Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbie Jackson
Good grammar along with good spelling are simply tools, with some written work it is absolutely essential yet with others it's not. Legibility and understanding the meaning of what is written is the most important part of any piece work, if you do that you are onto a winner in my book as all too often self appointed grammar police can't wait to rip someones work apart yet never read it or enjoy it's message. Look back far enough to see where language came from and how it evolved, there is little to get excited about grammar. Good communication and understanding is more important than grammatical correctness.
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Communication originally was solely oral. Tone, inflection, facial expression, and the like were the grammar tools of oral communication and remain so today.
Consider email and posts to forums like MR. How many times have we read a post and misinterpreted the writer's intent because the cues to tell us the intent were missing or poorly expressed? We often impose a tone to a post that may not be the tone intended, for example, thinking a post was intended to be insulting and snide when the poster had no such intent whatsoever.
Grammar not only helps express clearly what is intended to be said, but also helps communicate the intended tone. Just as audible and visible expressions communicate intent and tone in oral communication, grammar does the same for written communication.
Grammar is not just punctuation; it is also choosing the right word. Whenever I read "due to", I wonder what the author means. Use of "due to" is often a poor grammatcial choice because it leaves to the reader to decide what is meant, when it is the author who should be clearly stating what is meant.
Good grammar ensures good communication and reduces the likelihood of miscommunication in the written word.