A Word About Grammar ... Scratch That, Grammars*!

I know, you might be thinking, "GrammarS?! Is she crazy?! Just saying that is breaking the rules of grammar!" However, in the article "The Grammar of Context: Breakfast, Bumper Stickers, and Beyond" by Cheryl Almeda and Jonathan Bush, the idea of multiple types of grammar is discussed in depth. 

This is such an interesting idea to me, personally, because I'm what you may call a "stickler" about grammar. Some may consider this an annoying quality, but whatever. I'm proud of the skills regarding grammar that I've refined over the years, and I jump at any opportunity to improve my own skills or help someone else with theirs. (Although I've got to admit, sometimes it's hard to refrain from "helping" someone who just doesn't want help with grammar.) This article, "The Grammar of Context" introduces the idea of grammar as being contextual. Almeda and Bush write, "The context creates the grammar...there is no single correct grammar -- there are thousands of variations on grammar, each dependent upon the elements of context that affect it."

Some of the contexts which Almeda and Bush talk about are grocery lists, cereal boxes, formal papers, bumper stickers, Facebook posts, and text messages. It's funny because it seriously drives me nuts when I see bad grammar in any of these contexts, but I guess sometimes I need to take a step back. I need to ask myself, "For this context or situation, is the grammar really inappropriate? Or is it perfectly fine for the message it's trying to convey?"

It Doesn't Have to be Painful!

One thing I do want to say is that grammar doesn't have to be a painful experience. Because grammar is contextual, some people tend to only write in certain contexts. However, I think it's important to be aware of various contexts. Sure, you might not write formal research papers every day, but you should be aware of how to write in that way, in my opinion. Communication should be an enjoyable experience, and grammar is an essential part of communication. I love grammar and all the inner workings of it, but I know everyone doesn't. However, learning a little bit of grammar here and there never hurt anyone. ;-)

Grammar as a Decision

I've got to say, I seriously love the way Almeda and Bush discuss grammar as a conscious decision. They say, "The grammar of a text message is different for that of a professional memo. Even within academic contexts, the grammar used in a biology class differs from that in history or English or math. In doing so, we are able to help them see grammar as a rhetorical act and enhance our students' abilities to consider language use as rich, complex, and full of decisions -- beyond that of simply trying to avoid error." It brings about the idea that some errors are not really errors. They're simply contextual decisions that we must make when writing.

#Grammar

One last thing I'd like to discuss is hashtags. They've pretty much become a staple in our modern culture, but for some reason, it still drives me up the wall when I see them in sentences in public, whether it's on billboards or flyers. So, is it appropriate? Is it grammatically correct? Once again, I come back to the idea of context. It's certainly not appropriate in a formal paper or really anything school-related. However, hashtags are certainly a decision, made by the writer or creator. It's the same sort of idea as using "I love u" or "Where r u?" in a text. Sure, it's not technically correct, but it's contextually appropriate. Hashtags are the same; they're correct for what they are.