5 ms·

Grammar at its best promotes clear communication but more often is used as a social tool of control and exclusion. When you are already talking to people within

Grammar at its best promotes clear communication but more often is used as a social tool of control and exclusion. When you are already talking to people within your in-group, that impulse isn’t necessary.

PaulHoule 6mo ago
On some level. Thing is it is visible and everybody knows what the standards are, social mobility is possible under the sign of grammar. If the game is wearing a $20k watch or understanding the covert signs of status that you might find in a particular community, that's something different.
ekjhgkejhgk 6mo ago
[flagged]
- kanbara 6mo ago
  people aren’t saying “aks” to make a public statement against you for whatever reason. they’re saying it because that’s how they learned to speak and the dialect of speakers who they were surrounded with. yeah, people code switch, but i have come across many many people who just say things differently from the majority pronunciation. they’re not misunderstood and they can communicate just fine (see nucular vs nuclear). that’s just how language works, right
  - ekjhgkejhgk 6mo ago
    [flagged]
z500 6mo ago
Everyone uses grammar. What you're describing is elitism and elevating one particular dialect above all others.
- falcor84 6mo ago
  According to the wide definition of grammar, everyone uses some grammar, but nevertheless it's not a category error to say "*this sentence got grammar mistake". When we speak about the grammar for a language/dialect we imply a prescribed "correct" grammar for a particular community of speakers.
  - ninalanyon 6mo ago
    > speak about the grammar for a language/dialect we imply a prescribed "correct" grammar Not prescribed, rather observed. At least in English where there is no language authority and dictionaries present usage. The situation is even stranger in Norway where there is a prescribed form but where dialects have essentially equal rights so that the prescription really applies only to formal written Norwegian.
    - falcor84 6mo ago
      From what I experienced, "proper" English grammar is absolutely prescribed at schools, and "poor grammar" will consistently and very predictably get you point deductions, regardless of whether linguists would accept your grammar as valid.

PaulHoule 6mo ago

On some level. Thing is it is visible and everybody knows what the standards are, social mobility is possible under the sign of grammar. If the game is wearing a $20k watch or understanding the covert signs of status that you might find in a particular community, that's something different.

ekjhgkejhgk 6mo ago

[flagged]

kanbara 6mo ago
people aren’t saying “aks” to make a public statement against you for whatever reason. they’re saying it because that’s how they learned to speak and the dialect of speakers who they were surrounded with. yeah, people code switch, but i have come across many many people who just say things differently from the majority pronunciation. they’re not misunderstood and they can communicate just fine (see nucular vs nuclear). that’s just how language works, right
- ekjhgkejhgk 6mo ago
  [flagged]

z500 6mo ago

Everyone uses grammar. What you're describing is elitism and elevating one particular dialect above all others.

falcor84 6mo ago
According to the wide definition of grammar, everyone uses some grammar, but nevertheless it's not a category error to say "*this sentence got grammar mistake". When we speak about the grammar for a language/dialect we imply a prescribed "correct" grammar for a particular community of speakers.
- ninalanyon 6mo ago
  > speak about the grammar for a language/dialect we imply a prescribed "correct" grammar Not prescribed, rather observed. At least in English where there is no language authority and dictionaries present usage. The situation is even stranger in Norway where there is a prescribed form but where dialects have essentially equal rights so that the prescription really applies only to formal written Norwegian.
  - falcor84 6mo ago
    From what I experienced, "proper" English grammar is absolutely prescribed at schools, and "poor grammar" will consistently and very predictably get you point deductions, regardless of whether linguists would accept your grammar as valid.