tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post7771216337647551188..comments2024-03-07T14:43:21.888-08:00Comments on Whatever I want to write about: Does grammar matter at work? Depends!Sriram Khéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06907731254833435446noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-20184791207345481352015-02-08T18:33:05.957-08:002015-02-08T18:33:05.957-08:00I, too, enjoyed the discussions for which I owe yo...I, too, enjoyed the discussions for which I owe you a huge thanks.<br /><br />Truce on this topic ... for now ... because I am sure we will argue the same issues again when I blog on this topic again ;)Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-26165250319168308502015-02-08T15:34:21.771-08:002015-02-08T15:34:21.771-08:00I will agree to disagree since I know I will lose ...I will agree to disagree since I know I will lose the battle of citations. As always, I enjoy the thinking generated. Thank you.Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-83885277095917249622015-02-08T08:13:48.070-08:002015-02-08T08:13:48.070-08:00Am guessing that we might go round after round on ...Am guessing that we might go round after round on this one without either one of us budging from our positions ;)<br />Because, our point of departure is this: I think/believe that all humans are not born with comparable brains and brawn. In the old days, brawn worked relatively well to compensate for the lack of high level mental abilities. But, in the contemporary world where brainpower rules, well, the ones who have trouble even getting past high school will be left way behind. Even when they understand the importance of brainpower, what if they are simply unable to keep up with the changes that are required? When the routine jobs that paid decently enough have all vanished?<br />You write "to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being" ... there is one piece that you might to think through there--note the agency. It requires an external agent to help that person. But, when the political philosophy denies valid and important roles for structures to help individuals, then who will change her into a different human being? All we do then is condemn that person into the way of life that they live.Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-59892732825575197282015-02-07T22:19:24.558-08:002015-02-07T22:19:24.558-08:00We may not all be endowed with comparable abilitie...We may not all be endowed with comparable abilities, but we all have the ability to learn. A grammar book - or paying attention in school - will teach all one needs to know to speak and write professionally. We all train for our jobs, whether learning the cash register or how to perform surgery. If someone is motivated to attain a better job, he must learn the skills necessary for that job, ranging from writing and speaking more professionally to advanced surgical techniques.<br /><br />To paraphrase Shaw (because I can't find the precise line quickly enough): Her speaking will keep her in the gutter all her life.<br />To quote Shaw: You have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her. It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class and soul from soul.Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-56691682679249655842015-02-07T10:16:24.924-08:002015-02-07T10:16:24.924-08:00Well ...
We are all not endowed with comparable ab...Well ...<br />We are all not endowed with comparable abilities. Thus, some of us won't be able to move past that entry-level job. Should they, therefore, be condemned to a struggling existence just because they lack the abilities to learn the grammar and the math and the skills that will propel them to prosperity? To paraphrase Shakespeare, if we prick them do they not bleed? Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-87976503702331659902015-02-07T07:04:10.190-08:002015-02-07T07:04:10.190-08:00That sales person's grammar will keep him in e...That sales person's grammar will keep him in entry level jobs his whole life. The vast majority of jobs above minimum wage require better writing and speaking skills (real intellectual skills, NOT a reliance on Spellcheck and Grammarcheck). Language has such ability to classify or categorize us. Those who speak and write well are considered more educated, more worthy of hiring, perhaps more worthy of responsibility or opportunity, than those who sound uneducated, and that classification will propel or dog each person forever.Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.com