As I See It / April 2006
Out of the Mouth of
Babes
Babies learn to talk, teens are admonished to speak up, men are encouraged to verbalize their feelings and dogs learn to ‘speak!’, but women have an established reputation as talkers. As a group, women and girls always outscore the guys in verbal skills. Their command of the language was been the inarguable testament to women’s intellect even when women were treated socially and politically as moronic children.
Cloaking that ability in the shabby rags of indefensible grammar, valley girl syntax and ghetto vernacular is a crime against nature. It’s a surrender of the high ground for the sinking sod of mediocrity. It’s a cheap ticket to nowhere and a sure slide down the ladder of the economic and professional food chain.
And, it is an unconscionable waste.
When women willingly discard their language trump card, they unwittingly fan the fires of old inequities. A woman who complains of being ‘dissed’, and adopts the grammatical expressions of a rap artist is capping her career at no further than that moment. A woman who litters sentences with “like” and “you know”, and punctuates with “Whatever!” will sound like a flighty ditz, be considered a flighty ditz and treated like a flighty ditz. A woman who didn’t or won’t learn correct English grammar will be penalized and patronized for life. It will be the unspoken excuse for lateral rather than upward promotions, the unwritten flaw that keeps her from being recognized for excellence.
Smart women who trash the English language to be cool are shooting themselves in the foot. It’s a handicap in every forum a fatal blow in the corporate world.
The ability to read, write and speak English is requisite to the practice and principles of American citizenship. Despite political nitpicking and the lack of a legislated mandate, English is the national language of the USA. It would perhaps be more to the point if the more clamorous proponents of the legislation had as much passion for grammar and sentence structure as they do for making a statement. A grammatical endorsement for an English resolution seems to defeat the purpose. But, the belief in-and speaking of-English as the national language should be implemented with rigorous adherence to the rules governing grammar, a commitment to vocabulary and an abiding respect for the power of words.
Freedom of speech is so important and English is so intrinsically the language of liberty, that its trivialization and corruption seems at best, ungrateful, and at worst, dishonorable.
At the very least, it is unworthy of us.
For women, it seems especially to be an act of bad faith. Fiery oratory, sensitive speech, articulate answers, and skilled communication have been the basis of every advance women have made in a society that has proved quick to diminish and demean their potential and their accomplishments.
Women are judged on their looks; it is an injustice and an indignity that must be addressed. But, women are also judged on their speech and there’s no excuse for the judgment to be anything but positive. Women have all that is necessary to prove themselves, right on the tip of their tongue. PL
Copyright © 2005-2006 A Woman's View. All rights reserved.
Femme Fair 2006
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