Although I agree with the notion that grammar is important, I wouldn’t go as far as Kyle Weins in his article, I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why. Of course, knowing the difference between their, they’re, there, and it’s, its, its’, is standard grammar, but at the end of the day, standard is all we can go off of. In this class, I learned that everyone loves different writing styles. Putting standards aside, some companies may love the higher grammar level, like commas and semi-colons in all the appropriate places, while others may see it as pretentious. In my grammar class last year, taught by the amazing Susan Wong, I learned that grammar, at the end of the day, is just language. Derived from immigrant Saxons, Germans, Latin, etc., our language has a rich history with an evolving style. Some people, due to slavery, have their own way of language and grammar; are we to say that’s wrong or ‘improper’? I understand where Weins is coming from but to say, “I will pass on a great programmer who cannot write,” is a bit off-putting for me. With all the digital help we get now and not only with grammar, who cares???!
This leads me to my next point, AAVE or African/Black English, is in fact proper English. Zachary Martin’s article, African American Language Is Good English, depicts exactly why; very well. For starters, it’s only seen as ‘thuggish’ or improper because of the media’s stereotypes. Martin explains how many forms of AAVE used in the media are written by white men with no knowledge of the background. Not only does it hold an audience’s attention but you can feel the passion through the words compared to standard English. It’s a growing concept and probably won’t be accepted into the academic world for a while. But it’s 2023 so anything is possible. I just know if Wein’s received an application like this, even with perfect grammar, he’d deny it.
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