The Glamour of Grammar?

What does Glamour have to do with Grammar?

Interestingly, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says that glamour, a word customarily associated with beauty or charm or a high level of attractiveness, comes from the same root as grammar; a word we customarily associate with ugliness or repugnance or a high level of repulsiveness.

These two words are like two very different looking sisters. While the one is alluring and pleasant, and we want to gaze upon her; the other is dull and unpleasant, and we don’t want to gaze upon her. As with the two sisters, you wonder how two words that arouse such naturally different emotions as glamour and grammar could stem from the same mother.

So it stands to reason that how these two words are connected is a matter of unending discussion and disagreement among linguist. Here is how the OED, which most agree is the supreme arbiter of the English language, explains how this came about:

Before you read this next paragraph, know that your life will not suffer much should you choose to live in ignorance of its content. A more glamorous version will follow this scholarly, grammatical entry.

“In classical Greek (also see) and Latin the word denoted the methodical study of literature (= ‘philology’ in the widest modern sense, including textual and æsthetic criticism, investigation of literary history and antiquities, explanation of allusions, etc., besides the study of the Greek and Latin languages. Post-classically, grammatica came to be restricted to the linguistic portion of this discipline, and eventually to ‘grammar’ in the mod[ern] sense. In the Middle Ages, grammatica and its Rom[an] forms chiefly meant the knowledge or study of Latin, and were hence often used as synonymous with learning in general, the knowledge peculiar to the learned class. As this was popularly supposed to include magic and astrology, the OF. gramaire was sometimes used as a name for these occult sciences. In these applications it still survives in certain corrupt forms, F. grimoire, Eng. GLAMOUR.”

It is probably enough to know that the word glamour came into English by way of Scotland, where it originally meant, the OED says, “Magic, enchantment, spell; esp. in the phrase to cast the glamour over one.” It made its way to beauty by way of magic, since the allure secured by magic was illusory and dangerous.

Now, as Fortune’s wheel creaks along, we appear to be circling back to a Medieval culture in which knowledge of grammar is peculiar to a learned (though neither wealthy nor prestigious) class, and in which mastery of grammar might as well be magic to those unlearned in it.

Careful of that word wizard, my dear, lest he seduce you

One of the surprising and delightful connection in the history of the English language is the relationship between glamour and grammar. The second, says the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), is an altered version of the first. They cite an ancient association between learning and enchantment as proof. In other words, back in the day when only priests and a few educated gentry could read and write it was thought that if you were smart enough to know grammar, the basic elements of language, you might be clever enough to convert that power to allure, amaze, even seduce. Can you imagine the fear the peasantry could have of a grammar?

Grammar has taken a bit of a nosedive since then. Today grammar connotes everything that is unglamorous: absent-minded professors; fussy schoolmarms; grammazons, nagging perfectionists; pedantic correctionists; high school students asleep at their desks with stalactites of drool hanging from their lips. Long lost from grammar are the associations with power, magic and enchantment.

Bone up on your English so you, too, can be a glamorous, successful word-wizard-cum-grammarian

Is that statement entirely valid? Think successful politicians, lawyers, salesmen, or even holier-than-thou evangelists; you get the picture. So in truth, word wizards still have the power of seduction, which means the glamour of grammar is real.

This is another reason for this series. A little grammar, you’ll learn, can go a long way, and may well lead one to a lot of grammar. Good grammar, well used,  can be a very sexy attribute. Is there a single one of you who would not like to be seen as sexy? Before you give a negative response to that question, remember that some synonyms for sex are charismatic and magnetic, as in charismatic or magnetic personality.

Alrightie, tell me this. How come we ain’t teachin’ good English no more? [sic]

Many old timers, dreaming of a Golden Age of learning that never existed. They wonder, why we don’t teach grammar any more. Well, we do, in school after school, classroom after classroom. A better question might be, if we teach grammar, why don’t people learn grammar? The answer is simple; we do teach grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling. But all these elements of language are out of context, outside of making meaning as a reader, a writer or a speaker. By doing so, we make grammar highly forgettable.

