Does grammar matter anymore? (LOL)

Flickr user Candace Nast

(MoneyWatch) A lot of folks are up in arms over bad grammar invading the workplace. A Wall Street Journal article notes what appears to be a growing shift toward informal writing, courtesy of email, social media, and smartphones.

Now, I've got a loyal reader who emails me whenever she catches a typo that gets past our awesome, but human, editors. When she's too busy, there are plenty of readers to back her up. So I wouldn't say that civilization is regressing to the "ugh, me hungry, me want food" stage just yet.

Nevertheless, we spend so much time emailing, texting, and tweeting these days that it's easy to get lax and write what might generously be called a colloquial style. You've got to admit, blog comments like "I jus read your article; ___. Very insteresting!" are a bit disconcerting (Yes, that is a real comment from a real reader... and keep em comin, thx!)

Unfortunately, the WSJ article is somewhat confusing and not very helpful for employees trying to figure out what is and isn't acceptable at work, these days. For one thing, it leads with an anecdote about a chief operating officer breaking into a staff meeting to correct the grammar of a senior VP. Personally, I think correcting any employee in front of others is appalling management.

It also conflates the growing informality in tweets, messages, and internal emails with typically more formal communications with customers and in public marketing content. These are different. It even gets into esoteric grammatical debates over comma use, which I find entirely irrelevant regardless of the situation.

Since anyone who wants to have a meaningful career should know how to write, I thought I'd provide some clarity on what really matters in a business environment and what you really shouldn't bother worrying about. Here are five tips on grammar in the age of social media and mobile devices:

Social media content. If what you're writing will be public and has your name attached to it, assume that anyone who works with you or might be interested in hiring you will see it. As such, whatever it is can be conversational, and a typo isn't the end of the world, but it should still be reasonably grammatically correct. Just don't go overboard. Business writing is about clarity in communication, not following obscure rules.

Internal emails, messages, and documents. Even though it's an internal document, you never know who it will be forwarded to or who's going to read it. It's your reputation. I would treat it the same way as above. Conversational is fine and, if it's an email or instant message, punctuation doesn't have to be perfect. But it shouldn't cause anyone to wince and wonder if you've graduated from high school. That said, if what you're writing is an important email or document, you're sending it to management, or you want it to be impactful, then edit with care.

Emails, letters, proposals, documents, web content -- anything that customers or people outside the company will see. It should be grammatically correct and well-composed. Of course, spell-check and edit as appropriate. If you can't do that, then you shouldn't be writing anything for external consumption. Take a business writing class.

Bullet text exceptions. One notable exception that comes to mind is what I call "bullet text." On presentation slides, in spreadsheets, in resumes, where appropriate on your LinkedIn profile, on Twitter -- anywhere space is limited and proper grammar isn't necessarily expected -- business people often use bullets and phrases that are not complete sentences and sometimes omit articles like "the" and "a."

About training others. Managers shouldn't correct employees in front of others, verbally or in writing. It's demeaning and reflects poorly on the manager. If an employee needs help with grammar or composition, tell him one-on-one and help him find resources such as a good business writing class and the writer's bible, "The Elements of Style," by Strunk and White.

One more thing. This isn't about etiquette, being eloquent, or anything like that. This is about communicating with clarity. It's also about your career. If those things matter to you, then you need to take this stuff seriously, whatever the medium. Yes, I know the word "stuff" is, well, a bit informal. But you got the point, right? Then it's all good.

For additional resources, check out: How to become a great communicator and How to communicate like you mean it.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Candace Nast

[alphaa10000]

Steve Tobak commented, "... This isn't about etiquette, being eloquent, or anything like that. This is about communicating with clarity. It's also about your career..."
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Clear, efficient expression is the objective of grammar, and even people who hate grammar need clarity in their communications with others.

Language is symbolic code, and like computer code, variations are widely explored and used, but always should follow rules that render the code clear and functional.

