LOL. OMG. “Your” instead of “You’re.” Misplaced homonyms.
Go ahead and search around Facebook these days (we’ll wait!) and you’ll probably come across a comment that looks a lot like the one above. The problem isn’t about the content of the status updates, wall-to-wall messages, or biographical descriptions. We’re talking about how that content is delivered: usually with poor grammar. It’s this poor grammar that’s not only confounding the educated among us but is also getting the older generations to wonder aloud: whatever happened to spelling and grammar?
The truth is that spelling and grammar have indeed suffered a setback in the 21st century. However, the reasons for this can’t be attributed to any one single problem. Instead, it’s a multitude of factors that has led to the current “LOL” generation. If we’re going to solve it, we’ll have to be honest about each of these problems.
So, in the interest of answering that crucial question – why have spelling and grammar declined so much recently? – we’ll introduce a few problems that we believe may be potential suspects in the 21st-century murder of high spelling and grammar standards.
Problem #1: The Changing Standards in the Education System
Let’s be honest: when’s the last time you saw your child get marked down for grammatical or spelling mistakes in social studies? When was the last time they were held accountable for these mistakes in any class other than English?
Sure, English class still exists, and spelling and grammar play a major role in those classes. English remains a core part of many schools’ curriculums. But outside of an English setting, the quality of English has deteriorated. With the introduction of national and standardized testing, it’s no longer as important for students to be able to articulate their answers as it is for them to simply know the right ones.
It’s also important to note how prevalent multiple-choice testing has become in many schools. With technology like Scantron sheets available, there is less emphasis on a student’s ability to convey an idea through the written word; they need only fill in a series of small circles in the right order to perform well these days.
Additionally, the English grammar standards themselves have changed. It’s no longer required to be exemplary at spelling and grammar to succeed in English class. Instead, students simply have to know the right answers rather than demonstrate their skills in writing.
These lax standards have been reported by teachers across the country. But before you start to blame the schools or the teachers, consider that a few other elements might be at play in the spelling and grammar issue.
Problem #2: Autocorrect
As you may have heard from a purist math teacher back in your childhood, calculators can be incredibly useful – but they also lead to the atrophy of basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication skills. Why? Because you’re not using your “mental muscles” to do the work when a machine is doing it for you.
If you didn’t think this could happen in the area of spelling and grammar, you haven’t met autocorrect. It’s not the same thing as spellcheck, which at least gives you the chance to review your spelling errors before you correct them. Word processing software today can often detect spelling errors as you type, correcting them before you even noticed they occurred. If you’ve ever written anything on a modern word processor, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered this feature.
While it’s difficult not to enjoy such a modern convenience, we do have to admit that some people use it to bypass their weaknesses in spelling and grammar. They type something, figuring that they’ll come across as intelligent because of the word processing software.
But what about when someone has to write something down on paper? Where’s the autocorrect on a piece of paper?
Many people still make spelling and grammar mistakes online because autocorrect isn’t as prevalent in web browsers. But one day, it might be.
Problem #3: Mobile Phones
Sometimes, the use of technology creates a necessity that leads to an invention. Consider the terse prose of the telegraph age, when words came at a price and needed to be cut as much as possible. This helped eliminate excessive verbiage.
But there’s a problem with these modern conveniences too: sometimes we cut too much. That’s the case with mobile phones, which aren’t as easy to type on as a full keyboard. Many people, therefore, shorten their phrases into abbreviations or simply neglect to fix spelling mistakes. This leads to a kind of intellectual laziness that pervades different areas of our culture. Look online, and you’re bound to find more mistakes than would be tolerable to any English teacher wanting to avoid a heart attack.
Between the “LOLs” and homonym errors, mobile phones are responsible for many sins against proper English – and there’s likely little that the education system and teachers in general will be able to do about it. Even so, the correct usage of language should not be considered a relic of days past.
What to Do
Changing the quality of grammar and spelling in the world requires changing the standards. Students should get as much practice writing as possible so they’re better at it later in life. Teachers should correct spelling and grammar even when it’s not their primary responsibility – provided they apply the corrections correctly.
Also, when writing articles or essays, we should emphasize the importance of proper citation/APA citation to ensure academic integrity and credibility. To simplify the process, efficient citation generator tools online can automatically format references according to APA guidelines. This valuable tool saves time, eliminates the risk of citation errors, and makes the entire writing process more streamlined. By adhering to these best practices, we can present top-notch content while upholding scholarly principles.
At an individual level, it’s important for each of us to remember how crucial spelling and grammar are in putting our best communicative foot forward, in articulating our thoughts and feelings clearly to the world. Language is a common bond that allows us to cooperate and communicate effectively, helping the human race reach new heights.
