Why Grammar Matters - to a restaurant, hospital, job-seeker, mountain climber and pilot

Grammar, spelling and pronunciation are all essential tools in communicating messages. When all goes well, you get good food, arrive safely at a destination and stay healthy. Are you happy to be sent a bill for 30 people for a Christmas dinner when you asked the restaurant for thirteen? Are you happy to be given the wrong food in the restaurant?

PILOTS

Would you trust your life to a surgeon or pilot who cannot understand or communicate clear instructions? Can you understand the instructions on your washing machine, sewing machine, fast food?

I read on Facebook a link to somebody arguing that grammar does not matter. I would not even watch the video and give them the benefit of an extra viewer to increase their apparent popularity. I read the comments and added my own.

Sorry, but you are encouraging people to think that poor communication is good enough. Hospitals have deaths every year from carelessness in spelling and numbers. If you send an academic paper to a technical journal and your work is full of spelling and grammar errors your paper will not be published or you will be asked to re-submit it corrected. If two people apply for a job and one cannot write clear English and the other can, guess which one gets the job.

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Angela Lansbury "The policeman arrested the man using an illegal revolver." One of them is suing the newspaper for defamation of character. I read confusing newspaper reports all the time. In the UK a man was hanged because the jury was persuaded that "Let him have it" was intended to mean and interpreted by the co-accused as 'kill the policeman'' rather than 'give the policeman your gun'. Mountain climbers shouting instructions are taught to give clear instructions without negatives, which can be a matter of life and death. As soon as you start speaking to foreigners if you are not clear they get confused. In a Toastmasters International Speaking contest, marks are given for correct grammar. One person makes no errors - that could influence the tie-breaking judge, and give the better speaker lots of recognition including a certificate, the free trip to the USA and the chance to win money and a new career in public speaking.

Angela Lansbury, B A Hons, English teacher and tutor, coach for public speaking, author and speaker.

Toastmasters International ACG CL (Advanced Communicator Gold; Competent Leader.)