All kinds of language welcome

This is just a reminder for a few people that come into the platform in regards to quality of content. Quality is subjective and always will be however, as a business English teacher for fifteen odd years, grammar does matter. But rarely as much as some people claim.

I am the Australian and if I be speak not so goodly, not great the impression made gets. However, as a person that teaches people who speak between three and eight or nine languages compared to my one, I am pretty forgiving on article, preposition or spelling errors. As someone who writes between two thousand and five thousand words most days, I am also pretty forgiving on typos and I have the presence of mind to reorder and overlook on the fly without it interrupting my flow.

Some people think that programs like Grammarly should be used yet, it is a plugin and I am not overly comfortable using it. You may trust them, it doesn't mean I must. The second and more important aspect of using such programs is that they are competitive cognitive artefacts. This means that they replace our need to learn and improve and will lead to a lower ability for us to learn across other domains also. The long-ranging affects of these are largely unknown but, rarely is a lower ability to learn and develop various regions of the brain going to amount to increased successes.

The next issue when it comes to quality of written expression is that for many, writing is not their core skill and there are many artists and technical developers who can be brilliant in their field yet have low language ability. I know that I am not bad at my work in Personnel development but, if I was to do it in Finnish (the only other language I can get-by in), I would sound like I had an IQ of 17.

Now, as a native speaker and even those who are very good non-native speakers of English, it is easy to judge others work based upon their level of correctness yet, most do not consider how languages work. You yourself may not realise how many of the words you speak are just randomly made up. Did you know that Shakespeare added around 1700 words to our vocabularies? Here are a few I clipped from online:

Words themselves are an art form that very few seem to use well, even though they may use them with grammatical accuracy. What most may find is that the greatest of writers are those who broke the rules, which is a common thread in the greatest people across most domains.

For some, the transportation of the idea is enough and grammar and vocabulary matter very little, for others it is of vital importance but just like any work of art, the importance of grammar is subjective. Personally for me, it depends on the kinds of articles I read but, as a professional who has travelled to many different countries and worked with many different language backgrounds, I am likely much more forgiving than those who have been echo-chambered in a single language. I find I am much less forgiving on native speakers who make common errors though.

There is also the difference in opportunity for education and availability of resources and assuming all have had quality schooling in language is a large reach as many are self-taught from what they can find. Judging and dismissing people based upon their spoken ability will result in a lot of intelligence and talent going undiscovered and unrewarded. Also, assuming that all other things are equal in the creation of content is a narrow view.

Sure, you may have the possibility to go over your material with a fine-toothed comb but, have you considered you are in a position of privilege in this greater world, or do you assume that all enjoy such luxury of time? Do you also work under the assumption that you are the target market for every article posted here? Many that are the most critical of language are often those who have not really had to learn another and the support of lower language skills is often by those who understand the struggle.

Having said this, I do think that people should consistently attempt to improve the presentation of their content, including their written language skills as for many, it is an influencing factor in giving support. The benefit of paying attention to this will also result in higher personal skills and most likely, an increased speed of delivery. This can be utilised in the real world environment and open many doors of practical value.

In chat, I actually spend a little bit of time correcting friend's grammar and word choice as they are often highly talented people who will benefit from some tweaking of their language. Like we all. Everyone can improve and some of the most outspoken of us on the subject of language skills often fail to recognise the errors we ourselves make. We are blind to our own shortcomings.

The thing that I love about Steemit is the diversity of people and information on offer and for me, the delivery and phrasing of the content itself. I love hearing the translated idioms that give a view of a culture or are often, much more colourful than my own stale choices. It would be a shame if everyone followed the rules in my opinion.

For me, when it comes to quality of content, I am happy to read poor text if it is somewhat coherent and tells a story from an interesting perspective. Effort also plays a role in my evaluation and even though I cannot actually know what work goes in, I get a feel for it.

My content ranges across various genres and I write in a variety of styles as I like to challenge myself. Do I expect that I will not make errors as I cut and paste words here or there, delete across paragraphs, change the tense and forget to shift the entire sentence? Do I expect everyone to love every piece of my work? No, I am fallible in many, many ways. You are not?

Be charitable, as you never know when you may require the grace of strangers.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]