Stop Confusion; Speak Clear English will offer another way. Every little lesson in this series will point you toward a practical application. I’ll carry that one step farther: There is no need to learn grammar if you’re not going to use it. Good spelling is useless except to represent proper words and avoid distraction of the reader. Punctuation has no value except to point the reader toward the pace, emphasis and meaning of the words. Subjects and verbs are dusty academic terms unless you can join them together with a purpose. Punctuation is the glue that binds together the structure of vocabulary and grammar that we call sentence or a paragraph or a book.

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Introduction to the English Language series

This is the third and concluding part of this three part introduction for Stop Confusion; Speak Clear English

We will begin at where else but at the beginning

We will begin our quest for a greater command of the English language with the basics of English grammar, punctuation, usage, etc. From there, we will proceed to delve deeper and deeper into our subject. Uh, don’t worry, deeper and deeper, in this case, does not necessarily mean harder and harder.

There will be concepts offered from time to time in this series that will cause you some consternation. You will get through those little trials though and before you know it, you will be a learned speaker of the English language.

Believe me, if I did it, so can you. All you have to do is apply yourself.

Now to the real beginning, the acknowledgements.

Acknowledgements:

Some free online resource for grammar, style, and usage are Daily Writing Tips and The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). The last named is a very robust website, the former is less so.

The best free online resources for anything having to do with English vocabulary are: Ask Oxford, which is the online version of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary (COED) and much more. The next is the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD); and the next best is; Merriam-Webster Dictionary (MWD). It remains, however, my go-to resource online because it offers the best interface and it offers audible pronunciation of the words defined. When a little more in-depth knowledge of a word is wanted,Thesaurus.com (a COED based resource) is a good thesaurus and dictionary, and more is good for that. So is The Free Dictionary. And, finally the Online Etymology Dictionary (Online ED), is good for those who already speak English fairly well want more in-depth knowledge of a word. There is no better online tool for the heritage of English words.

All of these online resources can easily be found. Simply Google them; that is, search for them through Google. Google is clearly the king of online search.

Some of the most important sources I used for grammar, style, and usage are not available online. The first two of these are both inexpensive. They are the rightly acclaimed The Elements of Style (TES), the original and the third edition and Warriner’s English Composition and Grammar (WECG). This last one is available only as a used book. Used books can be inexpensive, especially when purchased online. The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) is in a class by itself as the arbiter of American style compositions.

No English dictionary is equal to The Oxford English Dictionary (OED). It is the arbiter of English words definition. Its 20 volume dictionary of the English language is astounding. Bartlett‘s Roget’s Thesaurus (BRT) is the best thesaurus I have found.

And now I wish to acknowledge the best and most important of them all

I wish to take my hat off and bow in praise of a very special group of people: all the elementary, junior high, and high school English teachers who taught me and survived to tell about it. I am sure those teachers won themselves a far greater reward in heaven for having putting up with the insults and the dirty tricks pulled on them by us meanies. We were sometimes unbelievably dumb and we seemingly always had an uncanny meanness about us. How those teachers survived and continued to love us is one of the great mysteries of my life.

Here’s a little anecdote about one of those dirty tricks

I remember one elderly teacher in high school who drove a Model T Ford to school It was a nice, neat black one; a coupe sedan: I never saw a Model T in any color other than black and all those were coupe sedans, as far as I recall. And, yes, that English teacher’s car was even then an old car.

One day some of my fellow students picked up her Model T and sat it back down so that it sat crosswise in the narrow driveway that fed into the school parking area.

Bless her heart; that dear ole soul may have been a little late getting home that night. That driveway was a tight squeeze when you drove on it in the usual manner. I was unhappy then that I missed out on that dirty trick on what we all agreed was a mean, but excellent old teacher. In hindsight, I’m glad I missed out on that particular dirty trick.  That dear old soul wasn’t really mean at all; she was simply a demanding teacher. Demanding because she knew that she had to be demanding if she was to have any hope of getting excellence out of any of us rowdies.

All I can say about those ole time school teachers is I pray to God they got a special reward for enduring us meanies. Their sickeningly paltry pay checks were certainly not much of a reward, so I would say, they had something coming for all the silent suffering they had to endure from us and from those in the educational power structure they work under.

