As a school boy, I was lead to believe that certain rules of English were immutable. The English language is far from a static system. It is one of the most vibrant and changeable languages. This is a good thing! Rather than fighting over single space versus double space after periods (single space is now taking over), or the certitude of the Oxford comma, language fanatics are better served to open their minds.
There is nothing certain except change. With 470,000 odd words at our disposal, there is a precise word for every person, place, or thing imaginable. In the rare case where one is missing, no need to fret, it can be added.
Going back to school days, we learned of a writing land where the rules did not apply. That mystical land was called poetry. Radicals like Whitman and cummings took full advantage of their literary license. The teacher explained that while the rest of the world was governed by the tyranny of proper rules of capitalization, punctuation, and grammar, these so-called poets were immune. The rational for their privileges is that they spoke from the heart and needed latitude to provide the full emotion of their feelings. Astounding!
Today we are in a golden age of writing. The ability to publish has never been easier. Computing tools to spell-check and grammar check real-time is giving writers and would be writers the ability to compose with a focus on content. Navigating the technical aspects of the language is far less cumbersome with our digital assistants.
Hypertext links, photos, diagrams, multi-media and emojis are transforming the authoring experience. We are seeing the English language and the written word becoming a co-partner with its multimedia brethren. The results are meaningful. The written word is no longer required to explain what and instead can interpret what this means and why this happened. What can be visualized can be answered with visual media. What is not visual, such as emotions and thoughts, is still the domain of the written word.
SMS has engendered a unique subset of the language. SMS, perhaps even more than poetry, provides a rule-free zone. Everyday people are using SMS to be free to communicate without the burdens of proper English. To be sure there are many convoluted conversations on text and IM, but the overall success of text messages to conduct meaningful and meaningless dialog is a testament to our ability to adapt in a no-limit forum.
Microsoft Word is a messy tool in the hands of amateurs. During the early days of Word adoption, people felt compelled to play with all the fun tools the program offered. A mashup of fonts, text colors and font sizes assailed our retinas and complicated our written communication. Thankfully we are getting back to the basics. Rather than razzle dazzle, we are returning to the heart of writing, namely a focus on content. Medium is the anti-Word. The site provides simplicity and uniformity to keep writers from aesthetic blunders and temptations. At times the site is overly raw, but the pros far outweigh the cons.
With a focus on content and writing tools assisting grammar, punctuation and spelling, the rules of the road can be relaxed.
Let’s take a look a few “who cares” examples.
- native american vs Native American
- Mr. Hamilton versus Mr Hamilton
- 11am versus 11:00AM versus 11:00 AM
- the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe vs the lion, the witch and the wardrobe
- 5,000 versus 5000
- 2 times a week versus two times a week
- mormons versus Mormons
- off-road versus offroad versus off road
Did I piss some of you off with those examples? Too soon?
The current trend seems to be pushing towards a less punctuated world. I’m all for that. There are times where punctuation is still useful for clarity, such as Jeffersons versus Jefferson’s to inform whether there is a plurality of Jeffersons or a possession of Jefferson’s. Many times, punctuation or capitalization is a stylistic choice and not material in the comprehension of the meaning.
There are times when the Oxford comma is very useful, and other times when it is not excessive. Longer phrases often benefit in guiding the reader with Oxford commas, whereas for a series of single words the usage is often overly formal.
When we consider what are the proper rules of grammar, punctuation and capitalization, we often focus on arbitrary reasons to demand one rule over another. We forget that these rules are created for an end purpose, the comprehension and legibility of the text. Nothing more, nothing less. The militant rule fanatics are quick to state what is right and wrong. Those folks would be wise to consider the history of the language. They are planting their flag in a moving terrain. If there were to look back at the rules of the language from the 16th century on, they would discover many updates and changes to the rules of the road. With our current explosion of technology, the pressure on the language rules to keep pace with the massive changes roiling our communications is substantial. Fear not the many changes to our beloved lingua franca. It is a liberation from the tyranny of the rules of the language and a victory for expression. Let content ring!
