One reason Vampire Weekend stood out as an interesting band for me, besides the original Afro-pop beat sound not yet heard on the current music scene, was a song dedicated to a piece of grammar. How many can (or would) write a song about the usage of the Oxford comma?
What is it? I knew what it was, but I didn't know it had a name: it is the comma that comes before "and" in a series of words.
While it is optional, some people think it is incorrect to place a comma there, but they would be wrong. It's a stylistic choice and can be helpful in clarifying certain elements in a sentence. Why do I bother with some of these statements? Beats me. I guess I appreciate being taught these rules and have read them in various books while growing up, so I've learned to abide by these rules. It's like learning the rules of the roads - there were set up for reasons and in order to achieve structure and avoid chaos, I follow the rules. I don't understand why some people feel it's ok to disregard the rules and create their own. Until they become dictators of their own nation, I'd rather they cooperate so we can be on the same page.
I don't mean to sound fascist about grammatical rules, but there is an art to language that will be lost as we succumb to texts and IM's that degrade sentences to "c u 2morrow" or even "ttyl." Hey, I use shortcuts and abbreviations when I text and sometimes when I IM, but in formal emails or in letters, I still try to adhere to the rules I was taught. Things seem to be slipping through the cracks (plus I am getting old so everything makes me grumpy) and that may possibly be a reflection of our failing educational system, but I plan to carry on the good fight to preserve the English language as best I can, for good (or for evil, according to some). And at least the Internet can collect all those who still love a good grammatical rule and help to spread the word that people do care, even today.
What is it? I knew what it was, but I didn't know it had a name: it is the comma that comes before "and" in a series of words.
While it is optional, some people think it is incorrect to place a comma there, but they would be wrong. It's a stylistic choice and can be helpful in clarifying certain elements in a sentence. Why do I bother with some of these statements? Beats me. I guess I appreciate being taught these rules and have read them in various books while growing up, so I've learned to abide by these rules. It's like learning the rules of the roads - there were set up for reasons and in order to achieve structure and avoid chaos, I follow the rules. I don't understand why some people feel it's ok to disregard the rules and create their own. Until they become dictators of their own nation, I'd rather they cooperate so we can be on the same page.
I don't mean to sound fascist about grammatical rules, but there is an art to language that will be lost as we succumb to texts and IM's that degrade sentences to "c u 2morrow" or even "ttyl." Hey, I use shortcuts and abbreviations when I text and sometimes when I IM, but in formal emails or in letters, I still try to adhere to the rules I was taught. Things seem to be slipping through the cracks (plus I am getting old so everything makes me grumpy) and that may possibly be a reflection of our failing educational system, but I plan to carry on the good fight to preserve the English language as best I can, for good (or for evil, according to some). And at least the Internet can collect all those who still love a good grammatical rule and help to spread the word that people do care, even today.
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