Disappearing Punctuation

Punctuation appears to be declining in importance. In the UK, the Cambridge City Council considered removing punctuation from street names recently, in an effort to follow national guidelines aimed at simplification; it had been observed that wrongly punctuated street names would cause confusion and that data services, including emergency services, did not care about punctuation (“Apostrophe Catastrophe as Cambridge City Council Bans Punctuation from New Street Names”). After protests, the Council reversed its decision to ban punctuation, however; in February, The Guardian reported that the Cambridge City Council leader had regretted following “bureaucratic guidelines” to remove punctuation from street signs (“Council Reverses its Ban on Apostrophes”). In the previous year, the Mid Devon council had faced similar opposition:

The move was branded “appalling, disgusting and pointless”, with one critic saying the absence of the marks made her “shudder”.

Some even suggested that it could represent a creeping threat that might even result in the endangerment of those grammatical stalwarts, the comma and the capital letter. (“Council Accused of 'Murdering' Punctuation Mark After Abolishing Apostrophes from Street Names“)

On the other side of the Atlantic, punctuation has also provoked controversy, but Slate magazine has reported that for Professor John McWhorter, the loss of the comma is inconsequential; commas may become obsolete because their removal causes “little loss of clarity” (besides the fact that they are used inconsistently – as in the Oxford comma):

We needn’t look any further than our beloved cellphones and computer screens. We’re dropping commas more than ever because so much of our daily writing now consists of quick text messages and hastily typed emails. We’re also engaging in frequent IM discussions and drafting lots of sub-140-character tweets. Commas don’t thrive in those environs. (“Will We Use Commas in the Future?”)

McWhorter adds, however, that formal writing, including academic writing, probably will not be affected as people will know what is appropriate for different contexts, especially older students and others; young students may struggle slightly, but they will eventually get the hang of it.

The debate continues on both sides of the Atlantic. Among the groups involved are The American Apostrophe Association, the Apostrophe Protection Society and the AAAA (Association for the Annihilation of the Aberrant Apostrophe).

National Punctuation Day, started in the US in 2004 to celebrate the correct use of punctuation, reflects its continuing importance for some – so take care with your punctuation!

Empty Libraries

As part of their course reflection once, my students were meant to describe how they had used the library, and one of them wrote that they had met with other team members at the University Library to discuss their class project. Had the student deliberately bypassed my question I wondered? Does no one use library resources any more, not even for locating online material?

Whether the student had gone there physically was besides the point. In fact, some libraries are bookless, so it is unlikely for people to want to be there often. A recent Guardian article reported on Florida Polytechnic University's new digital library; the article “Bookless Library Opened by New US University” explains that the building harbours “not a single physical book”! All available material is digital, including books. The sad news, as Tara Barbazon notes in her book “The University of Google: Education in a (Post) Information Age” is that popular culture has overtaken proper academic culture. Students (and others) find the world wide web much more attractive than libraries though the quality of information accessed on the wider web is often doubtful in comparison. Libraries are not only physically empty in some cases: their resources are under-utilized – and the phenomenon appears global.

The Mexico News Daily recently described the situation in “Something Needs to be Done About Empty Libraries”; while Mexico has the largest public library system in Latin America, “they’re not very useful when empty” - compared with European libraries, their resources are wasted. Similarly, the Brunei Times claims that libraries across the country are “underutilized” (“Library Resources Underused”), prompting those in charge to find solutions, including better promotion of the resources.

In the UK, the Literacy Trust has reported that “many school libraries are underutilised resources that do not fulfil their potential to improve literacy levels and support pupil learning and attainment”, highlighting the need for schools, local authorities and Government to make sure school libraries are properly exploited (“School Libraries Are a Wasted Resource”). Likewise, in the University of Southern California’s Daily Trojan, Rebecca Gao describes the situation at USC: “Often, students only frequent the libraries for a quiet place to study, to use a computer or to print. USC appears to be well aware of the evolution toward online resources and has continually updated its subscriptions to educational databases or purchased additional e-resources to encourage student research. Whether students use these resources, however, is another case” (Digital Libraries Wasted”).