Can you believe it?

Soon after my return home from military service one of my former teachers, Mr. Leigh, who was by then a grammar school principal, offered me a job as a teacher. I turned that offer down on the spot, even though I had no prospects of another job of consequence. To reason immediately came to mind. The job didn’t pay enough and, considering my lack of education, I would have felt like I was stealing had I taken the job.

And now, welcome to the Stop Confusion; Speak Clear English series. Now, dive in and learn English. I did it before you and you can do it now. Believe me; it will be worth the effort.

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Introduction to the English Language series

Part two of this three part series: Stop Confusion; Speak Clear English.

My journey

Fortunately, soon after I left high school it dawned on me what I had given up in leaving. That realization prompted me to start studying on my own to regain what I had lost in leaving school. I soon found myself wondering if I should enroll in college, once I completed the high school level subjects I had undertaken to study, or should I instead follow in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln and other successful, self-taught men.

At first I studied tentatively, since I had almost no idea of how to study. Soon though; I began to come to grips with the mechanics of studying. That is when the thirst for knowledge really started to kick in.

Since then, I have hardly ever been without a book. Much like the lamb in the Mary Had a Little Lamb, nursery rhyme, no matter where; everywhere that [I] went, [my book] was sure to go.

I did eventually enroll in college, but my real education came from my studies on my own and through private tutoring by a very special and much learned man of letters.

After I had studied diligently for sometime under this man’s tutelage; some of my friends began to notice that I was changing, and becoming more articulate and well-rounded.

How I came to meet my mentor

Once some of my friends were talking about a certain very learned gentleman of letters they knew of, and how he just might be willing to teach one of us, if he thought we were serious students.

I knew about him, but not very much. His reputation was that of a somewhat mysterious man and a demanding teacher. Few people I spoke with knew much about him other than that he was well-known—in some circles at least—and a well-respected teacher of a certain liberal arts discipline that required excellent speaking, thinking, and writing abilities.

The more I thought about him, the more I thought, why not.

From that point on, there was no stopping me. I went to his home a few days later, hoping to see him; and see him I did.

After being with him just a short while I could see that he positively radiated kindness, wisdom, and knowledge, as if he were filled to overflowing with it all.

The upshot of this meeting was that he agreed to take me on as a private student. God bless him; when he looked on me he saw, not the untutored fellow I was, but a student worthy of his attention.

Soon I came to look upon him more as a mentor than as simply a teacher.

He was demanding of himself and of me

The curriculum he put me through was comparable to similar curriculums offered in university honors programs across the United States. Add to this the fact that I was privately tutored by this highly regarded teacher and you have a program that was easily superior to any anyone I knew had ever heard of being offered anywhere else.

I have related this little story to show my store, but also to show you what can happen when you apply yourself. The simple act of learning to speak English well will cause people to start seeing you in a different light. It is amazing the good things that can seemingly fall out of the sky for anyone who applies themselves diligently to the study of the humanities and the other liberal arts.

As you will see later, I believe the humanities, as that term is usually understood in academia and by much of the public at large, comprises less than half of what is needed for a well-rounded, classic liberal arts education.

Change is gradual

Since the changes are gradual, you may not notice them in yourself at first, but, as you become more proficient in the English language, other people will begin to take notice of how you have changed, and how you have become more literate, and . . . well, smarter. Then, slowly you will begin to notice that, when you read, your comprehension has become so much better, and that concepts that before would have been beyond your capacity to understand have now become clear. You will also notice that you are now able to retain more of what you read.

This brings me back once again to one of the primary reasons for an English speaker to gain a greater command of English.

Stop Confusion; Speak Clear English is not just an empty slogan. The better you understand and speak English; the better able you will be to think lucid, precise thoughts and this will allow you to live a longer, fuller, happier life.

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Governor Bobby Jindal and Family

by Matt Langford on February 26, 2009

Bobby Jindal, the governor of my state of Louisiana, has gained much respect in political circles in the last few months. His preparedness in dealing with potential Hurricane disasters skyrocketed him to the top of the Republican ranks.

