Re: Active versus passive (WAS Displays versus Appears-Which One? )

[Bruce Byfield <bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com>]

Herman Holtz wrote:
> 
>     I have the feeling that many of those who grew up in the movie-radio-tv
> era have simply not read enough to have developed an ear for language. When
> I read of someone "convincing" someone else to do something, it sets off an
> alarm in me immediately. What good is it to have words with precise meaning,
> such as "convince," if we misuse them so badly? That is a principal pet
> peeve of mine, although I have others, of course. - Herm
> 

Well, words do change meaning. To a Victorian, "cute" meant "clever"
and "to make love" meant "to flirt." No doubt some elderly
Victorians complained about the corruption of the language when the
modern meanings started to creep in.

I agree with Dick that the specialized vocabulary of grammar and
linguistics is useful. Personally, I think that writers would
benefit by the addition of about another hundred technical words to
make discussion easier. 

However, the fact that parts of this vocabulary trickled down to the
general public when prescriptive grammar was taught is an accident
of history, not a necessity. Prescriptive grammar is a kind of
watered-down version of linguistics. It might be a necessary step in
learning how to use a language, but to stop there is an
over-simplification; even a quick glance at linguistics shows that
it isn't the study of languages so much as the study of how
languages evolve. 

In fact, at times, the over-simplification amounts to an
over-simplification. Millions of people believe all sorts of
arbitrary rules, such as:

- never start a sentence with a conjunction.
- never split an infinitive.
- never end a sentence with a preposition.
- never use "I" in formal writing.

However, such rules are not a part of English grammar. Nor do most
of them do anything to increase clarity; since many drift too far
from oral English, they often increase vagueness, or at least
awkwardness. Moreover,
almost all these arbitrary rules are broken by the same writers who
are held up as examples of fine writing. The truth is, English is a
far more flexible tool than prescriptive grammar allows for.

None of these comments are a defence of Whole Language or other
teaching methods that leave students without any guidance. The point
is that prescriptive teaching is also seriously flawed - not least
in the fact that it leaves many students with a lifelong distaste
for writing an reading. Ideally, I'd like to see students lead
towards a more sophisticated, more realistic view of grammar.

(Yeah, and while I'm at it, I'd like a pony).

-- 
Bruce Byfield, Outlaw Communications
Contributing Editor, Maximum Linux
604.421.7189 bbyfield -at- axionet -dot- com

"To conclude,I'll tell you news that's right:
Christmas was killed at Naseby fight,
Charity was slain at that same time,
Jack Tell-Troth, too, a friend of mine."
- Anonymous 17th Century, "The World Is Turned Upside Down"

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