This can project a sense of inadequacy that isn’t conducive to learning, and perpetuates the misconception that grammar is black and white, right or wrong. Instead of explanations and advice, grammatical errors are often corrected with scorn and ancient rules. The first and possibly most insidious barrier to grammar’s image is the trail of fear left behind by old-fashioned grammarians and their pedantic followers. Its current sorry state can be ascribed to several reasons. It’s a challenge for anything to be accepted as “cool” among younger generations, but we’d need to worry less about the future of society if grammar could finally earn some street cred. But when it comes to grammar, it’s difficult to imagine a typical group of 10-year-olds debating whether or not to precede a gerund with a possessive noun or pronoun. We are supposedly most receptive to learning a second language in childhood. It didn’t get much better at the talk, where the discussion often steered towards the fact that students find grammar boring. In the weeks leading up to it I told a few people and their reactions ranged from laughter to looks of disappointment to disbelief. What we need to focus on is grammar’s reputation among the young. We complain that children cannot construct a sentence as they used to, but this nostalgic attitude towards literacy abilities has always been around.
But there’s a much greater issue that needs addressing. Grammar rarely makes headlines, and when it does it’s often due to conflict over something the size of an apostrophe. But before any grammar enthusiasts get excited, he admitted language was not the only motivation – he expected some Tesco vouchers for his ordeal. The fact it was deemed newsworthy shows how rare it is to see enthusiastic pedantry at such a young age (especially if there’s no strong family history of it). Tesco claimed it used the “most tastiest” oranges, rather than “tastiest”, “most tasty” or “distinctly average”. Now experts report a renewed interest in the subjectĪ 15-year-old boy made headlines last week after writing a passionate letter of complaint to Tesco regarding bad grammar on its bottles of orange juice. Despite its reputation, grammar is colourful and fascinating.
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