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Nuff Respect for the Grammarian

Submitted by islandgal As we go about our daily tasks criticizing and making lots of noise about this and that, many of us have made typo errors while posting. Typos is one thing but when it comes to grammar how many of us need to go back to school or check our First Aid in…

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Submitted by islandgal
Understanding standard English
Standard English is hot!

As we go about our daily tasks criticizing and making lots of noise about this and that, many of us have made typo errors while posting. Typos is one thing but when it comes to grammar how many of us need to go back to school or check our First Aid in English? I am not speaking about writing in dialect called Bajan, I am referring to the standard English we  were taught at school.  The standard English we use officially when speaking, writing a letter manually or electronically.

Folks I am no Grammarian and I will make a mistake or two from time to time. But when Newspapers and periodicals publish news and current events I expect that standard English to be used. This is not the case with the fourth estate in Barbados. Many of the editors and proof readers they employ don’t know the difference  between simple words like their, there and they’re. The difference between hear, here and hair and the list continues. Yes there are times I am stumped grammatically when writing, but I always try to find a simpler way of expressing myself so that I don’t expose too much of my behind.

It is said that how a person writes reflects the way he speaks. That is true to some extent but some of us are quite at ease using both colloquial and formal English knowing when and where to do so.  I found this neat quiz that I enjoyed doing to see how good or bad my Grammar was. Surprisingly I scored a 94.  Have fun doing it and learn a thing or two.

http://m.staples.ca/sbdca/en_CA/cre/programs/grammarquiz/

41 responses to “Nuff Respect for the Grammarian”

  1. memyselfandi Avatar
    memyselfandi

    Not only newspapers and periodicals; but the moderators (who claim to have gone to the University in Christ Church) on the call-in programs!!!!!!! Horrible!! “Eff’ instead of ‘if’; ‘theirselves’ instead of ‘themselves’. Ugggggghhh! I could go on and on…

  2. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    There are many people out there ,who had not the benefit of a secondary education,as we know it today, furthermore a university education, and who speak english more perfect than many of the real English people whom I have had the pleasure of living among for a number of years. One such man,may-he -rest- in peace, was an employee of the Sanitation Service Authority, and an ex 7th Standard Boy.

  3. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    My english teacher ,once told us how she overheard one of our classmates, over the weekend,conversing in the most atrocious grammar. When the teacher called her over, she repeated some of what she had said before , but in perfect english. The teacher asked her why did she not use the correct grammar in the first place. Her reply, “Um does tek too long fer seh”
    And that laziness ,applies to many of us.

  4. robert ross Avatar
    robert ross

    Since language is all we’ve got to make sense of the world, yes, it is arguable that the rules of grammar and the rest are critical. Yet the poet typically ignores its rules just as an artist or musician may well ignore the principles of formal composition. Maybe the maxim (adapted) ‘Look to the intent rather than the form’ is relevant here.

  5. ac Avatar
    ac

    Since society is no longer isolated geographically and all races and people different cultures meet at the same time via internet and social networking. the bar has been lowered so as to include other races who might struggle to reach the standard required by english in order to communicate freely .This should be seen as a milestone and the art of communication should not be used as a detriment to others who might find it highy impossible to cope otherwise.

  6. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    @ AC
    Trust me, we do understand that you are severely challenged in this regard.

  7. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    AC stop making up excuses. There are many people whose mother tongue is not English, can speak it and write it better than us Anglophones. I will excuse bad English from anyone whose first language is not English BUT I cannot exclude you of all people.

  8. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    GP…….ac had someone else type that for her….lol

  9. Hamilton hill Avatar
    Hamilton hill

    @ Islandgal …could not agree with you more.If you were to take a listen to what passes for broadcasting sometimes here in NYC your head would grow.They doesn’t and People listens to my show,are two that readily come to mind.Ever since the bar was lowered mediocrity has taken over in print as well as in the electronic media.Listen tomorrow and hear the first letter in the word CHILDREN is a T.You can use one hand to count those that still see value in pronunciation.Maybe it goes back to your initial point.They know no better.

