Grammar, Punctuation and the Pirate’s Code*
What’s the big deal about grammar and punctuation? Why do they exist and what makes people get so riled up about them?
There are tons of “rule books” and style books in abundance, including Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, “a prescriptive American English writing style guide in numerous editions” and English Grammar for Dummies by Geraldine Woods. If you want something truly hefty, I recommend The Chicago Manual of Style, which just came out in its 18th edition.
GRAMMAR
The Oxford Dictionary defines grammar as “the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics.”
Grammar varies with differing languages. The subject-predicate relationship, among other things, can be different, depending on whether you are speaking English, Spanish, or Navajo. For example, as I understand it, the Navajo language does not contain adjectives, instead, verbs, and sometimes nouns, are used to function as such. And then there’s the inclusive, exclusive, and complex pronouns and pronoun prefixes used in Cherokee. I am in total awe.
So, grammar is basically a social construct that allows us to understand the spoken and/or written word in order to communicate. This is especially important when we wish to express complex ideas. Think of grammar as the blueprint of how words fit together to form a cohesive whole. The rules provide the logical sequence in which the words combine to make an intelligible whole.
PUNCTUATION
A plethora of sites are dedicated to the questions and issues surrounding punctuation, as well as many entertaining, yet informative, books like Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss and The Transitive Vampire: a Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon.
Punctuation is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the marks, such as period, comma, and parentheses, used in writing to separate sentences and their elements and to clarify meaning.”
Wikipedia states that punctuation is “the use of spacing, conventional signs, and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading, both silently and aloud, of handwritten and printed texts.” (I actually like this description better than the definition from Oxford.)
In a nutshell, punctuation provides the road signs readers need to easily understand the written word by providing pauses, stops, and divided word groupings that help make sense of the ideas being transmitted.
LIVING LANGUAGE
But English, like many languages, is not a dead language. It changes and grows, which is why we need to buy a new dictionary every couple of years to keep up. This is also why the Chicago Manual of Style has an 18th edition. And, it is why people constantly dialogue and even argue about the “rules” of grammar and punctuation.
While there are some people who remain rigid in their thinking and rail against change, others will tell you that standards and rules are revised based on usage. Styles change, as in the case of the Oxford, or serial, comma, which is “required” by some style guides (mostly the more scholarly ones), and not by others. (Personally, I tend to “use it” in business writing, and “lose it” in fiction writing—if and when it isn’t necessary for clarity.)
As an aside, I just learned that the Māori word for autism is takiwātanga, which means “in my/his or her own time and space.” English should take a lesson on developing words this rich and non-judgemental.
CLARITY
Clarity is the key takeaway here. The intention for writers is to get the story out of their heads and hearts and onto the page in a way this is accessible for readers, so that the written information can then be transferred into their brains. (Super cool brain science!)
Grammar and punctuation are important for ensuring that transference takes place smoothly. Think of grammar and punctuation as the signals and road signs that guide us on the transference journey. When writing, as long as the reader brain is getting all the right signals, you can play with the grammar and punctuation and even break some “rules” along the way.
The bottom line is that, grammar and punctuation are tools for ensuring our words are understood. And, while it is important to understand and follow the styles and standards in order to ensure one’s ideas are clear and easily understood, ultimately, grammar and punctuation rules are really, like the characters keep saying about the Pirate’s Code in Pirates of the Caribbean, “ . . . more what you’d call guidelines.”
*This post was upcycled from a previous post published in 2015.
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