Today's entry into the blog is a tribute to the lost arts of the English language, and to hopefully inspire some of you - my readers - to desire a greater understanding of the language you take for granted.
Approximately 400 years ago the unified rules of grammar were laid down in stone for the English language. But as time has passed, the stone upon which they were written has worn away like a great mountain gradually wearing away to an arid plain from a millenia of harsh weather conditions. This departure of detail from the Rosetta Stone of the English language has left us with a withered and worn grasp of our great language. The many of us whom have been left this worthy inheritance can now only use but a fraction of what once gave colour and meaning to the way in which we communicate, our great squandered fortune.
This to me is quite a considerable tragedy, although I think many of you might believe the disappearance of grammar from our school curriculums to be something of a blessing. What many people fail to realise however is that a thorough understanding of the English language is what enables people to have command over those who cannot use it with the same vigour or power. In today's world we are inspired by those we believe to be great orators - we elect them for positions of great power based on their ability to speak rather than the ability to rule. We continue to be inspired by those which history tells us were powerful rhetoricians. Of course there is a great deal more to the people who inspire us than their ability to speak or write, but without these key essential abilities and a thorough grasp of the language, these people would not have been placed into a position where they could have affected and touched so many lives.
Granted, some rules in English should never have been, many of the founders of the English grammar system believed that Latin (although one of the most beautiful languages) grammar should be directly applied to English. This was never going to be a good idea as Latin and English are two different languages. Thankfully we are now at a point in time where we can appreciate each language for their separate characteristics rather than trying to superimpose one upon the other. Being at this point in time does not however give people the right to start butchering the language due to laziness.
Unfortunately laziness is not the absolute culprit when it comes to the corruption of the language. The system in which it is meant to be taught has been the major contributing factor towards its devastation for more than 30 years now. Schools have had little to no importance on the teaching of English. There has also been a greater importance on learning Japanese and Chinese in schools than Latin or any other romance language (French, Italian and Spanish). Geographically learning Asian languages makes perfect sense, however English shares so many grammatical traits with the romance languages that even a basic understanding of any would ensure a powerful grasp of English. Germanic languages also share many traits with English as it has been one of its main influences over the past thousand years.
I am part of the generation that has been forced to find these things for themselves. I have been inspired by great orators and lecturers to find out why they were so influential. It wasn't just their passion, but their understanding which led me to feel uplifted by their teachings.
Ignorance breeds ignorance, the troubling thing is that ignorance of our language's intricacies permeates every part of our lives. Everything we see, do and think is influenced by what we read, say and listen to. If you think that the rules or grammar have no meaning, or if you believe its pointless to understand what a trope or a figure is. Then I urge you to look to the writings and speeches of Obama, JFK, Martin Luther King Jr, Churchill and realise that these people changed the world, not just with actions but with the spoken and written word. They used these tools to make a difference, just as you too can make a difference by understanding them and using them for good.
Become uplifted. Become aware. Become powerful in your use of English - and then you too can inspire those around you.
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