  10. ac Avatar
    ac

    GP being grammatically has not stand in my way of being succesful. needless to say to put my accomplishements here despite of and inspite of of being grammatically challenged would be seen as boasting being a person guided by modesty . i also have met very succesful business people whose grammar is on the same level as that of primary school child .i have never scoffed or looked down on them cause their have made significant inroads that those with proper grammar can only dream of.

  11. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    AC did you do the quiz? What was your score?

  12. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    GRAMMAR is one thing, but there is a lot of BS that comes out of the USA, emanating from their way of spelling and silly way of thinking..

    LIKE WHAT THE HELL IS SHELL FISH?
    CRUSTACEANS AND MOLLUSCS HAVE SHELLS- FISH HAVE SCALES.

    WHAT IS A BOO-EE? THE WORD BUOY IS PRONOUNCED BOY.
    AND WHY DOES THE WORD at COME IN SENTENCES LIKE “WHERE IS HE………AT?

  13. Colonel Buggy Avatar
    Colonel Buggy

    @ GP. The Americans have set out to do things counter to that of the British. They have dropped the game of Cricket for Rounders,and drive on the opposite side of the road. The British salute with the palm of their hands open towards you,indicating that their hands are clean and everything is above board. Not so , the Americans ,they quite appropriately ,salute with the palm of their hands facing downwards.

  14. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    I AGREE WITH YOU COLONEL BUGGY

    I PROMISE TO TRY TO GET A CONTRACT PLAYING BASEBALL.

    I FEEL THAT I CAN MISS A BALL AS OFTEN AS THEIR BEST BATTERS WITHOUT TRYING.

    DID WE NOT AS BOYS THROW UP A PEBBLE AND HIT IT WITH A STICK?

  15. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Talk about pronunciation….Herbs …erbs will you call someone named Herbert Erbert? Bajans say Bumuda instead Bermuda. LOLL I fall down …instead I have fallen or I fell. Can anyone fall up?

  16. iabingy Avatar
    iabingy

    English really ? do we want to speak like the people that messed up the whole world and stole everything from every place they raped and plundered.
    the Irish slaves who were the first on the island taught the Africans how to speak English ,there fore that still comes through in bajan dialect and welsh,and of course cockney [low class Brits].
    to write English is good ——–to want to be like them is bad.
    thy in my opinion are the lowest class of people alive today.
    and i would avoid their know it all attitude as much as i can.
    where is the blarney stone?why you think the Irish bomb them all those years
    cause they [the English] raped and pillaged and enslaved the Irish first .
    ya know sonny boy.
    i say ‘say it like you mean it’ and that is all.cor blimey.god bline ya.
    too DA loo got to go pick up my rasta man i bought that house and boat for
    see if he is with another stupid English wench.

  17. David Avatar
    David

    @islansgal

    Isn’t there a place for colloquial easing in the use of formal expression?

