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The pedagogy point didn't get explained and harped on well enough. How you interact with people, the words you use, the grammatical and dialect choices you mak

The pedagogy point didn't get explained and harped on well enough. How you interact with people, the words you use, the grammatical and dialect choices you make, and the tone you take all influence how people see you. Being able to put the "standard, professional English" face on your work and interaction is an incredibly valuable skill. Various flavors of vernacular English, casual address, and informal rapport isn't incorrect, wrong, or inappropriate - it just doesn't have the same sort of effect on the people who will later demand a particular sort of interaction with you. In short, there's communication habits that will make it incredibly difficult to maintain white-collar employment, and one of the things that college does is teach students to use white-collar professional communication habits.

afarrell 9y ago
> isn't incorrect Agreed > isn't inappropriate I Disagree. "Inappropriate" is relative to the situation. Your entire point is that students should learn to recognize the appropriate register for the situation and switch into it.
- ThrustVectoring 9y ago
  Agreed, I didn't make my point quite as clearly as I'd like to. What's likely clearer is saying that it isn't "inherently incorrect or inappropriate". Certain registers have certain effects on people, and it's valuable to have more interpersonal tools and better understand how they work. >Your entire point is that students should learn to recognize the appropriate register for the situation and switch into it. I don't really want to coerce people into using particular registers for situations. I do want them to better understand what the results of their actions are - if they want to poke at upper-class sensibilities by deliberately using a particular register, that's their prerogative. (I am, however, a little confused by why they're spending the time and effort at college)
  - afarrell 9y ago
    Right, "sould learn" is more perspective than you or I meant.
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chousuke 9y ago
For me personally, it's about the effort put into communication. Using poor grammar and spelling makes the author seem lazy or even arrogant, as though their message were so important that the recipient will not mind spending extra effort trying to understand it. I think I would not mind informality by itself as long as the thought behind the text is clearly communicated, to the best of the writer's ability. However, I suspect that better thought-out communication naturally leads to a more formal style of writing, which might include using the proper forms of address.

afarrell 9y ago

> isn't incorrect Agreed > isn't inappropriate I Disagree. "Inappropriate" is relative to the situation. Your entire point is that students should learn to recognize the appropriate register for the situation and switch into it.

ThrustVectoring 9y ago
Agreed, I didn't make my point quite as clearly as I'd like to. What's likely clearer is saying that it isn't "inherently incorrect or inappropriate". Certain registers have certain effects on people, and it's valuable to have more interpersonal tools and better understand how they work. >Your entire point is that students should learn to recognize the appropriate register for the situation and switch into it. I don't really want to coerce people into using particular registers for situations. I do want them to better understand what the results of their actions are - if they want to poke at upper-class sensibilities by deliberately using a particular register, that's their prerogative. (I am, however, a little confused by why they're spending the time and effort at college)
- afarrell 9y ago
  Right, "sould learn" is more perspective than you or I meant.

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chousuke 9y ago

For me personally, it's about the effort put into communication. Using poor grammar and spelling makes the author seem lazy or even arrogant, as though their message were so important that the recipient will not mind spending extra effort trying to understand it. I think I would not mind informality by itself as long as the thought behind the text is clearly communicated, to the best of the writer's ability. However, I suspect that better thought-out communication naturally leads to a more formal style of writing, which might include using the proper forms of address.