It is puzzling and unfortunate that so few students use the resources that university libraries make such an effort to secure and invest in.

Language Learning for a Globalized World

In my previous blog post on motivation in language learning, I indicated that I would be following up on the subject.

An opinion piece by Jocelyn Wyburd in Times Higher Education stresses the need for UK policies to encourage language learning at all levels of education. Entitled “Give Languages a Fair Shout”, the article reminds native speakers of English that the status of English as a lingua franca should not be an excuse for ignoring other languages. Being the Director of the Cambridge Language Centre, Wyburd’s opinion clearly carries weight.

Wyburd adds her voice to others decrying the decline of foreign languages in UK education, reminding readers that language learning not only enhances communication: “a gateway to understanding the world through the words, thoughts and cultures of others”; it has educational, cognitive and cultural value. To her, losing languages means losing “international insight”. She contrasts the situation with that of the rest of Europe, now including Scotland, where educational policy aims at equipping students with two foreign languages while in the rest of the UK only elite schools appear to mandate a foreign language. On a more positive note, Wyburd notes that employment pressures and research needs have motivated some students to pay attention to languages, yet she refers to this as “instrumental” as opposed to “the deeper, more specialist study of languages, cultures and societies, and the accompanying linguistic and intercultural competence.”

Finally, Wyburd supports the efforts of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Languages, with its recently released Manifesto for Languages. The manifesto starts with the following strong statement: “English is an important world language, but the latest cutting-edge research shows that, in the 21st century, speaking only English is as much of a disadvantage as speaking no English.”

So which other languages are important to learn? A BBC article on the “ ‘Alarming Shortage’ of Foreign Language Skills” cites the British Council’s Top 10 Languages, among which Arabic ranks second, after Spanish, followed by French, Mandarin Chinese, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Turkish and Japanese (Languages for the Future). Teachers of Arabic may definitely be happy with this news.

Motivation in Language Learning

The Guardian newspaper’s Education section on “The Case for Language Learning” shows a number of interesting recent entries.

Geoffrey Bowden regrets the declining interest in the UK in foreign language learning, asserting that “If There Aren't Enough Linguists, We'll Need Immigrants”; he sees the disappointingly low numbers of foreign language learners reported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England as a serious threat – “It is difficult to measure the financial cost of poor language skills to the UK economy.” Bowden suggests that government incentives should be provided. On the other hand, John Mackey, in “Wanting It Enough”, discusses the importance of motivation, “the secret to success”, in language learning. He emphasizes the role of learning in context, as in traveling to relevant countries and interacting with people. He says that most people who succeed at second language learning are highly motivated to learn, whether “intrinsically” or “extrinsically”, as language researchers put it. Intrinsic motivation stems from factors such as the need to make personal connections, while extrinsic stimuli could include wanting to pass a language test. Mackey warns, however, that motivation is not enough: research shows that, for success in language learning, aptitude and access to proper instruction must accompany motivation. He cites Steven Pinker on the neurophysiology of language in the brain, concluding that “The idea of people being hard wired for second language learning is fascinating and, perhaps, appealing in that it might be used to get some of us off the hook if our language learning journey is less than successful.”

The Guardian advertises that today, July 10, there is a live debate in London on whether medicinal drugs should be used to enhance language learning. Apparently, scientists have noticed that mood disorder drugs can improve language learning. The controversy revolves around various implications - ethical, practical, social and medical - and whether the advantages exceed the risks (“Are Drugs the Answer to Learning Languages?”). One is definitely motivated to read more on the subject, whether in the Guardian or elsewhere.

English or Globish?

Anthropological linguists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf emphasized the link between language and culture decades ago. They hypothesized that one’s language affects one’s view of the world. For example, they reckoned that if your language did not have a word for a certain colour, you would not distinguish that colour very easily.  