  18. iabingy Avatar
    iabingy

    must i always remind allawunna.
    White Slavery and Servitude in Barbados

    Between the years of 1652 to 1659 it is estimated that well over 50,000 men, women, and children of Irish descent were forcibly transported to British imperial colonies in Barbados and Virginia to serve as slave labor on plantations.
    Other prisoners of war, as well as political dissenters, taken from conquered regions of England, Wales, and Scotland were also sent into permanent exile as slaves to Barbados. This essentially enabled Cromwell to purge the subject population of any perceived opposing elements, as well as to provide a lucrative source of profit through their sale to plantation owners. The extent to which White prisoners were transported to Barbados was so great, that by 1701, out of the roughly 25,000 slaves present on the island’s plantations, about 21,700 of them were of European descent. Later, as the African slave trade began to expand and flourish, the Irish slave population of Barbados began to drastically recede over time, due in part to the fact that many were worked to death early on in their arrival and also as a result of racial intermixing with Black slaves.
    In stark contrast to the small number of White indentured servants present on Barbados, who could at least theoretically look forward to eventual freedom no matter how bad their temporary bondage may have been, White slaves possessed no such hope. Indeed, they were treated the same as slaves of African descent in every manner imaginable. Irish slaves in Barbados were regarded as property to be bought, sold, treated and mistreated in any way the slave-owner saw fit. Their children were born into hereditary slavery for life as well. Punitive violence, such as whippings, was liberally employed against Irish slaves, and was often used on them immediately upon their arrival in the colonies to brutally reinforce their enchained status, and as a warning against future disobedience. The dehumanizing and degrading cattle-like physical inspections used to assess and showcase the “qualities” of each captive for prospective buyers, which reached infamy with the Black slave markets, was also practiced upon both White slaves and indentured servants in the colonies of the West Indies and North America. Irish slaves were marked off from their free White kinsmen through a branding of the owner’s initials applied to the forearm for women and on the buttocks for men by a red-hot iron. Irish women, in particular were seen as a desirable commodity by White slave owners who purchased them as sexual concubines. Others found themselves sold off to local brothels. This degrading practice of sex slavery made Irish men, women and children potential victims to perverse whims of many unsavory buyers.
    In reality, White slaves fared no better a fate as unwilling human property than did contemporary captive Africans. At times they were even treated worse then their Black counterparts due to economic considerations. This was especially true throughout most of the 17th century, as White captives were far more inexpensive on the slave market than their African counterparts, and hence were mistreated to a greater extent as they were seen as a conveniently disposable labor force. It was not until later that Black slaves became a cheaper commodity. An account dating back to 1667 grimly described the Irish of Barbados as “poor men, that are just permitted to live,… derided by the Negroes, and branded with the Epithite of white slaves.” A 1695 account written by the island’s governor frankly stated that they labored “in the parching sun without shirt, shoe, or stocking”, and were “domineered over and used like dogs.” It was common knowledge among the Irish of this era that to be deported, or “barbadosed”, to the West Indies meant a life of slavery. In many cases, it was actually common for White slaves in Barbados to be supervised by mulatto or Black overseers, who often treated captive Irish laborers with exceptional cruelty. Indeed:
    The mulatto drivers enjoyed using the whip on whites. It gave them a sense of power and was also a protest against their white sires. White women in particular were singled out for punishment in the fields. Sometimes, to satisfy a perverted craving, the mulatto drivers forced the women to strip naked before commencing the flogging and then forced them to continue working all day under the blistering sun. While the women were weeding in the fields in that condition, the drivers often satisfied their lust by taking them from the rear.
    Such instances of horrific rape and unwilling sexual union between Irish female slaves and Black slave-drivers, was actually implicitly encouraged by many of their White masters. Mulatto children, who resulted from such unions, both willing and unwilling, were seen by the plantation masters as a potentially unlimited breeding stock of future native-born slave labor, acquired free of charge and without the costs of transportation. Existing public records on Barbados reveal that some planters went as far as to systematize this process of miscegenation through the establishment of special “stud farms” for the specific purpose of breeding mixed-race slave children. White female slaves, often as young as 12, were used as “breeders” to be forcibly mated with Black men.
    The enchained Irish of Barbados played a pivotal role as the instigators and leaders of various slave revolts on the island, which was an ever-present threat faced by the planter aristocracy. Such an uprising occurred in November 1655, when a group of Irish slaves and servants escaped along with several Blacks, and proceeded to attempt to spark a general rebellion among the enchained community against their masters. This was a serious enough threat to justify the deployment of militia, which eventually overcame them in a pitched battle. Before their demise they had wreaked considerable havoc upon the ruling planter class, having hacked several to pieces in brutal retribution for their bondage. They had not succeeded in their broader strategy of completely laying waste by fire, the sugar fields in which they had been forced to labor for the enrichment of their masters. Those taken prisoner were made examples of, as a grim warning to the rest of their kindred Irish, when they were burned alive and their heads were thereafter displayed on pikes throughout the market place.
    As a result of a steep increase in Black slave labor migration to Barbados, compounded with high rates of Irish mortality and racial intermixing, White slaves, which had once constituted the majority of the population in 1629, were reduced to an increasingly dwindling minority by 1786. In the present era, there remains only a minuscule, yet significant community within the native Barbadian population comprised of the descendants of Scots-Irish slaves, who continue to bear testimony to the tragic legacy of their enchained Celtic forebears. This small minority within the predominantly Black island of Barbados is known locally as the “Red Legs” , which was originally a derogatory name, understood in similar context to the slur “redneck”, and was derived from the sun-burnt skin experienced by early White slaves who had been previously unadjusted to the tropical Caribbean climate. To this day, a community numbering approximately 400 still resides in the northeastern part of the island in the parish of St. John, and has vigorously resisted racially mixing with the larger Black population, despite living in abject poverty. Most make their living from subsistence farming and fishing, and indeed they are one of the most impoverished groups living in modern Barbados.
    An interesting film on the Red legs can be watched
    http://www.moondance.tv/broadcast-barbados.htm
    Books on this subject
    Sean O’Callaghan, To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland
    Kelly D. Whittaker, White Slavery, What the Scots Already Know
    Michael A. Hoffman II, They Were White and They Were Slaves: The Untold History of the Enslavement of Whites in Early America
    Robert E. West, England’s Irish Slaves

