Good English and Bad

In this excerpt, “Good English and Bad,” Bill Bryson strives to challenge the construct of how we implement grammar. His article takes a journey through all our wrongdoings in terms of grammatical errors.  He raids a fair equilibrium between total anarchy and over-prescriptiveness. The author outlines that the primordial standards of usage do not mimic how English works in today’s generation. Over time the English language has developed and as a result the rules set by grammarians and dictionaries have become a distant memory. The decider of what makes English good or bad is largely grounded towards matters of prejudice. That being said, he describes our manner in today's world as being barbarous. He argues that as the rules become more nugatory they will ultimately be disregarded. He wrote this as a presage in order for us to correct our grammatical mishaps. We as humans evolve based off of our needs, and adhere to the changes made by society as a whole. He outlines that if incorrect grammar is overused we learn to accept and adapt to it, which is how language evolves. Language isn’t static and will continue to progress to fit our societal needs. 

Bryson’s writing has opened my mind to a diverse perspective and left me wondering how inaccurate my grammar really is. However grammatical lapses may arise as a result of distinct dialects. Another aspect that will also hinder one's grammatical execution is their culture; it may have rules against the rules of the English Language. In addition the grammatical structure for Arabic, my second language, is different than the English structure, which again will cause confusion and errors. Every person has adapted their own way of communication, which is what makes every piece of writing unique on a spectrum of authors. Finally, social media has predominantly swept into our daily routines like a whirlwind. This addition to our lives has impacted our grammatical lapses. As Bryson outlined as humans we develop to fit our societal needs. As a result of social media we developed abbreviations in order to create ease when communicating. However one must stay conscious when using these abbreviations and acronyms as they are typically considered informal.