Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies by June Casagrande

From The Week of August 28, 2011

For most of us, English grammar is a challenging subject. For while brave teachers have been thanklessly instructing us in its fundamentals, for decades now, English speakers have been learning their language without any knowledge of the mishmash of Dutch, French, German, Latin and Norse tongues from which it has been haphazardly assembled. As a result, most of us quickly forget the bewildering (at best) and senseless (at worst) array of rules we were taught in High School, instead, absorbing what laws we can through intuition and common usage. This is far from ideal, which makes our grammar far from ideal. And when some aspect of our character is substandard, we can count on there being puffed-up perfectionists ready to step in and correct us while being aglow with smug superiority. Thank the gods, then, for Ms. Casagrande.

From the semicolon to the subjunctive, from "I"s and "we"s to "that"s and "which"s, Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies is a playful and enlightening romp through the maddening world of English grammar. But unlike the school lessons, to which attention had to be encouraged by the threat of ruler-wrapped knuckles, Ms. Casagrande, an American author and journalist, teaches through humor, infusing an otherwise dry subject with entertaining verve.

While Ms. Casagrande's primary purpose here is to educate her readers on some core principles of English grammar, she also devotes considerable time to the castigation of grammar snobs. From Lynn Truss to the anonymous hordes who feel it their duty to correct every error, the author contends that these snobbish, self-styled, gram=mar experts are far from helpful and that they intimidate those with only passable grammar by proudly declaring their arcane knowledge. Ms. Casagrande argues that, in reality, not even grammar experts know all the rules, that some situations have no hard-and-fast rules, and that comprehension ought to be the standard by which we judge communication.

Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies is an enjoyable read. While Ms. Casagrande is overzealous in her criticism of grammar snobs -- I read Lynn Truss as far more humorous than she --, her underlying point, that snobbery only inhibits learning while fostering a dangerous elitism, is both valid and well-argued. Humanity has, at many points in its history, surrendered authority to various priesthoods, all of which claim specialized, doctrinal knowledge of important subjects. But rather than using their esoteric knowledge to educate laypeople, these self-appointed guardians of the arcane sanctified their learning, insisting that only they can properly dispense its wisdom. In doing so, they claim unto themselves power that, by rights, ought to be equally held by everyone. Grammar snobs may not have nice robes or gilded crosses, but this should fool no one into thinking that they are not the newest iteration of this sad practice. Knowledge belongs to everyone and can be accessed by anyone. And whomsoever claims otherwise is only trying to make himself feel special.

Educational, funny and with a bit of intellectual bite. (3/5 Stars)