I have a friend at work who is a new military officer. He is from Puerto Rico and speaks English with an accent. He is working hard to expand his vocabulary and learn English well. My friend asked for advice regarding how to learn English more effectively because he is afraid of sounding ignorant in speech and especially in writing. He recognizes that promotion to the higher ranks will be enhanced with mastery of the language (with or without accent). Unfortunately, we live in TN/KY where the casual spoken language is rife with grammatical error. But, most unfortunately, some of the higher ranking officers do not speak or write English well themselves. Kudos to my friend that he is not adopting their standard (except when it is good politic to adopt the non-standard usage in speech)!

2). Why do Americans say tomayto and English speakers say tomaato? What is the rule in this case?

Thanks
Regards
Dev.

I once overheard a woman saying she “done did do” something-or-other, which I’ve always thought was hilarious.

Just as locks are not going to keep out a thief, but to keep honest people honest, teaching correct English is not meant to produce a correct English speaking community.

The reason for knowing correct English, is so that when you need to be clear, when inaccuracies would count against you – you can communicate.

When we come across “That ain’t gone happen,” we recognize that the usage is incorrect – and try not to use the phrase or sentence structure on our resume, business report, magazine article submission, etc.

Of course, the more attention we pay to writing and speaking correct and proper English, the easier it is to avoid mistakes and common errors. Plus, our example of correct English refutes the argument that “everybody does it.” We are likely to emulate the style of people we respect. Those respected figures that write and speak correct English support teaching correct English – like teachers (in a way), they inspire by example. Teachers have the onerous task of making the rules a daily experience for students.

Don’t aim for all of your students to dedicate themselves to speaking and writing correct English, only require them to know the difference.

People may be communicating more now in a casual written form that a spoken language but grammar was designed to educate people how to write AND speak with intelligence. Just because it is casual doesn’t mean it has to sound ignorant. I hate reading anything with poorly constructed sentences and incorrect usage.

Bad usage and slang are two different things but both are and will always be BAD language! No past or current text on any language advocates slang as the correct way to communicate. Bad usage shows that you didn’t pay attention in your language classes. So why would I hire anyone who can’t speak intelligently? If you are trying to impress a potential boss, you might want to at least know your own language.

And anyone who expects their written material to be read by a large audience should write well so those of us with an education won’t experience the sensation of our skin crawling when we read it.

Would I trust a doctor who said, “You ain’t got no reason be going on with this pain. You should have took your pills like I told you.”

Not hardly.