GRAMMAR: The Bedrock of Effective Communication

Grammar, essentially, is the building blocks for effective communication. It is one of the important levels of language. Any meaningful utterance cannot be achieved without the conventional adherence to the grammar of that language. Unarguably, every human language is rule-governed. That is, there are always codified dos and don'ts that guide the standard usage, both for formal speech and academic writing, of any language.

Though, grammar can be the intuitive knowledge which native speakers have of their language; yet, it is undisputable that many natives of the language may not have the linguistic competence to account, explain or even speak according to the permissible rules that guide the language. Consequently, the mastery of the rules of any language especially as a second language user, is an effective route to obtain competence in that language.

Beyond the spontaneous ability to speak a language, grammarians are knowledgeable beings who can analyse and account how rules work for the language in different contextual variables, including the exception cases. For instance, only a grammatical well grounded individual can tell how: “They suggest he resume next week” is actually well formed as against the usual subject and verb agreement which supposedly would have mandated an 's' at the end of the word, 'resume'.

Moving on, only a grammarian will be able to convincingly tell the difference that exists between “the door is open” and “the door is opened” in their different contexts. In addition, as a grammarian you are becoming, you may be asked to clarify why “the striking lecturers raised the alarm over the students welfarism” is appropriate other than “the striking lecturers raised an alarm over the students welfarism’’

To end, grammar, especially as regards English, is a timeless study. This is because of the fact that for every rule, there are some exceptions that do not align with the general rules. Besides, grammar of any living language is prone to constant changes and adjustments to suit the communicative goal of its speakers. On this note, this writer implores his readers to join him again next week.

©️ Damilare Adeleye ✍️