And as a recovering grammar snob myself – please don’t start about how I opened this article with a dangling preposition; it’s still bothering me – I understand the knee-jerk reaction to improper usage and mechanics.
I’m an editor, for God’s sake; I eat, sleep, and breathe correct comma placement.
But there’s a difference between understanding standard grammar and demanding it, between believing there’s a time and a place for so-called “proper” English and ridiculing anyone who steps outside of what you deem “acceptable.”
There’s a difference between appreciating language and being a snob.
And the last place that we need grammar snobbery is in social justice movements.
And not just because getting hung up on the correct use of homonyms or subject-predicate agreement is distracting to the job at hand, but also because purporting one form of English as elite is inherently oppressive. …
As educated (and – okay – snarky) activists, we’re quick to respond to “According to the dictionary” arguments with “Who wrote the dictionary, though?”
We understand that a reference guide created by a white supremacist, heteropatriarchal system does nothing but uphold that status quo.
Similarly, we have to use that line of thinking when talking about the English language: Who created the rules? And who benefits from them?
As per usual, what this comes down to is an issue of privilege (of course!). In fact, grammar snobbery comes down to an intersection of multiple privileges.
Let me count the ways.
Why Grammar Snobbery Has No Place in the Movement
The whole thing is very much worth the read, but here’s a list of the privileges from the article that intersect with ideas of “correct” grammar:
1. Educational Privilege
2. Class Privilege
3. Race Privilege
4. Native Language Privilege
5. Ability Privilege
Also relevant is the idea of literacy privilege.
callanswall 