Recently, Governor Jindal was asked to deliver the GOP rebuttal to a Barack Obama speech concerning the economy. His eloquence, charm, style, success, and age have led many to refer to him as the “Republican Version of Barack Obama.” Despite harsh reviews from his first national speech (although some may argue that their minds were made up before the speech), he is still seen as a politician on the rise.

Still, little is known on a national scale about Jindal. One of the foundations on which the Republican party is based is a strong belief in Christianity. Many politicians on both sides of the aisle attempt to hide or explain away any affiliations they may hold with a particular faith.

Jindal, however, proudly penned and published the following words:

I was born in the United States immediately after my parents arrived here from India. I was raised in a strong Hindu culture, attended weekly pujas, or ceremonial rites, and read the Vedic scriptures. Though my prayers were a child’s constant stream of requests and broken promises, Hinduism provided me with moral guidance and spiritual comfort. It never occurred to me that I should consider any other religion; to be a Hindu was an aspect of my Indian identity. A childhood friend, a Southern Baptist intent on converting the world, first introduced me to Christianity by telling me “you and your parents are going to hell.” I was hardly convinced.

My friend’s exhortations did, however, prompt me to investigate my Hindu faith and motivated me to read the Bhagavad-Gita. Although I found the stories fascinating and the writing magnificent, I was uncomfortable when Krishna convinced a reluctant Arjuna to secure his rightful inheritance by making war against his cousins. Though I did not like seeing a deity advocate violence, this feeling was not enough to reject an entire faith. I wanted to examine Hinduism on its own merits and doctrines.

The main tenets of the Hindu faith involve two basic beliefs. The first is that all souls earn their way into nirvana, a state of blessedness, through good deeds. Since this takes many lifetimes, souls are reincarnated until they succeed. One’s material circumstances are based on the past life’s choices; the very worst souls are incorporated into animal bodies…

The second tenet is that all religions are equally valid paths to the same God. This strips one of the right to criticize any set of religious beliefs, including those of cults and other extreme groups. Thus, God is not concerned with having His followers believe in truth. It is sincerity, and not content, that matters. Yet I had had for years a sincere prayer life and still felt a void in my religious faith. Though I was searching for an objectively true faith that would lead me to God, I was beginning to doubt this existed and was ready to accept the “philosophies,” if not the religious beliefs, associated with Hinduism.

My journey from Hinduism to Christianity was a gradual and painful one. I was touched by the love and simplicity of a Christian girl who dreamt of becoming a Supreme Court justice so she could stop her country from “killing unborn babies.” I was also angered by the arrogance of my Southern Baptist friend who claimed his faith was the one true path to God. He seemed to deny the experiences of billions of people who have never seen a copy of the Bible.

I began reading the Bible to disprove the Christian faith I was learning both to admire and despise. I cannot begin to describe my feelings when I first read the New Testament texts. I saw myself in many of the parables and felt as if the Bible had been written especially for me. After reading every book I could find on the historical accuracy of the Bible and Christianity, I was convinced that the Bible had remained unaltered throughout the centuries and that circumstances surrounding Christ’s death led to the conversions of thousands. However, my perspective remained intellectual and not spiritual.

My investigation of Christianity might have remained at this theoretical level had it not been for a short black-and-white film. Though its depiction of the crucifixion was harsher than that of many similar movies, something about this film hit me very hard. For the first time, I actually imagined what it meant for the Son of God to be humiliated and even killed for my sake. Although the movie did not convince me that anything was true, it did force me to wonder if Christians were right. I realized that if the Gospel stories were true, if Christ really was the Son of God, it was arrogant of me to reject Him and question the gift of salvation.