[dodgerace53]

Let think here a little...for me i am not a good speller but since the internet, i find my self learning like the difference between there and thier...the other day i learned to spell committee three m's three t's three e's...how do i know, i asked google when spell check isnt avaliable...so i am improving...i tend to use three dots way to much... i dont think i will ever know punctuation well...i am doing better :)

[alphaa10000]

Like most of us, you use Google to check with reputable sources. Unlike most of us, you seem to understand mastery of speech confers great power of its own. People with effective ideas need effective speech.

Through the centuries, a complex, educated style of speech marked the privileged classes, who could acquire all the education they wished. Polished expression was a symbol of prestige and even power, especially in the 18th century salons of Europe.

Language is flexible, but grammar still matters. Using the analogy of computer code, an aspiring programmer can become better by only rigorous study and practice-- coding mistakes leave him with dysfunctional routines.

[cmstevens06]

I am not a fan of using grammar as a retort in an argument. It usually means that the person hasn't thought through the argument enough to make an intelligent comment. However, incorrect grammar can convey an entirely different message than was intended.

You certainly wouldn't want to get the capitalization wrong in this sentence:

I helped my Uncle Jack off a horse.

You don't want your comma usage to be incorrect in this one:

I brought my big dog, Dick, to the party.

Two words you never want to misspell: count and public. Just ask the University of Texas about the second one. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/university-texas-apologizes-pubic-affairs-commencement-typo-183616371.html

Grammar rules are rules for a reason and while there is room for flexibility in creative writing, if your purpose is to communicate a specific idea clearly and accurately, then you should ensure that you do just that.

[tima410100]

The most telling comment is "...anything that customers or people outside the company will see. It should be grammatically correct...If you can't do that, then you shouldn't be writing anything for external consumption. Take a business writing class." If only the major advertising agencies would apply the standard to their copy writing staffs we wouldn't have to put up with the blatant grammatical errors that, by the nature of the media, leads to the "dumbing down" of the language and of society.

[anuragamandava]

Does this mean that the content should be grammatically correct, but you can use words like "its" instead of "it is" and "you're" instead of "you are" and so on?

[stobak2]

What's wrong with conjunctions? I use them all the time, as you can tell ...

ST

[anuragamandava]

Yes, I did notice that you use them frequently, so do I. I dint mean that was wrong. Like how the conjunctions became a part of formal writing, some time from now partial sentences and grammatical mistakes might also be accepted.

[gauravdp]

Oops there was some problem somewhere, the first sentence should read
"I don't know ...."

[gauravdp]

pI don't know whether anyone else will agree with me, but personally I regard this as another aspect of the general dumbing-down of society.

But then, I may be just another middle-aged fogey still stuck in the 70s when I grew up.

[ric822]

Know, gammer not matter know more. U not right ok who care. COD EIEIO

[KPeters_from_UK]

"One more thing."

Can someone tell me why it is ok to have a sentence without a verb? This goes against everything I was taught in High School.

[stobak2]

Glad you asked that question. In commentary and blogging, as in literature, there is an added dimension in writing called style or voice. Traditional grammar and composition rules are sometimes sacrificed in the name of style or voice.

That's why I say, in internal company emails and the like, the rules should "reasonably" be followed. I think you can allow for some amount of style and voice there, as well.

Hope that helps.

Steve

[pbaird2]

Proper grammar and spelling are essential for written communication. I write government policies and regulations in addition to providing interpretations of those rules to employees. Writing must be clear and concise using words appropriate for the intended audience, but we must not allow our writing to deteriorate to the lowest common denominator. Words have power and meaning; when accused of using "big words" to impress I respond by explaining each word in our language does have specific descriptive meaning and the appropriate word is important. Contractions should never be used when writing for public viewing; such language is for verbal expediency. While texting may necessitate the use of abbreviation, we must never fail to maintain our ability to communicated properly.