It
is quite new to me, that illiteracy has spread that widely within the
English-speaking population, especially that it has even spread among those
occupying the highest ranks in social, medical and political institutions. However,
when I think back to the time I was an au pair in England, the grandmother of
the little girl, I was looking after, used to be an exception when it came to
correcting her granddaughter every single time she would make a mistake. Hardly
any of the other children in the neighbourhood would get corrected by their
parents. Apparently, there seems to be a flaw in the linguistic education of
children.
In
school and at home I was taught that correct spelling and a correct way of
speaking are vital in order to, someday, be successful in acquiring decent
work. Both Jim McCue and Bryan A. Garner in their essays out of The Latest Illiteracy argue, that society
is moving away from viewing grammar and spelling as important (at least among
the English-speaking population). In “The Ongoing Struggles of Garlic-Hangers”
Garner talks about the importance of ‘word-consciousness’ and how it “tends to
retard linguistic change rooted in misunderstanding” (22). In other words,
awareness of a word’s spelling, pronunciation, and probably also origin can
help reduce mistakes based on instances of having the wrong idea.
I,
too, think that word-consciousness is very important for a child’s education,
as it gives depth to a word and its meaning. If words can be changed, or
exchanged, or substituted, or invented due to pure whim or coincidence, over
time, how would anyone ever understand the true meaning behind those words? No
one would.
It is quite new to me (,) [P] that illiteracy has spread (that) [W,M - ^so] widely within the English-speaking population, (especially) [E,W,Ger,coh - ^ and particularly] that it has even spread among those occupying the highest ranks in social, medical [P - ^,] and political institutions. However, when I think back to the time I was an au pair in England, the grandmother of the little girl (,) [P] I was looking after (, used to be) [P;E,Gr,T/Asp - ^ must have been] an exception when it came to correcting her granddaughter every single time she (would make) [Gr, T/Asp - ^ made] a mistake. Hardly any of the other children in the neighbourhood would get corrected by their parents. Apparently, there seems to be a flaw in the linguistic education of children.
ReplyDeleteIn school and at home I was taught that correct spelling and a correct way of speaking (are) [Gr, T/Asp - ^ were] vital (in order to, someday, be) [Gr,T/Asp,E,coh - ^ to someday being] successful in acquiring decent work. Both Jim McCue and Bryan A. Garner in their essays out of The Latest Illiteracy argue (,) [P] that society is moving away from viewing grammar and spelling as important (at least among the English-speaking population). In “The Ongoing Struggles of Garlic-Hangers (”) [P - ^ ,”] Garner talks about the importance of (‘) [P - ^“] word-consciousness (’) [P - ^”] and how it “tends to retard linguistic change rooted in misunderstanding” ((22)) [St - ^ (Garner 22)]. In other words, awareness of a word’s spelling, pronunciation, and probably also origin can help reduce mistakes based on instances of having the wrong idea.
I, too, think that word-consciousness is very important for a child’s education, as it gives depth to a word and its meaning. If words can be changed, or exchanged, or substituted, or invented due to pure whim or coincidence, over time, how would anyone ever understand the true meaning behind those words? No one would.
It is quite new to me that illiteracy has spread so widely within the English-speaking population, and particularly that it has even spread among those occupying the highest ranks in social, medical, and political institutions. However, when I think back to the time I was an au pair in England, the grandmother of the little girl I was looking after must have been an exception when it came to correcting her granddaughter every single time she made a mistake. Hardly any of the other children in the neighbourhood would get corrected by their parents. Apparently, there seems to be a flaw in the linguistic education of children.
ReplyDeleteIn school and at home I was taught that correct spelling and a correct way of speaking were vital to someday being successful in acquiring decent work. Both Jim McCue and Bryan A. Garner in their essays out of The Latest Illiteracy argue that society is moving away from viewing grammar and spelling as important (at least among the English-speaking population). In “The Ongoing Struggles of Garlic-Hangers,” Garner talks about the importance of "word-consciousness" and how it “tends to retard linguistic change rooted in misunderstanding” (Garner 22). In other words, awareness of a word’s spelling, pronunciation, and probably also origin can help reduce mistakes based on instances of having the wrong idea.
I, too, think that word-consciousness is very important for a child’s education, as it gives depth to a word and its meaning. If words can be changed, or exchanged, or substituted, or invented due to pure whim or coincidence, over time, how would anyone ever understand the true meaning behind those words? No one would.