Over at The Critic magazine there’s a brilliant piece about the decline of the use of proper English grammar. The author, James Innes-Smith, takes aim at the idea that the use of bad grammar and linguistic sloppiness indicates that the speaker is ‘grounded’ and speaking honestly. In this piece he describes Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner’s claim that attacks on her grammar are attacks on the ‘authenticity’ of her words.
It’s a great piece and well worth reading but what caught my eye was a quote from within it from Trevor Phillips.
Mr Phillips said:
Of the “educational left-behinds’ Trevor Phillips, former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission writes, “I doubt that I’ll ever work out why the British appear untroubled that so many of their children emerge from over a decade of expensive, compulsory education with scarcely more in the way of literacy and numeracy than the average Neanderthal.”
Mr Phillips is correct. We should cease to be blasé about the fact that so many Britons are untroubled by the fact that their children are leaving school so poorly educated and especially so poorly educated in how to use the English language.
“Scandinavians put many of us to shame with their remarkable grasp of English…”
I used to think I was sensible, which makes the truth even more incomprehensible.
That kind of thing?
“She implies that articulacy is the enemy of authenticity”
which is simply nonsense.
“In a recent tweet, Angela Rayner complained about the media’s critique of her use of grammar. She argues that working class people like her are far more concerned with learning about “integrity, honesty and decency”.”
Why should such things be mutually exclusive? As for being working class, I am but that certainly doesn’t mean that I am like her. I went to a very ordinary comprehensive school and left perfectly able to express myself clearly and with a good grasp of mathematics.