Story by Phil Riske | Senior Reporter/Writer
The Judge: “Counsel, this court does not accept briefs with “BTW, LOL, pls dismis, irregardless “or something you posted Twitter.
The verdict: Expediency and shortcuts in grammar are looming as a serious degradation of American literacy, despite the findings of a YouGov poll.
Twelve percent of the poll’s 1,000 respondents answered that improper grammar (punctuation, capitalization, etc.) in a text message would bother them “A lot,” while 24 percent responded “Somewhat,” 29 percent responded “Not very much,” 30 percent responded “Not at all,” and five percent responded
The language used in emails was only a slightly different story, with 22 percent of respondents saying improper grammar bothers them “A lot,” 30 percent responding “Somewhat,” 23 percent “Not very much,” 21 percent.
It’s safe to assume, I believe, the bulk of what is written today by pre-career young people is in the form of text messages, e-mail or social media posts.
This spells trouble down the road when it comes time to apply for a job with a resume or other written communication.
It’s worth noting that while 48 percent of respondents to the YouGov study were accepting of improper grammar, most of them reported using proper grammar themselves when texting and e-mailing.
What about the other half?
Not all those who make an effort to use proper grammar are unforgiving of those who are more creative in their approach to textual communication.
Count me as unforgiving.
Our English language evolved from Latin.
Oportet quod inservivit servare mentem. (We need to preserve that which has served our intelligence.)
