/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>35360977
You get a talkative Haku instead.

Over the years, language learning has developed with increasing disregard toward proper grammar. Rather than focusing on syntax, educators are increasingly concerned with language fluency, which stems from a communicative language teaching approach rather than a traditional syntactical approach. This lack of grammar teaching coincides with an era of technology that has similarly impacted a generation of people to stray from formal communication methods. When studying how the lack of grammar in education affects the professional sphere, it is important to consider not only employer expectations, but also how clients view and feel about informal communication methods. In an era where communication is getting faster and becoming more terse, it is necessary to view opinions of grammar not only from the perspective of older employers, but also from the perspective of the new generation of clients, purchasers, and scholars.
Writing simply would not be writing without the rules that shape words and string together sentences into fluid paragraphs and comprehensible arguments. We use these rules every day while sending text messages, writing essays, producing business reports, or even when we update Facebook statuses. Yet, despite the prevalence of writing in our everyday lives, proper grammar has been kicked to the curb. The apparent grammar disconnect is hard to trace. Children are educated in grammar basics starting in elementary school, but despite efforts from the Common Core standards and other educational bodies, many professionals believe the informality of new technologies and the changing modes of communication have weakened the emphasis on proper grammar. My research primarily focuses on how professional grammar deficiencies stem from inadequate grammar teaching and changes in communication methods, and how, to some degree, the ability to construct sentences is analogous to the ability to construct thoughts. Therefore, understanding and employing proper grammar are important for both educational and professional success.
Before analyzing the impact of grammar, its meaning must first be clarified. Different definitions of grammar exist in different contexts. While the New Oxford American Dictionary defines grammar as “the whole system and structure of a language or of languages in general,” a linguist’s definition of grammar can be more subjective. For example, radical linguist Noam Chomsky introduced the idea of universal grammar, which is the idea that “children are born with the innate capacity to master language, a power imbued in our species by evolution itself” (Ross). Chomsky further pursues this idea by saying our internal sense of grammar is what uniquely allows humans to “form plans, do creative art, and develop complex societies” (Ross). While the idea of “universal grammar” seems plausible to some degree, the concept of teachable grammar is more widely accepted. An interesting approach to grammar teaching is addressed in the International Journal of Research Studies in Language Learning by Indian researchers Samuel Praise and K. Meenakshi, who define grammar as “merely a set of rules to preserve the written word” (Praise). The main point Praise and Meenakshi make is that “grammar is not taught in isolation but often arises out of communicative task,” and therefore, in learning language, “opportunities are provided for both inductive and deductive learning of grammar” (Praise). This implies a correlation between grammar and communication, which supports Chomsky’s theory that understanding proper grammar is what allows people to conceive and execute plans. By drawing this parallel, Chomsky, Praise, and Meenakshi suggest that grammar has greater implications than simply constructing sentences.

What do you say when your Hakutaku tutor lectures you in walls of text?

Here's your Hakutaku for today. Prepare to be lectured, nerd.