anyway), I reserve the right to treat someone who speaks (and types) like a lady, and someone who speaks (and types) like a guttersnipe accordingly. So if you want my full and undivided attention - speak softly....and with good diction.

Comments

[mistressarafina.livejournal.com]

Amen, Sister! They don't teach grammar in grammar schools these days. People look at me like I'm a weirdo when I talk about diagramming a sentence. Word makes it easy for people to be lazy, but Word is not perfect on it's spelling or grammar check. The run-on sentence is one of the oft-committed crimes against humanity.

The purpose of language is to convey meaning. If I can't figure out what you're trying to tell me, you fail.

[reabhecc.livejournal.com]

If you are interested in something enough to pursue it, than you can learn to spell the terms involved. If you do not, then you cannot rightly be surprised when others consider you a neophyte.

[lorihalia.livejournal.com]

You = awesome.

I hope eventually we get to meet at least once before you move.

[landverhuizer.livejournal.com]

I normally wouldn't ask but... "the Though Police"?

Oh my! I had trouble getting through the quote. I think I made it about as far as "mackine" and the pain was already too much :P

Cursive

[evavano.livejournal.com]

Shall we even get started on the recent elimination of cursive script from public school curricula as "obsolete" and "irrelevant?"

Gotta say I wouldn't be that sorry to see it go. I rarely can read it, and I sure can't write it. Mostly because I never had anyone teach me without getting frustrated by the fact that I am left-handed. So I NEVER use it. I learned to print faster than I could do cursive while in college, and it's more legible :-) But that's just me...