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roachboy · 09-20-2004, 06:52 AM

analog--
actually, i would agree with you as well--switching genre is switching how you write.
formal english matters in most professional contexts because the rules of the game make it required.

sometimes i see netspeak in academic papers--there is usually some larger point attached to the usage--but it rarely works. the correlate of it from the 1970s was the personal or autobiographical bit--made sense at the time, now just makes you cringe.

i teach writing, actually: the only argument that i make about standard usage in student papers follows from the social/institutional requirements--if you do not follow a certain format, and meet certain linguistic criteria, you will reduce your own work to noise.

if you violate the rules without knowing them, you reduce your work to noise.

if you violate the rules and know you are doing it, you engage in a kind of risky game in which the expectations are immediately raised, and the period that seperates beginning to read from dismissing out of hand is shortened.
because the violation of the rules in this case engenders the "who the fuck do you think you are?" response.

which i have always found to be interesting as a response--it was not what i expected to find, given a general background of discussions like this one...

i was not arguing against standardized english as such, but only against the idea that there is anything more than social standards at stake in it--nothing about the "Essence" of the language, nothing about the General State of Things---rather, what is at stake is particular kinds of power relations as they play out in particular contexts across the enforcement of a social norm--in this case a linguistic one.

to see things this way is not necessarily to argue against the norms themselves.

in your post, i found it interesting to read about leakage between genres --that you have communications in your company about official bidness happening in both formal and informal written registers--it is not surprising in principle that there would be leakage/confusion/interpenetration of types of writing.

but i am curious....

in your company:

are there consequences/sanctions for this leakage/confusion/blurring of writing forms?

how does the sanction process work?

is it formal or informal?

has there been an official response to this kind of blurring or writing types?

09-20-2004, 06:52 AM	#29 (permalink)
roachboy Super Moderator Location: essex ma	analog-- actually, i would agree with you as well--switching genre is switching how you write. formal english matters in most professional contexts because the rules of the game make it required. sometimes i see netspeak in academic papers--there is usually some larger point attached to the usage--but it rarely works. the correlate of it from the 1970s was the personal or autobiographical bit--made sense at the time, now just makes you cringe. i teach writing, actually: the only argument that i make about standard usage in student papers follows from the social/institutional requirements--if you do not follow a certain format, and meet certain linguistic criteria, you will reduce your own work to noise. if you violate the rules without knowing them, you reduce your work to noise. if you violate the rules and know you are doing it, you engage in a kind of risky game in which the expectations are immediately raised, and the period that seperates beginning to read from dismissing out of hand is shortened. because the violation of the rules in this case engenders the "who the fuck do you think you are?" response. which i have always found to be interesting as a response--it was not what i expected to find, given a general background of discussions like this one... i was not arguing against standardized english as such, but only against the idea that there is anything more than social standards at stake in it--nothing about the "Essence" of the language, nothing about the General State of Things---rather, what is at stake is particular kinds of power relations as they play out in particular contexts across the enforcement of a social norm--in this case a linguistic one. to see things this way is not necessarily to argue against the norms themselves. in your post, i found it interesting to read about leakage between genres --that you have communications in your company about official bidness happening in both formal and informal written registers--it is not surprising in principle that there would be leakage/confusion/interpenetration of types of writing. but i am curious.... in your company: are there consequences/sanctions for this leakage/confusion/blurring of writing forms? how does the sanction process work? is it formal or informal? has there been an official response to this kind of blurring or writing types? __________________ a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear it make you sick. -kamau brathwaite Last edited by roachboy; 09-20-2004 at 06:56 AM..