The Perception of Language

A student of mine started a blog and I have been reading and commenting on his entries. I have noticed lately that his thoughts have centered on the flaws (as he sees them)with the English language. He has commented on the lack of need for capital letters at the start of sentences (punctuation should tell you when sentences start and stop) and the stupidity of silent letters in words. Both are interesting thoughts, but would carry more weight if they were written by someone who cannot string together one sentence that has correct spelling, structure or punctuation. He CAN do it; I have read his research papers. In his casual writing, though, he eshews all manner of language rules. This is not a conscious rebellion; this is pure laziness and a lack of understanding as to the importance of language.

I admit to being a language snob. Not that I am any expert, I make more mistakes than is tolerable for an educated person. However, I usually catch my mistakes and take pains to correct them, if possible. That is because I realize that individuals are judged by the quality of language they use in both verbal and written situations. Our first impression of a person is formed from their appearance. Anyone who says that people are not judged by their appearance is an utopian fool. Our second impression of an individual is formed from their speech. If they sound like a moron, we assume they are one; if they sound smart, we assume that condition. The pattern and sophistication of speech may not reflect the person's intellectual ability or societal worth, but there's not getting around the fact that we draw conclusions based on speech quality and, further, we act on those conclusions.

The same is true for writing. Students don't seem to understand that their writing is taken as evidence of their capabilities and this is why colleges use essays to help assess candidates. Further, more and more employers are screening prospective hires with written exercises. Success in the career world is heavily dependent on one's writing ability and, further, one's verbal skills. Yes, English is a wacky language that could use an enema to clean out and simplify. But, it really doesn't take a super-genius to master and demonstrate the basics. If these kids can conquer the inner workings of XBox 360, they can conquer subject-verb agreement...