Some years ago in a distant land,
well-meaning, she corrected mine.
Spelling, grammar were wrong and
with authentic thought to malign,
proved she could not understand.
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Later, I forgave the skirmish.
Hers was correct by her knowledge.
Mine was too, to distinguish.
And the problem? Hers was US usage
and I use Standard English.
My verses for today.
Terry
Author notes
When both are right, but different, who is wrong? Neither.
Were you aware how it happened?
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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Oh boy! I still try to fight to use standard English and I am foiled at every turn. It's hard when the references that the kids use, though produced in Canada, use American spelling. I gave up on sulphur with the grade 10's this year, as the Ontario approved texts both have sulfur in their periodic tables. I will continue with metre, centre and colour(though I never used aluminium for element 13).
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Inevitable,
Ontario-approved texts!! Produced in Canada!! Really?
Ignorance is its own demise. Appalling! And nobody complained?
When the great majority of our population lives on our southern edge near the border, and culture (for want of a more accurate word,) overflows, and standard grammar has not been on the curriculum of elementary schools for fifty years, (The Hall-Dennnis Report of 1964)it is amazing we have not been totally assimilated. Wait for the remnant dinosaurs to vanish. Depressing.
Even university English profs will not care anymore.
It is becoming the new Latin. (Replaced soon by texting no doubt.)
Yikes!
Terry
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Recently a contest host sought to correct my (correct) spelling and thoughtfully edited my blank verse as free verse. Such help is well meant, but not what one hopes for in a judge.
GB Shaw called them “Two nations divided by a common language”. We are privileged to know of both sides of the Atlantic divide; your poem shows both the frustration and its roots. Well said!
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Yup Margaret, I understand.
Lost the original meaning too, didn't it? Mine have had cosmetic surgery too on occasion to make completely different poems.
In my first year in AP I did that well-meaning thing (more shame on me) and the effort was totally rejected, blasting me out of the water with entrails still dripping in the trees. They truly were grammatical errors in both official English languages, but I still twitch at the memory! A teen knows how it's done, trust me!
In such cases, a parallel poem would express the necessary correction without messing up the original. Sending it by IM avoids mayhem--to the original poem and to its mutilator!
I agree the privilege is real. I never fail to praise the teachers who taught me thoroughly and well!
Happy writing!
Terry
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Dear Terry,
Considering your question which gave me a sleepless night
for presumably the argument is strong,
I'd have to say I do not think two wrongs can make a right.
On the other hand, two rights don't make a wrong!
Next question please?
Applause, love and hugs XXX
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Greetings Hugh, Great to see you here!
"On the other hand, two rights don't make a wrong!"
EXACTLY!
In a global site like this, firm knowledge of BOTH forms would prevent unfortunate events in critiques here. Had I been insecure in Standard English, I would have been devastated. As a Canadian I taught Standard grammar for fifteen years in my English classes until in 1965 they replaced it in the curriculum by "Media Studies."
It shows.
Imagine a young British or Aussie writer, earnestly posting his first poems, certain of his flawlessly standard grammar, running into such a bashing! Would he stay?
Or conversely, as an American writer with equally secure US Usage being "corrected" by someone unaware that Americans have every right to use their own grammar! Repeat that statement!
The trick is in being able to use both, while the bulk of it is still identical. With the rate of change a good reference text is handy.
In our Winklings Grammar-etc Poetry Discussion Group (besides a current invitation from the Muse many have not met yet, but soon will,) we need to reach more people. For American Usage we use as a reference, Michael Swan's annually updated tome Practical English Usage published by Oxford. (For Standard, I have a grade 12 text, Creative English, probably out of print.)
Sorry, I got carried away. Back to yours, you say, "I do not think two wrongs can make a right." True, except that they can overwhelm nevertheless! It would also depend on context, where an observer might view the matching pair as correct. There we run into the dichotomy, where an outsider automatically considers the unfamiliar as being wrong.
Thank you very much for triggering such a discussion here!
Almost 2 AM-- too late to search for typos. Please ignore?
Terry
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So good of you to recognise that your critiquer was offering advice based on her own knowledge and with the intention to help you. I would shy away from critiquing you on punctuation and grammar as you are the authority on it here.
But this poem tells the story in a succinct manner and your English to produce this piece appears "standard" in its "usage." Hahahahaha! (Well I thought that was funny anyway. lol) ...alby
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Thanks alby!
Bless your gentle heart, alby, to see the good in all people!
In most cases what you said would have been true. I forgave her because it was funny to have two forms of English grammar play such a trick on us, sad because she likely would never know.
I have my own blind spots; ignorance seldom recognizes itself.
You'd be amazed how that sort of comment annoys people... and have learned mostly to stay quiet.
(When in doubt, use your Oxford dictionary to check 'errors' out. It always gives both versions, the US one, after 'also.') In Standard English, that 'z' in 'recognizes' is correct, just as your 's' is correct US Usage.
I had a bit of 'hystory' with her (a neologism based on history) because there was such glee in her finding the know-it-all had all those stupid 'mistakes.' [Like "her finding." In standard, it needs the possessive adjective 'her' because 'finding' is a gerund. Gerunds act like nouns.]
I recall using 'practise' as a verb with her, and obviously it was 'misspelt'! (Usage would say 'misspelled.') I am having fun with it now, but she did not know that in Standard English, 'practice' is used only as a noun. Aren't you glad to know what I'm talking about?
Alby and I run the Winklings Grammar discussion group. If interested in joining us, just send an IM.
Terry
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Well done
reflective to so many things in life. fine job
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Thank you !
So true! The analogy to maturing is clear, as it is to learning.
Many other more philosophical things.
Not anymore but when I first came here, it was Wild West Word-pistols in the forum. I knew I was not illiterate, just different, and for a long time, stopped going there. Time passed, and linguistic study related to my teaching taught me why.
Being different used to be much more difficult than it is now.
And a good thing, too!
Terry
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