Recently, The Guardian’s Peter Scott, a university professor and administrator, wondered what universities would be like if English was no longer the world’s lingua franca (“Will UK Universities Cope if English No Longer Rules the World?”). He began his article with the thesis that “Being an English-speaking country is a blessing – and a curse”. While being a native speaker of the language of Shakespeare, science, popular culture, tourism and business may appear to be a privilege, Scott rightly argues that in fact it locks one into “an anglophone prison”: this situation is disadvantageous because the less concerned native English speakers are about other languages, the less they will comprehend other cultures. Their understanding of others will remain superficial. He regrets the fact that the number of Mandarin speakers of English is much higher than the number of English speakers of Mandarin, pointing out that this is an advantage for the Chinese and that “monolingualism inhibits multicultural sensitivity”.

Scott then insinuates that English is no longer English in this globalized world: rather, it should be referred to as “Globish” as there are many international versions of it. Additionally, he regrets the complacent monolingualism of anglophone students compared with the confident bilingualism of other students, who are also highly skilled in their fields. Further, the open source publishing movement, being freer, will promote other languages, Scott believes, bypassing the traditional “gatekeepers” of international science publishing. He sees a bias towards Anglophone universities in the global league tables, which may soon change in a more pluralist world, noting that Chinese dominance is not the only “alternative future”. The message is that one must be able to imagine other alternative futures: Anglophone universities must be prepared for a more inclusive world, not just encouraging other languages, but also appreciating other cultures.

Robert McCrum, a British novelist and editor, has drawn a convincing parallel between English as a lingua franca and Latin: “Globish may be … a global phenomenon, but, like Latin before it, is vulnerable to change and decay. It won't be global forever” (“Globish and Its Discontents”). We are living in a fast changing world. It would be interesting to see what the coming decades bring in terms of global language and culture.

More Banned Words

A couple of years ago, I blogged about “Banned Words” on the occasion of the official French ban of “Mademoiselle”, which was replaced with “Madame” for all. Among the reasons some words are being banned across the world are sensitivities regarding gender, race, and religion, as well as national pride. This month, it has been reported that Saudi Arabia has banned fifty names, so it is time for an update on this subject.

In an article entitled “Saudi Arabia Bans 50 Baby Names”, Gulf News indicated that “The names fit into at least three categories: those that offend perceived religious sensibilities, those that are affiliated to royalty and those that are of non-Arabic or non-Islamic origin.” On the other hand, it remains a mystery why some others have been blacklisted: “A number of other names appear that do not necessarily fit into any category and it is therefore unclear as to why they would have been banned”. In any case, one of the banned names, “Al Mamlaka”, means “the kingdom”, so one can imagine why it might have been banned.

It isn’t just the Saudis who are banning words. The feminists are still at it as well. In The Guardian’s Women in Leadership section, Harriet Minter reports on the “#banbossy campaign” (“Open Thread: If We're Banning Bossy, Which Other Words Need a Rebrand?”). Started by Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, the campaign aims at removing the word from our lexicons because it is offensive when used to refer to women leaders: “…there's a sting that comes with being called bossy. A feeling that whilst you might be running the group nobody likes you for it and that's not something I'd wish on any child.” Minter rightly wonders what other words should also go, reflecting on the following examples: Aggressive. Ruthless. Ambitious. Forward. Go-getting.

She asks the reader to decide whether they see these as positive or negative adjectives, guessing that readers are probably influenced by whether they think they are applied to a man or a woman.

The author ends her article with the important question as to whether it is the words themselves that should go or the way we think about them: “So what would you ban? Or instead of banning words should we be campaigning for their acceptance?”

It is usually easier to remove a word than a mentality. Is that always the best solution though? I’ll let my readers think about it.

Uncertainty About Uncertainty

I recently gave a conference presentation on “Risk Control in the Blended Learning Environment”. My research showed that online teaching and learning were generally viewed as risky in many ways, including the following: possible student cheating; absence of face-to-face cues; retention issues (MOOCs currently serve as extreme examples); technical hurdles; reliance on doubtful or contradictory web sources; and lack of recognition. The problem, however, is that these risks have not been quantified properly, if at all. There is uncertainty about uncertainty. I recommended blended learning as a compromise between the perceived risks of online learning and the assumed safety of the traditional teaching/ learning environment. Yet even when risks are objectively quantified, as in the health field, there are individual and cultural differences in risk perception and uncertainty avoidance. There are also complications concerning definitions; for example, definitions of cheating may vary, and what may be an irrelevant source in one sense may be highly relevant in another.    

