Apparatus Sample Questions and Response: Bryson

Author/Title:

Bill Bryson: Good English and Bad

Summary:

In this amusing essay, Bill Bryson discusses the fluidity of the English language as well as examples ways in which grammar rules may not be as necessary as we have been taught.

Before You Read:

3. How has technology changed the way we speak to each other? Is it grammatically correct? Does that affect your understanding of what others are saying? Can you come up any examples of ‘new’ words? 

Rather than asking "how has technology changed the way we speak to each other?" I think we should ask "how has technology changed the way we communicate with each other?" I see technology trending towards speechless communication--texting, emails, tweeting, instant messages, etc.--we no longer have to pick up a telephone or *gasp* actually meet with someone one on one in order to communicate. 

I see quite a bit of grammatically incorrect textually based communications, however, I think this is a new form of the English language--a next textual dialect. OMG thts 2 gr8 we don't hav2 tlk lke our rents <3

New words? this started years ago, but what I think of right away is putting -alicious on the end of words, for example, sodalicious, babealicious, jamalicious, ect. it drives me crazy...but I catch myself doing it all the time.

Questions for Discussion and Journaling:

2. Why does Bryson say English has such a complex grammar structure? What about its history makes it so complicated?

Bryson tells us that one of the reason English is so complex is because it's rules and terminology are based on Latin. The history of the English language is a blend of Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, French, Old English, Greek, etc.--the mixture creates a language capable of great fluidity and change.

Meta Moment:

Make a list of some parts of speech. Are these things you consciously think of as you write? Have you learned them in school? If you did not, has that affected or inhibited your writing thus far? Do you think knowing the parts of speech and grammatical terms can help you to write better? Why or why not?

• Verb
• Noun
• Adverb
• Pronoun
• Adjective
• preposition
• Conjunction
• Interjection

I do not consciously think about the 8-parts of speech while I writing. Some of them I learned throughout school, others...not so much. I am critically aware that I need to learn grammar better, and yes, I do think I will write better for having learned--but, a true master of language knows the rule AND how to break them to their advantage.