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On 2015-09-16 21:41, Dan wrote:<br>
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<div>Most of this seems complaining about arbitrary rules that
have little to do with communication, which is what talking and
writing are all about. Why are sentence fragments bad, for
instance? And why is it wrong to start a sentence with 'and'? It
neither case is it wrong if the meaning is clear or the effect
is intended. Most of the school-taught rules are simply
unexamined bullshit that don't codify any useful rules. Yet they
continue to be passed along as if they were rational and
objective.</div>
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<br>
It is the ancient feud between prescriptivists and descriptivists.
Fuelled by the fact that correcting grammar shows off your (high
status) education, and allows you to reduce the uneducated other
guy.<br>
<br>
That said, some of the rules are due to non-obvious underlying
patterns we mere mortals rarely notice, and breaking them do cause
communications problems. In Swedish we have a system for compounding
words, but many younger people are influenced by English and split
them apart, making texts more ambigous and a-rhytmic. But if you are
not an experienced reader this drawback is not noticeable, and just
lowers comprehension and enjoyment. <br>
<br>
The same is true for typography. Caring too much about hyphenation
or kerning is a sign of madness. Yet they can help or hinder
communication, and follow subtle rules. <br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University</pre>
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