Author Topic: Words and Grammar and Stuff  (Read 126179 times)

St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #140 on: August 19, 2008, 08:39:02 PM »
psmd; dwedj2- fj s swnnd mans diwd. j=2ezqaz ded,ped - di -, nwer ..?/

t0cza

But it's more than that...wouldn't you agree?
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oneaprilday

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #141 on: August 19, 2008, 08:40:10 PM »
Even if it made skjerka crushingly unhappy, I'd still rather he didn't 'decorate'. Punctuation is a beautiful thing, but only when it isn't being figuratively raped.

. punctuation is a hegemonic tool undertheorized . using rape as an analogy is symptomatic of a patriarchial world-view that does work to maintain the status quo (the same kind of work reifying "rules" of grammar does)

 ;D

I have a great deal of respect for punctuation, especially after reading who knows how many hundreds of student papers over the last 10 years. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to spend several minutes with a sentence or paragraph trying to figure out what it means simply because it has too much punctuation or because it lacks punctuation that would have made its meaning clear on the first reading. Punctuation primarily offers clarity and meaning. I do love the writers who play with and challenge punctuation (and hey, let's bring back illuminated manuscripts!), but for prose that ought to be clear on a first reading and isn't, I'll go with standard/accepted punctuation rules every time.

Here's a classic example from my daughters' school newsletter that came home this month:

"If you didn't hand these forms in at the registration you may mail them directly to the school, or hand them in to the office starting the week of August 18."

Granted, there's not a lot of confusion in this sentence, but the lack of the comma after the first clause ("at the registration [needs a comma here] you may mail") and the unnecessary comma later on caused me to have to read the sentence over three times 'til I understood it when I should have had to read it, nay, skim it, only once.

edgar00

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #142 on: August 19, 2008, 08:42:08 PM »
I be likin' grammar.

I mean, I like grammar.
-Le Chiffre: You changed your shirt, Mr Bond. I hope our little game isn't causing you to perspire.

-James Bond: A little. But I won't consider myself to be in trouble until I start weeping blood.

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edgar00

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #143 on: August 19, 2008, 08:42:45 PM »
Are you an English teacher oneaprilday?
-Le Chiffre: You changed your shirt, Mr Bond. I hope our little game isn't causing you to perspire.

-James Bond: A little. But I won't consider myself to be in trouble until I start weeping blood.

https://twitter.com/Betweentheseats
http://crabkeyheadquarters.wordpress.com/

oneaprilday

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #144 on: August 19, 2008, 08:47:12 PM »
Are you an English teacher oneaprilday?

I teach English composition (and English lit when I can get it  :) ) part-time at the community college level.

edgar00

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #145 on: August 19, 2008, 08:49:33 PM »
That's great. I'm always reassured to know that there are people out there who are still knowledgeable about the English language and treat it with respect.

-Le Chiffre: You changed your shirt, Mr Bond. I hope our little game isn't causing you to perspire.

-James Bond: A little. But I won't consider myself to be in trouble until I start weeping blood.

https://twitter.com/Betweentheseats
http://crabkeyheadquarters.wordpress.com/

St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #146 on: August 19, 2008, 08:53:20 PM »
It's amazing how you can be fluent in a langauge (your native language) and not know a darn thing about it.

I was humbled by my TEFL course in Prague when I would get questions from students and not be able to answer them. Simple things like verb tenses...
Hey, nice marmot!

edgar00

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #147 on: August 19, 2008, 08:54:51 PM »
Please, no questions regarding verb tenses! I'll run and hide!
-Le Chiffre: You changed your shirt, Mr Bond. I hope our little game isn't causing you to perspire.

-James Bond: A little. But I won't consider myself to be in trouble until I start weeping blood.

https://twitter.com/Betweentheseats
http://crabkeyheadquarters.wordpress.com/

St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #148 on: August 19, 2008, 08:59:39 PM »
Please, no questions regarding verb tenses! I'll run and hide!

Yeah - that's pretty much what I did...

Nothing like a teacher with that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.
Hey, nice marmot!

oneaprilday

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Re: Words and Grammar and Stuff
« Reply #149 on: August 19, 2008, 09:01:07 PM »
It's amazing how you can be fluent in a langauge (your native language) and not know a darn thing about it.

I was humbled by my TEFL course in Prague when I would get questions from students and not be able to answer them. Simple things like verb tenses...

And I will freely admit that I didn't really understand a lot of grammar rules until, post BA in English and post MA in English, I had to teach an intensive grammar class.   :(  (It was a really fun class to teach though!  :) )



 

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