One way or another, you use grammar every single day. From texting people, to talking or writing for class. You can’t go a day without actually using grammar. It’s something from the time you’re able to even understand the speech around you. But alongside this, they way you speak can also influence how you type. This applies to everyone. You may not realize it, but how you type and how you talk are intertwined. This can be through, for example, how many “likes” you use when describing something or even the certain slang that you use.
This is just how it happens, you can always strive to improve the way you write but sometimes theres no way to change how you speak. That is a part of you, but as long as you can be understood, there shouldn’t be a huge issue about it. However, there are people that absolutely HATE it if people don’t have proper grammar. From Kyle Wien’s “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why.”, Wien is a perfect example of a self-proclaimed “stickler” when it comes to grammar. He states that even with people using a handful of commas drives him absolutely insane. But what is “proper grammar”? There are the fundamentals of grammar and writing that people know, but sometimes it can be hard to grasp, especially if your first language isn’t English. This is the same in any kind of language that you’re trying to learn too.
Even then is it fair to judge someone based on their grammar? Wien says it’s completely okay. This is what he considers a litmus test, and that he’d even turn away even the finest programmer if their grammar is even a bit off. It seems petty to judge someone on their grammar despite having genuine talent. Their grammar doesn’t connect to their intellect or their skills.
How Using Different Language is Still Good English
Opposite to Wien’s statements about “poor grammar”, Zachary Martin has a completely different opinion on it. In “African American Language is Good English” (written by Zachary Martin), he talks about how a lot of the slang and terminology of African American English is still proper English. There’s nothing inherently wrong with using it either. Although he also points that even know it’s been stereotypically associated with thugs and gangs which make is sound really bad when that’s not the case at all.
As Martin puts it, imagine rappers of today using proper English in their verses. It would sound rather bland wouldn’t it? You’d understand it, sure, but there’s nothing of real interest to really enjoy it. A lot of people speak with a lot of variation in their wording, using a lot of slangs and abbreviations while speaking and there’s nothing inherently wrong with it. You still know what they’re talking about too so there’s no need for them to change how they speak. It’s still good English because they’re still following the principals of grammar too.
Using this kind of vernacular too, or any kind can also make things interesting in writing. No one wants to read a story where all the characters sound the same either, so why do that? There’s no issue using any kind of vernacular, it should be normalized with how varied everyone speaks. Not one person speaks the same, so it should be known how to use different kinds of language so long as you understand the grammar behind it.
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