Grammatical Indecisiveness and the Philosopher's Bone (To Pick)

318 21 6
                                    

As we all go along, our understanding of the English language grows, and as you understand the language more, you begin to truly understand the unorganized, inconsistent, and rather haphazard rules that make the English language the English language.

Every so often, the grammar and stylization books come out with a new version. The University of Oxford, for example, provides the Oxford standard. There is also Cornell's Elements of Style. Then, there is the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Manual. This doesn't even mention the likes of dictionaries like Webster, which add words on a regular basis.

The point is that the English language is in a state of constant evolution and change. A quick science lesson for you, when people think of evolution, they seem to think of it as a means of growing more efficient, better, and more complicated. This isn't the truth at all. Evolution is about changing into something that fits the environment the best, where it be simpler, better, or even dumber. English is constantly evolving, not to an ideal state, but to fit the needs of the current generation.

This is why I always find it laughable when previous generations condemn new generations for the ways they speak. You're not speaking English! What I spoke was English! Your new words are strange and confuse me. LOL. The only point of English is so we communicate. How we communicate informs English. If every teenager spoke a certain way, refusing to acknowledge it undermines the point of having a language.

Point being, the longer you immerse yourself in English, the more you begin to realize that grammar and spelling are not written in stone. English is not only evolving, but the rules keep changing too. New words are created every day, and sometimes old rules get replaced with new rules. If you've ever heard a single line of Shakespeare, you'd understand exactly how much our language has evolved over the years.

Oh, and by the way, anyone who thinks Shakespeare was some refined literary genius... you probably should understand that his plays at the time he wrote them were rather simple, crass, and written for a general audience. They lasted through the test of time exactly because they catered to the lowest common denominator. There are numerable penis jokes in his work. The modern equivalent was less Hemingway and more JK Rowling.

That said, I've already written chapters explaining how, as an author, there is only two things holding you back from writing. Those are what the public will understand, and what your publisher will accept. Grammar, spelling, rules... well, they are more like guidelines, really. They can be ignored at a moment's notice. As long as you can convey the scene so your readers understand it and want to read more... nothing else matters.

We all learn the same English, so English with decent grammar is usually the English most accessible to all of your readers. You should always write toward the crowd you're trying to speak to. If you want your work read by teens, write like a teen. If you want your work read by professionals, you need to write like a professional.

Part of the reason this very book is so accessible is because I don't write like a college professor with an English degree. I write like the clueless and ignorant individual I am, and I think that it works well for a lot of you.

I've previously written the chapter 'Write whatever you want', and genuinely already covered this concept. However, it really is important, especially when you reach the final drafts of a novel, so I wanted to cover it one more time in a more specific way. I wanted to point out some things in English that don't have a clearly defined answer.

To be clear, every standard has their take on this. In a way, you could say that a decision has been ruled. However, that decision isn't always followed, and there are plenty of people who don't follow the standards. As I pointed out, when someone doesn't follow a standard, the answer isn't always for people to be educated. Sometimes, it's the rules that need to change. Language was built for people to communicate, not the other way around. Just because what you write isn't grammatical, doesn't mean those rules might not change and suddenly its everyone else who is wrong. 

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Jun 24, 2021 ⏰

Add this story to your Library to get notified about new parts!

Wattpad 101: Your guide to the world of WattpadWhere stories live. Discover now