English Essay: The Sound Of English

How often do we as employees consider our use or misuse of grammar, spelling and punctuation in the workplace? Proper usage of grammar, spelling, and punctuation results in the use of Standard English. Standard English is known as the correct form of the English language. Is our misuse of Standard English in our workplace reflecting negatively upon us? Brad Hoover, the CEO of Grammarly, says, “Companies looking to hire top talent should consider grammar as one predictor of a candidate’s aptitude and success.” (Hoover). Many people may find the use of non-standard grammar trivial however, this is not the case in a professional atmosphere. Non-Standard English in the workplace provides no benefit to either the employee or employer and has only negative consequences. The use of non-standard English in the workplace will negatively affect our communication, image, chance for promotions and even our pay in the workplace.

The aim of having correct grammar is to ensure what is written is correctly understood. A sentence that contains grammatical errors can be difficult to read and can cause misunderstandings. It is important to use correct grammar whether writing or speaking to communicate effectively to help people get a better understanding and to express your communication more precisely and clearly.

The English language is particularly complex in almost all aspects. Many of the words in the English language have different meanings for the same word. This is not unlike the definition of the different levels of usage. McCrimmon defines the three levels, formal, moderate, and colloquial, by their sentence structure, diction, and tone (McCrimmon 193). ¹ Using McCrimmon’s definitions, authors can determine what type of writing is applicable to each of the three levels. For the formal writings, an adequate example of where readers can find it is in a professional journal, and an appropriate place to find an example of the moderate level is in a weekly news magazine. Also, the best place to look for an example of the colloquial level is in certain sections of the newspaper. All of the levels of usage apply to these different types of writings and assist in defining what each level involves.

My entire family was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. After three and a half years of living there my family decided to seek a better future in The United States. My father would go to the United States back and forth to work and earn money to send to us in Mexico. Eventually my mother was able to get a visa and my brother along with my little sister had an alternate way into the United States. We lived in Dallas Texas and Atlanta Georgia before settling in Howard county Maryland in a very small apartment. Luckily we were doing pretty well with my dad being the only one knowing English at the time. My father was working two jobs and I was getting ready to start kindergarten. I was very excited because the education we would have received in Mexico was nothing compared to the education in Howard County. I was excited for what was to come, but there were disadvantages of knowing only Spanish. Being bullied because of my poor English had an impact on me. I was in completely separate classes learning things that were simple compared to the regular course. I was excluded from certain activities, field trips and assemblies. I was clueless at first though as I slowly learned the language I understood things a lot more.

Before I turned four years old, my mother and I moved to join my father in Berwyn, Illinois. My sister ended having to stay back a couple of months so that she could finish her school year. We arrived to a nice apartment in the suburbs, it was a complete scenery change than what I was use to. Everyone seemed to have giant yards, bright green grass, large fences, and freshly painted houses. Back in Fresnillo, we had our large home, but it was rare for houses to have such large yards, so close to the heart of the town. From the time of the move until my first year in kindergarten, I had a bit of time to adjust, watching cartoons in English, I am not quite sure how I picked it up but I did. At that time my mother only spoke Spanish, my father is bilingual, but he would speak to us in Spanish.

Grammar is and has been a big deal in American society. It’s so big that we are require to take English classes all four years of high school. What’s the point of grammar if things are always changing and developing in English? The point is to not look illiterate and when a person goes college or decides to join the work force. In the book “I Won’t Hire People Who Use Poor Grammar”, the author Kyle Wiens states, “After all, grammar has nothing to do with job performance… right? Wrong. If it takes someone more than 20 years to notice how to properly use “it’s” then that’s not a learning curve I’m comfortable with.” (Wiens, 500) I personally agree with Mr. Wiens when he stated that comment. When you have a business and your trying to be successful and every aspect then its right to also be grammar savvy as well. The only thing I think is to extreme is the

When I first started school, I remember how difficult it was for me to make the transition from Spanish to English. My Mom left me at the door of the school in the morning, but since I was placed in an English-only classroom, the next time I opened my mouth to speak to anyone was when she picked me up again that afternoon. I didn't know what anyone was saying around me, and to make matters worse, my teacher didn't speak a single word of Spanish. That day, like every other day, I came home crying because I felt like an outsider. That year was very difficult for me because I ended up in the back corner of the classroom not participating. As a result, I had to take several years of summer school in order to catch up, something that