  19. Cin Cin Avatar
    Cin Cin

    In our University that is mass producing idiots, proper English matters only in English courses.
    (Idiots because there are holders of degrees and cannot do any critical thinking)
    What do we expect??
    The man who left school in the 70ies 80ies without any certificates was more analytical than some present day people who are leaving school with 7-8 certificates.

  20. Pompasettin Pearlie Avatar
    Pompasettin Pearlie

    Not me an dis wun bo. I en ha one shite tuh seh bout dis wun hay! Ah gone.

  21. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Pomasettin Pearlie….LOLL yuh still sitting infornt yuh window minding yuh own business? Yuh ent got one shite tuh seh but yuh seh enuff alreaddy! I hope yuh stop skinning cuffins and yuh botsy. LOLLL

    David there is a place for colloquial expression in formal situations, i.e. when publicly speaking and then telling a joke in the local lingo. This is used regularly to put people at ease and to help add some some joie de vivre to the conversation. The worst is when so called educated people use green verbs like “I has, we goes, I goes and open tin” etc. Green verbs LeRoi is famous for this.

  22. robert ross Avatar
    robert ross

    Cin Cin

    “Proper English only matters in English courses” – you gotta be kidding. I once asked a philosophy student about Wittgenstein. He answered with a stare and a silent gulp. I once asked a sociology student what he thought about the idea that fat people are more likely to commit crimes of violence. He suggested it wasn’t fair to attack the obese. I once asked a science student what he thought of relativity. He said he’d heard of it. I once pointed out to an English student that he’d split an infinitive. He gave me a ‘you poor thing’ look..

  23. .Concerned about our language . Avatar
    .Concerned about our language .

    @ Georgie Porgie
    Throw in for good measure some other silly americanisms that have taken over the speech of even well educated Barbadians :WOULD HAVE for did : IN TERMS OF as an introduction to every possible statement ; HAS ISSUES …..and it goes on and on . Have we lost our self respect so badly as to soak up every piece of foolishness that comes out of America ?

  24. Cin Cin Avatar
    Cin Cin

    @Robert Ross
    You are going a little deeper into it…. I really didn’t want to go there.

  25. robert ross Avatar
    robert ross

    Cin Cin

    I appreciate that. I was simply trying to show that the condition you pinpoint is even more acute than you suggest. I suppose the problem is that we tend to write either in epIgrams on here or, like dear Hal Austin, feel we have to write ‘War and Peace’ every week. Most people understandably prefer the former.

  26. old onion bags Avatar
    old onion bags

    Hi Islandgirl,

    Re : I refer to BU TYPOs

    Your thread does call for concern. I mean esp. to BU and artistic bloggers like like…

    I know for a fact that some of these TYPO errors, as you call them, are not always the fault of writers making submissions to this blog. I for one can attest. On many occasions I have asked David to write Word Press about the matter. He informed me that it was my keyboard being faulty. I have since done my own investigations on the matter (even used other computers). I have also typed and saved in Word ..then copy paste to BU to verify David’s claim.