It would require many hours of discussion with a pastor before I was ready to take that leap of faith and accept Christ into my life. It would take another two years for me to be baptized into the Catholic Church. My parents were infuriated by my conversion and have yet fully to forgive me. I tried to prepare myself for the worst; though I was ready when they ended their financial support, I was not as prepared for the emotional battles. My parents went through different phases of anger and disappointment. They blamed themselves for being bad parents, blamed me for being a bad son and blamed evangelists for spreading dissension. There were heated discussions, many of them invoking family loyalty and national identity. My parents have never truly accepted my conversion and still see my faith as a negative that overshadows my accomplishments. They were hurt and felt I was rejecting them by accepting Christianity. I long for the day when my parents understand, respect and possibly accept my faith. For now, I am satisfied that they accept me…

The motivation behind my conversion, however, was my belief in one, objectively true faith. If Christianity is merely one of many equally valid religions, then the sacrifices I made, including the loss of my family’s peace, were senseless. I was comfortable in my Hindu faith and enjoyed an active prayer life; I only gradually felt a void and stubbornly resisted God’s call from within the church. It was Truth and Love that finally forced me to accept Christ as Lord. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life: No one comes to the Father except through me’” (In. 14:6). Christ’s redemptive sacrifice proved that God loved me and was lifting me up to Him.

I look forward to seeing how Governor Bobby Jindal does in the next round of elections. Will he stick to his faith and convictions or continue the disturbing trend of denial? Personally, I believe it’s the former. I HOPE it’s the former.

original article for America Magazine

Article Source: Matt Langford, writer

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Foolish, incongruous, absurd, it is all of these and more

political files

Not interested?

Some people feign disinterest in politics, saying all politicians are liars and cheats and you can’t believe a word they say, so what’s the use in paying attention to something I can’t help or change. Timothy Geithner could be the poster boy for all the people that think that way. I agree that some politicians are little else than self-serving liars and cheats: some, but not all.

Truth and politics

If a politician told the voters the truth and nothing but the truth; no one, including their mothers would vote for them—okay, maybe their mothers would. That is the reason politicians endeavor to say as little that is substantive as possible. The 1964 presidential race was an excellent example of my point.

Politics and what politicians vote for and against has a profound affect on our lives whether we like it or not; therefore, it behooves us to pay attention and try to make a difference. If we try hard enough we will make a difference and the difference we make may have a totally unexpected and perhaps disproportionate affect on the quality of life of you and a lot of other people.

Our very own tax cheater at our service

Now here is what started me on this little tirade. In the last few days I read about the latest righteous talk to come out of the mouth of a tax cheat name, Timothy Geithner, about tax cheats. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse. That act easily beat the little fox guarding the henhouse anecdote.

Why, oh, why did our nation’s president ask Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary to talk about tax cheats during his overseas tax-plan announcement a day or so ago?

Here’s a little snippet from that presentation from the cheater himself: Today we are taking another important step toward . . . ending indefensible tax breaks and loopholes which allow some companies and some well-off citizens to evade the rules that the rest of America lives by.

Really? Let’s go back a little way and take a look at Geithner’s “non-answer” answer to a simple question posed by Sen. Jim Bunning during Geithner’s confirmation hearing.

Senator Bunning: Would you have paid your 2001 and 2002 tax had you not been nominated to be the treasury secretary?

Geithner: Senator, as I said initially, I should have asked more questions when I concluded that audit at the time, and I didn’t. When I think back on that, I regret not having done that. But I should have done it at that point.

You may recall that Geithner was working at the IMF when he dodged his taxes. The IMF itself is a tax haven. The income is tax-free. All you need to do is pay your payroll taxes, which is precisely what he failed to do until he was nominated back in December.

Clearly, the liar and tax cheat Timothy Geithner is not the guy to be talking about tax evasion. As Treasury secretary, Mr. Geithner is the individual charged with overseeing the IRS, and he is the man who was guilty of a multi-year delay in paying his taxes. Some people are speculating that Mr. Geithner won’t be around very long as Treasury Secretary. Let’s hope they are right.

Foolish, incongruous, absurd; all of these and more

Mr. Obama demonstrated very poor judgment in using Geithner for this particular attack. One can only wonder why he chose this man for the task of talking about tax cheats. Maybe Mr. Obama thought who better than a tax cheat to talk about tax cheats.

No, I don’t really suppose the president was thinking that way, but still I wonder why on earth he insisted on seeing Geithner’s nomination through in light of all the factual evidence against the man. Another question, of course, would be why he was confirmed by our representatives in Washington?

We should all raise our voices in our own way to get this man completely out of our government at the earliest possible time. Doing this or not doing it may well have a far reaching affect on our collective wellbeing and happiness.

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