Every March 4, the relatively few who have ever even heard of the occasion mark an obscure event called National Grammar Day.
For most holidays and special occasions, people manage to find plenty of ways to celebrate. But when it comes to a lesser-known event that rolls around every March 4, it may be different. The event, obviously, is National Grammar Day.
But what does one do, exactly, to celebrate such an occasion? I mean, as many rules as there are in grammar, you’d think there’d be plenty of guidelines on some Do and Don’t list for this particular day.
I checked with a few sources for “special days” of the year like this.
The National Day Calendar says it “encourages the use of correct grammar in both verbal and written language.”
NationalToday.com suggests its a day to let out your “inner nerd.” It credits Martha Brockenbrough, the founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, with creating the day in 2008.
As much as I talk about grammar, how did I not know there was a “Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar” in the first place? What must their annual meetings be like?
DaysoftheYear.com says National Grammar Day promotes “promote awareness and understanding of proper grammar.” But the site adds a twist. Maybe the day, it says, serves as “just another chance to smack those people who can’t seem to compose a decent sentence right upside the head for being daft.”
There certainly seems to be a bit of fun in that second part.
So many rules, so many opinions
Grammar, like language itself, is complex. Speakers and writers face so many rules as they try to compose messages that they hope their listeners or readers will understand.
But different authorities on grammar differ on even some of the basic rules. Since I work (in my real job) in a newsroom, I am given to follow AP Style. The Associated Press Stylebook establishes exactly what AP Style actually is.
It’s full of quirky rules. If you write a number below 10, you spell out the word. For numbers 10 or greater, you use numerals. If you list an address, you abbreviate Street, Avenue or Boulevard if — and only if — you have the house number; otherwise, you spell out those words. While everyone else may write 10:00am or 10AM, if you’re writing in AP Style, you’d better make it 10 a.m. Use an Oxford comma when it’s necessary to avoid confusion. Don’t use it otherwise.
That last one alone is enough to rile the Oxford comma’s most dedicated supporters.
But grammar goes beyond style guides. There are rules we use every day without even realizing. Consider my recent take on the proper order of adjectives in a sentence. I read the article that I cited in that post and found myself fascinated that I inherently followed this “rule” even though I couldn’t correctly list the right order of qualities adjectives describe if my life depended on it. But give me a noun and a list of adjectives and I’d almost certainly stack them correctly.
Who knew?
Some fight any mention of ‘grammar rules’
I know, I know. Some of you get frustrated when you see your grammar frustrating others. They love to respond to someone else’s grammatical pet peeves with lines like, “Language evolves.”
Well of course it does. No one suggests otherwise. But I go back to this: Your mission, whenever you use language, is to be understood. I could come up with an elaborate list of adjectives to place before a noun and intentionally mess up the order just because I felt like it. But I’m going to leave my readers scratching their heads. Is that my goal?
I can intentionally misuse words or make up words and use them like they’re established. But I’m going to confuse people by what I say or write. What am I accomplishing?
Yes, language evolves. But that’s not an excuse to toss rules out the window just because you want to.
If you’re trying to be so “stylish” with the language that your readers can’t follow, you’re missing the point.
If your goal isn’t to communicate, no matter how much you are trying to “evolve” language, you might want to rethink how you’re going about it.
That’s true even on the 364 days of the year that aren’t “National Grammar Day.”