    My findings… there is no fault with my keyboard as the TYPOs still persist…..But what the heck…..we not writing exams for Cambridge or UWI now are we? What I have found is that sometimes the system setup often interprets your first type as is….any corrections seemingly boggles the system….OR the system let us say you hit a “a” and the key being so close to “s somehow the “s” turns up. If I am wrong then there is lil mouse in hay changing peoples type for depraved reasons which just don’t sound right.

    I am sure many can attest to seeing surprises on their submits ..wondering where did that come from….As to grammar….what can I say ( when it comes to blogging that is). Why any and all should be able to express themselves freely on BU don’t you agree? All kinda bloggers visit…..some are more meticulous than others i guess… even just not equals…but so what…BU is what it is. Write like Plantation , write like Amuzed, write like Just asking…whatever. Don’t like it ..there are other blog sites.

    On the whole, do take these matters rather light-heartedly and don’t lose any sleep darlin… for as i have said ….we just blogging and not drafting Constitutional documents like like like….ERRORrrrrrrr!

    Yours sincerely
    OOB

  27. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Ianbingy……..no one cares, go and sue the British if it will make you feel any better……NO ONE WHO HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT CARES……..go tell that to someone who cares………SHEESH..

  28. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    Some much needed education for Iabingy the fraud/idiot..

    http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/11/12/244563532/photos-reveal-harsh-detail-of-brazils-history-with-slavery

  29. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    Concerned about our language . | November 11, 2013 at 7:17 AM |
    THE AMERICANS CORRUPT EVERYTHING

    WITH AMERICAN ENGLISH DOMINATING EVEN THE COMPUTERS ONE DOES NOT EVEN KNOW WHEN THEY ARE SPELLING CORRECTLY OR NOT. INSTINCTIVELY I SPELL AS I WAS TAUGHT AS A CHILD, BUT THE COMPUTER SAYS I AM INCORRECT

  30. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    IG
    Like you,got 94%.I am getting rusty because at primary school age 6 I got a lot of money, a penny,for writing a story using big words and spelling spot on.The Head blew his whistle,stopped school at 2.30pm,made a speech,called me up to the platform(not flatform as we say in the vernacular)and presented me with a penny.In my 5 years at primary school,I always placed 1st except for one term in class 4 when I placed 2nd.I haven’t forgotten it to this day.
    At secondary level,the least said the better!Too much distraction from early; walking to school in company of so many damsels,exchanging poems,writhng in their little special diaries,wearing their bracelets for the day,daydreaming,excitement,holding hands in the cinema(de tee-atuh)etc etc

  31. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    WHAT A NAUGHTY BOY
    GABRIEL YOU LIKE YOU WERE A GEORGIE PORGIE

  32. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    I am still waiting to hear the scores from the others like AC. AC please tell us what was your score on the quiz?

  33. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Onions what was your score?

  34. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ islandgal246 | November 13, 2013 at 12:06 PM |

    Tried my hand at it at two days ago and scored 97%. Made a boo-boo with the last question which was one of splitting hairs. Just shows the Miller is not perfect; not even with his foot in ac’s mouth. LOL!!!
    Ac will never reveal her score unless she was given help by her sidekick alter ego.

  35. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    Miller and Gabriel congrats, the quiz was a fun exercise. I was rather surprised because I didn’t think I would in the 90″s. Yes we are not perfect and that shouldn’t stop us from improving ourselves.

  36. islandgal246 Avatar
    islandgal246

    correction …..score in the 90’s

  37. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    GP
    My weakness to this day,love them,admire them,sing to them.From my vantage point,I can honestly say,youth is wasted on the young.You only realize it when you are ‘getting on’ and the troops do not always hear your command!

  38. Georgie Porgie Avatar
    Georgie Porgie

    GABRIEL HAS A WEAKNESS FOR SWEETNESS
    GABRIEL IS A SELF CONFESSED GEORGIE PORGIE LIKE GEORGIE PORGIE. LOL MURDAH
    KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM HIGH

  39. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    IG
    Thank you for sharing.I will pass it on to others who are sure to rise to the challenge..

  40. David Avatar
    David

    David (BU) scored 94%, the incorrect answer was as a result of carelessness and not ignorance.:-)

  41. Well Well. Avatar
    Well Well.

    The blog is littered with grammar gurus..ha!!

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