By chance this week I came across a Macmillan blog post by Liz Potter on different ways of expressing uncertainty in English (“Life Skills Tip of the Week: Ways of Expressing Uncertainty”). What a coincidence, I thought. It was only logical to connect this to my idea of uncertainty. Here are some ways of indicating uncertainty in English, as expressed by Potter, each with a slightly different pragmatic application. If you are uncertain about the difference between them, check the above site.

• perhaps/ maybe
• possibly/ probably
• apparently
• as far as I know
• to the best of my knowledge/ recollection/ belief
• not to my knowledge 
• I imagine/ suppose  

I hope all this makes sense - or perhaps not!

Unglamorous Grammar?

Most of the students I come across do not seem to consider grammar to be an exciting part of their learning though they do appear to realize its importance in their academic work, everyday correspondence, and future career prospects. Every year a number of current and former students ask me to check their language on various documents before they apply for jobs or graduate work. A student recently wrote a computer application and asked me to check it for grammar before he shared it online; it was a text-based application, so correctness was paramount.

It is time to bring back the glamour into grammar. In fact, etymologically the two words are related. Believe it or not, “grammar” is the precursor of “glamour”. Here is what the Oxford Dictionaries say about the origin of the word “glamour”:

Origin

early 18th century (originally Scots in the sense 'enchantment, magic'): alteration of grammar. Although grammar itself was not used in this sense, the Latin word grammatica (from which it derives) was often used in the Middle Ages to mean 'scholarship, learning', including the occult practices popularly associated with learning.

The Scottish online newspaper Caledonian Mercury confirms the origin of the word: “Glamour was originally a modified form of the word grammar. Grammar originally meant learning in general, rather than its modern sense, and it also referred to a knowledge of the occult or magic. Thus, grammar and glamour were both caught up in witchcraft” (“Useful Scots Word: Glamour”).

It is interesting to note a connection between magic and learning. The association between learning and power has traditionally been more salient, as in Francis Bacon’s “Knowledge is power”. Yet students need to realize the magic of grammar. Since it can enchant or disenchant readers, it can transform people’s lives. In “information literacy”, grammar is one of the criteria used in judging the credibility of a source!

Mind you, it is not only students that need guidance in grammar. Faculty members and non-teaching staff can also benefit from polishing it up as indicated in The Huffington Post article “Why Grammar Is Important” by William Bradshaw, author of The Big Ten of Grammar: Identifying and Fixing the Ten Most Frequent Grammatical Errors. Bradshaw reminds us that effective grammar gives leaders an advantage and that correct grammar is the basis of clear, effective communication: “… the better the grammar, the clearer the message, the more likelihood of understanding the message's intent and meaning. That is what communication is all about.” The author interestingly notes that non-native learners of English often have better knowledge of grammar than native speakers: “For those of us who have had international students in our classrooms, although they usually speak with a noticeable accent, their knowledge of English grammar is frequently superior to that of our own students.” A British Council source has made a similar observation:

Isn't there any difference between “knowing grammar” and “knowing about grammar”? In fact, there is a difference as “knowing grammar” is a facility which developed when we were small children and “knowing about grammar” is a reflective process, i.e. to be able to describe what the rules are. It is not a secret that sometimes native speakers of English don’t know any grammar and foreigners speak more correctly than the natives. The native speakers often fail to describe their own grammar knowledge and it is either because they have not thought to do so or because of poor teaching methods. (“The Importance of Grammar”)

A couple of grammar sites that I have found particularly useful are Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl and the University of Northern Iowa’s Dr Grammar. On the other hand, research into the teaching of grammar and writing indicates that the former should preferably not be taught separately from the latter, out of context, but rather as part of the teaching of writing – and that the best way of improving students’ grammar is by relating it to their writing. After all, grammar without content can be pretty vacuous. Still, without grammar, where are real success and glamour?