[Magdalen] "Formal Speech"

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

I absolutely agree with you, insofar as any of those matters actually
interfere with clarity.  However, most of the time, the matters you mention
have nothing to do with clarity at all.

Using an adjective as an adverb, for instance: How does this obfuscate
meaning?
Ending a sentence with a preposition has no effect on anything I can
discern.
Similarly, splitting an infinitive makes no functional difference. It
certainly does not decrease clarity. I believe it often is the best
structure.

Perhaps you can demonstrate how these specific actions which you have
yourself mentioned contribute to a loss of clarity?

I taught a class in prison, and my assistant was one of these folks who
insisted that every grammatical rule had to be followed; he had absolutely
no insight into the whole point of learning good language skills.  He had
absolutely no interest in clarity of communication; all he cared about was
adhering to his list of grammatical rules. Clarity of communication simply
did not interest him. I had to do my best to teach the course in spite of
this well-meaning fellow.

Things that make a difference, I agree entirely.  Such matters need to be
dealt with in some way.

This reminds me of the different way people view Biblical
commandments/guidance for life.

1. The Bible is a list of rules which it is up to us as humble followers of
God to follow without any question. We need not understand; we need only
obey. Period.

2. The Bible gives an extensive list of guidelines for living a full and
abundant life. Usually one can discern the reason for the rule; when one
does not, it may be that one is not thinking it through adequately, the
rule is misunderstood by some writer along the way, or the societal context
has so greatly changed that the rule has to be reinterpreted to be useful.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Fri, Mar 6, 2015 at 10:17 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:

>
>
>
> I read some information recently that excused all the grammatical
> sloppiness
> in the USA as being "informal" speech, and what is traditionally  correct
> is casually dismissed as "formal speech."
>
> So that's what it's all about!
>
> The use of adjectives as adverbs, the routine ending of sentences  with
> prepositions, the splitting of infinitives, and the total abandonment  of
> "whom", etc., etc., are just all "formal" and the grammatical  sloppiness
> is really where the action is and named "informal" speech.
>
> I don't buy it for a minute.  This is propagated by English class
> dropouts,
> who are getting even for the heavy-handed use of the red pencils on
> their essays.
>
> If they can't get it right, anything goes.
>
>
>
> David Strang.
>
>
>