Overkill..!

[maxsims]

Joe Carillo,

I saw the following in a piece called "The Importance of Grammar" within the "Commentary" section of your site.   Would you care to comment on it?



4S-AEP contends that by applying a function-related approach to explaining the constituents or elements of grammatical structures, and by focusing also on word and word-form relationships and characteristics, learners not only acquire usable language knowledge but are equipped with language skills that can be readily transferred from text to text thus significantly enhancing their personal ability to make and share meaning.

The outcome is that learners have a greater understanding of the significance of words in a construction and thus are able to use particular words and word groups in correct and relevant ways when communicating either in speech or writing. This grammatical knowledge also engenders confidence as well as competence which is often a hurdle many learners for whom English is not their primary language have to negotiate.

[Joe Carillo]

This is one strong reason why I believe it's extremely dangerous to leave the teaching of English grammar and usage entirely to academicians. Everything in that passage is what English teacher and plain-and-simple-English advocate William Zinsser has been campaigning against for most of his professional life--"long and pompous Latin words like 'implementation,' 'maximization,' and 'communication' that strangle and suffocate the language." In other words, maxsims, it's pure, unalloyed academic gobbledygook!

For more insights on what constitutes gobbledygook, check out "Writing as a Second Language," the talk that Zinsser gave to incoming international journalism students at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in August last year. It's featured in this week's edition of the Forum.