The Tropfest films Road Rage (2006) and Lemonade Stand (2012) both represent Australian stories and Australian voices. Both of the films explore the representation of Australians and show many different aspects of Australian culture. The film Road Rage expounds a different more emotional side to the typical stereotype of Australian men. Lemonade Stand also represents Australian culture, through the use of themes such as mateship and the Aussie Battler. Both of the films through the use of mis-en-scene and a variety of different visual and oral techniques show key aspects of Australian culture,

English language learners (ELL) consisted of 22.3 percent of the total enrollment in California public schools (Facts about English Learners in California - CalEdFacts, 2015). Tends to be ignored or receives not quite the equality in education as their Native English speakers (NES) counter parts. Over the past few years there has been a surge in dual language immersion (DLI) programs (also known two-way immersion), which have resulted in much success (Lindholm-Leary, 2012, p. 256). It has been found that students in DLI programs show a high level of bilingualism and by biliteracy as well as academic achievement and cross-cultural competence (Lindholm-Leary, 2012, p. 256). Since the population of ELL students in California is so high it would appear that the best way for ELL students to get an education that is equal to their NES counterparts more DLI classes should be implemented. By applying more DLI programs California can benefit both their ELL and NES students in academic development and cross-cultural competence, which will help reduce prejudice and racism in the state.

Learning a new language at my age was a thug, people make fun of you in school if you don’t understand or don’t know how to say something. Only a few people help you. When I lived in Mexico I was always one of the best students and most of the times I was on the honor roll. Without knowing English in this country, I couldn’t the same. I start school here in Houston the 9th grade and my grades were very low, I couldn’t believe that my grades went from 100 to less than 50. Also, I couldn’t do my work, homework and tests because I didn’t understand or I didn't know how to ask. All this situation made me feel so incapable and frustrated. I started to use that frustration and courage to lose my fear and sorrow to ask my teachers and classmates for help. I decided to talk more English than Spanish with people in the stores, malls, and school. During the weekend with my cousins I remember that I used to talk to them in Spanish and they talked to me English so I could learn more vocabulary and how to pronounce the words. Listen to music in English helped me a lot familiarizing my ear to the language too, and using my free time to translate words from Spanish to English to learn more, so I could do better in

A contrast I noticed in the articles, “I Won’t Hire You If You Have Poor Grammar” and “Why Grammar Counts at Work” is that the article “I Won’t Hire You if You Have Poor Grammar” Wiens stated, “That’s why I grammar test people who walk in the door looking for a job” (Wiens, 2012). While in the article “Why Grammar Counts at Work” Adams stated, “The piece mentioned a survey of 430 employers taken earlier this year, in which 45% said they planned to increase training programs to improve employees’ use of grammar and other skills” (Adams, 2012). However, in the article “Good Applicants with Bad Grammar” McWhorter stated, “However, if all a new hire is going to write is the occasional memo – or less – I’d rank giving people a leg up over throwing away their résumé because they write “truely” instead of “truly” and don’t quite know their way around a semicolon” (McWhorter, 2012). While Wiens believes if someone is lacking in the good grammar department they should not be consider as a potential employee. Adams shows statistics of employers with employees of poor grammatical skills should be required to take additional training. McWhorter believes that just because someone is not up to par on their grammar doesn’t mean they are not going to be a

At age of 15, we moved into the United States because my older brother wanted to go to college in the United States. So my dad decided to move so my older brother could at least do his senior year of high schools here. I didn’t know English by the time; the first day of school at Rio Rico High School was scary because I didn’t

Grammar is a huge part when applying for colleges, jobs, and etc. Not only is it a set of rules and component parts that combine to form sentences, but it’s a criteria needed to succeed in life. We’re living in an era where every word is being shortened, abbreviated, or simply misused in a sentence, which isn’t good writing in the business or social world. Good grammar includes of great ideas with clarity, precision, and professionalism.

In contemporary society the Standard variety of English is the most commonly used as it is respected and associated with a higher prestige. Its usage is also advocated by prescriptivists who believe that it is the ‘correct’ and only variety that should be used. Standard English is usually seen in formal settings, where its usage is necessary for official and public purposes. However, contextual factors play a vital role in determining the most appropriate variety to be used, which is supported by the Principle of Appropriateness. Certain contexts where a non-standard variety is necessary are in social media settings and in communities of different ethnicities, where they are undeniably required to create solidarity between speakers.

Anglo-Saxon period, from 5th century to 1066, became the “ancestor” of our modern literature. There is a big difference from then and now including our language and culture.