Language and Its Quirks

In her introduction to Woe Is I, O'Connor explains that we need grammar laws "When our wires get crossed and we fail to understand one another" (xvii). Laws of grammar are necessary, because language is never perfect. The only perfect languages are computer generated, but they are boring. O'Connor says that "What's missing is the quirkiness, as well as the ambiguity, the bumpy irregularities that make languages so exasperating and shifty --and so wonderful" (xviii).

I completely agree. I love the weirdnesses of language, especially spoken language, and I think it conveys so much about people. Some people talk at unearthly speeds and barely stop for breath, let alone concern themselves with grammatical correctness. Yet, others talk very properly and slowly in order to pick the perfect words to convey their message. There are people who are very flowery with words, are extremely verbose, and are a walking thesaurus of big words. Some, however, are concise and to the point, so as not to waste any time.

It is frustrating though that the quirkiness of spoken language is not allowed to carry over into writing. Yes, informal writing is kind of an exception, but I am talking more about formal writing. Why is there even such a thing as formal writing? Why do we have to place written language in a cage of rules and laws, when we allow spoken language to wander uninhibited? If people are allowed to convey their personality through their speech, I think they should be equally allowed to use their writing to convey the same thing. All writing would be very different and unique and maybe sometimes even incomprehensible, but that would be the point.

This wouldn't mean that we discard grammar altogether, because we still need it to help us understand one another. I just think that formal writing should be done away with.

Maybe I'm just too much of an idealist. Or maybe I'm just sick of writing formal university papers. O summer, come soon!