WHOSE GRAMMAR

OR

WHO'S GRAMMAR?

As one can tell by reading my blog, I am not exactly a grammarian.  It is my general view that meaning is primary and if one can decipher what I am saying, how I say it is unimportant.  I can imagine my former instructors shuddering at such a statement.  As one of my philosophy professors once said, “In philosophy how you say is what you say.”  Yeah, whatever.  Grammar rules have shifted and many of them are seemingly arbitrary.  Take for instance the rule of it’s and its.  Who decided that i-t-apostrophe-s would stand for it is whereas the possessive form of “it” is left without an apostrophe?  In any event, I do believe that rules of grammar and those stalwarts who defend them tend to silence important voices that, for once reason or another, lack proper punctuation or structure.  This is, perhaps, the reason I love poetry: it purposefully ignores these rules in order to creatively formulate its own rules.  Its structure informs its meaning.  

Despite being the opposite of a stickler, I picked up the book Eats, Shoots and Leaves¸ by a grammar Nazi determined to point out and fix common mistakes, such as grocers that post signs advertising sales on “Apple’s, Orange’s and Pear’s”  She is also irritated by advertising for a new film, “Two Weeks Notice” that is missing an important apostrophe.  She is irritated by a whole lot of things that don’t bother me at all.  That’s exactly what makes this book a fun read.

I bought this book in an attempt to appreciate the rules of grammar.  To my surprise, the books is quite entertaining.  She makes such a big deal about minor errors that I could not help but chuckle at her level of displeasure.  Reading this book is like watching a fashion expert critique outfits at the Oscars or watching a talk show about the life of an obsessive-compulsive. 

While being entertained by her weird attitude toward grammar, I did gain a new appreciation for these rules of language. Despite their arbitrariness, there are many instances in which one’s meaning does indeed change if the rules are not followed.  Moreover, she admits to the arbitrariness of these rules and explains how many rules have shifted recently.  For example, it is now not proper to write “James’ car” but, instead, she explains, it is now proper to place an “s” after the apostrophe to make it “James’s car.”  Weird.

There is no one person that decides when these rules change.  Perhaps we should elect a grammar czar that would make these rules official and decide on changes so that we can all follow the same rule.  

In any event, do not expect me to become a stickler or to have a perfectly edited blog post.  Neither will happen anytime soon.  I’m more of a poet, don’t ya know it.

11:57:46 AM