For some people, the mere thought of grammar conjures up the image of a dowdy schoolmarm droning on about prissy grammar rules as she raps the knuckles of the defiant or grammar-challenged with a battle-hardened ruler. In my childhood days, however, grammar was rather congenial. In elementary school we were taught the eight parts of speech, some general rules, and later, how to diagram sentences, a rather simplistic but fairly effective look at grammatical structures. And in graduate school, the old tree diagrams of the past transmogrified into unruly micro-branches that resembled fractal geometry more than anything in the social sciences. The sum of these experiences, however, has deepened my affinity for grammar and understandably tempered my tongue, but that is not the end of it.
At POSTECH I have had the pleasure of teaching the grammar course more times than all my fingers and toes combined, not to mention the compulsory grammar sprinkled across the freshmen English courses. Throughout most of the courses strict adherence to prescriptive grammar rules and academic writing guidelines are pushed with the clear aim of fostering students who understand and produce effective language, especially in writing, with the correct syntax, word structures and so forth. In short, they gain linguistic competence. However, without the added understanding of descriptive grammar, i.e., the way a language is actually used by its speakers rather than how it’s supposed to be used (based on a codified grammar), their communicative competence has limitations. What’s beautiful about descriptive grammar is its allowance for the quirky nature of the different dialects of English, whereas prescriptive grammar sometimes seems anchored to outdated rules such as its traditional opposition to split-infinitives and sentence-ending prepositions (a vestige of Latin).
If we followed prescriptive grammar without fail, what forlorn souls we would become. The world would be full of stilted language with expressions like It is I, instead of It is me, or To whom did you lose by the large deficit in Starcraft?, instead of Who did you lose to in Starcraft? or the preferred Who kicked your butt in Starcraft? Of course these prescriptive forms and rules are paramount in formal writing and standardized examinations like TOEFL, which consume the majority of Postechians’ lives. However, outside of academia, they may lose their luster and peg you as an outsider or a prig. In my experience at POSTECH, most students are quite adept at explaining their areas of expertise in English, but grapple with such mundane topics as describing how they spent their past weekend. Unfortunately, many suffer from having a rather high “affective filter” when they use English, i.e., they seem tentative to communicate in English until they are confident enough that their sentences are grammatically correct, which creates unnecessary drama and offer hinders effective communication. To those students I simply say, “Line up your subject, verb and object and fire away.” You will be understood.
Now, if you have ever found yourself questioning the logic of grammar or wondered why there exist inconsistencies, which are unacceptable in science, you should bear in mind that English, like all modern breathing languages, has a set of ever-evolving rules. All who desire to learn the language or pass through the weighty gates of POSTECH should consider and hopefully appreciate its arduous journey. Viewing the origin of the language as a simple hop of tribes across the English Channel and voila, the birth of English, is naive. The Germanic tribes of the Angles and Saxons, roughly 1500 years ago, are credited with the creation of English. However, one must not lose sight of the language’s struggles and transformations over a millennium and a half. For example, in 500 A.D. Old English, as it is referred to today and which bears little resemblance to its modern cousin- the English of this article- had to overcome the influences of the firmly rooted Celtic tribes in England, and a Latin-inspired colony thanks to the efforts of the Roman Emperor Claudius in 43 A.D. But it really wasn’t until the Normans of northern France, descendants of European Vikings, conquered England in 1066 that gave rise to Middle English, blending a dialect of northern France with the existing English. Over time, the language evolved even greater, especially during the Renaissance, when Latin, Greek and Shakespeare could no longer be ignored.
Now for the faint-hearted who already find the grammar and history of English uncompromising and prickly, and see diminishing returns on their effort, there is hope. As Constance Hale once celebrated the motley shareholders of English in her book Sin and Syntax, you can simply shun (Anglo-Saxon) English, avoid (Latin) it or eschew (French) it. The choice is yours. However, if you’re at the end of your rope, I’d like to recommend the artificial but logical language Esperanto- Bonan sancon! But before you brave a new language, please be forewarned that your efforts will only be rewarded by a peak audience of perhaps 2,000,000 people, a far cry from English.
Through all of this I hope that I have not led you down a garden path. Familiarity with the rules of grammar can liberate the soul and will undoubtedly help you craft your sentences as you evolve with the language. Of course, once you grasp the rules of grammar, you’ll find that breaking the rules can be equally gratifying. Those who continue their quest for knowledge in understanding and using the grammar of this lingua franca should savor the words of the writer/grammarian Karen Elizabeth Gordon, “Innocents will be tantalized, the eager will be rewarded, and even the doomed will find hope.” Grammar is within your grasp lest it be wrestled away by indifference.
John Latzo
Lecturer of HSS
