50 Years of Stupid Grammar Advice
chronicle.com/free/v55/i32/32b01501.htmPosted Apr 11, 2009, 9:50 AM UTC
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chronicle.com
IMHO the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
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I remember greatly enjoying the attitude of the style advice as an undergraduate. I'm pretty sure it served as a useful corrective to my own convoluted and verbose style. That said, I think Pullum is spot-on about the grammar.
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In my opinion, if you can clearly and accurately convey the ideas housed in your noggin, it doesn't really matter how you did it, as long as it got done. That's the point, ain't it?
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With the emphasis being on clear and accurate, not to mention accessible, which in my opinion is a step beyond clear.
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Clear, concise communication trumps all.
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i no wat u mean
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word.
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As a non-American I'd wondered where some of the more aggressive style advice many of you seem to adhere to came from, now I know.
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There are other sources, but a kind of symbolic reverence for Strunk & White is common enough.
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AFAIK the book is called "Elements of Style" and not "Elements of Grammar".
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From the sixth paragraph of the article:
But despite the "Style" in the title, much in the book relates to grammar, and the advice on that topic does real damage.
Did you read it?
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The book? Yes. I've also read German and French Grammar guides and may tell you, White & Strunk is not about grammar -- unless US Americans, which I'm not, mean with grammar something that hasn't much to do with grammar. Maybe the author has no notion of what grammar is.
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[Geoffrey K. Pullum](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=geoffrey k. pullum)?
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So what.
I even searched my copy of EoS. Even if I were willing to admit that one or two points refer to genuine Grammar issues (eg the use of 's, some interpunction advice, singular/plural), most of the book is about style (use active voice, put statements in positive form, use concrete language, place yourself in the background, write in a way that come naturally, do not overstate ...).
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Hop over to the Language Log and read some of their articles on S&W.
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Don't you dare talk shit about Pullum.
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WTF, actually knowledgeable advice about Strunk & White? In my reddit? What happened to the linguistics-impaired grammar-nazi downvoting hordes?
Ah, that piece was by Pullum. That explains it.
I love Pullum.
I have to agree with the ling-impairedness of reddit.