Rules like these do represent widely held beliefs about language,
beliefs that also include a lot of what is generally called folk
etymology. Nancy A. Niedzielski and Dennis R. Preston have a 2003 book
in which they treat folk beliefs about language as an object of study in
their own right. Rules like these tell us a lot about what is publicly
believed about language, about grammar, etc., and it is these beliefs,
much more than the expertise represented in ATEG, ADS, LSA, NCTE, CCCC,
etc., that drives the politics of language and of grammar at both local
and national levels. It's all too easy to dismiss such beliefs as
uninformed, but in doing so we also miss the very topics we need to be
addressing with a broader population if the NPG initiative is to have
any serious impact. The UK has been better at this than we have.
Herb
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Marshall Myers
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 11:00 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Mythical Grammar "Rules"
Ben Varner wrote:
> The following are fifteen so-called grammar and punctuation
> "rules" which are not rules at all. When I sent this list to
> the elementary school teachers whom I teach about grammar and
> punctuation, they were astounded:
>
> 1. Never use "Because,""And," or "But" to start a sentence.
> 2. Fragments are always considered an error in writing.
> 3. Where you pause, put a comma.
> 4. Where you breathe, put a comma.
> 5. Never put a comma before "and" in a series.
> 6. The semicolon is an outdated mark of punctuation.
> 7. The most important part of speech is the noun.
> 8. The pronouns "everybody," "somebody," "anybody" are plural.
> 9. The pronoun "who" is always first, and the pronoun "whom" is
> always last.
> 10. Dashes and hyphens are interchangeable marks of punctuation.
> 11. Periods and commas can go inside or outside of quotation marks.
> 12. Never end a sentence with a preposition.
> 13. Never split an infinitive.
> 14. Passive voice means you are too casual in your sentences.
> 15. Grammar checkers on computers are usually correct.
>
> If you have any others to add, let me know.
>
> Ben Varner
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
> interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
Ben,
I have heard most of these from my students.
My question is, Where do they come from, and why do they stick around?
The easy answer is stupidity, but does the fact that they persist say
anything about people's concept of language?
Marshall
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
|
