I teach English grammar to future English teachers, those who will teach both native speakers and non-native speakers.
I like to tell my students they already know what they are going to learn in the class. My goal is for them to make them aware of what they already know.
With a colleague, I have a little essay on teaching grammar available on the web.
Today, with the publication by the Las Vegas Sun of the letter written by the husband Ensign cuckolded to a Fox News reporter, we have another good reason to know standard English.
See the examples below the fold.
The Sun notes the letter is printed "without any corrections to its grammar or spelling." I will not repeat the entire letter, but provide you with two sample paragraphs.
The unethical behavior and immoral choice of Senator Ensign has been confronted by me and others on a number of occasions over this past year. In fact one of the confrontations took place in February 2008 at his home in Washington DC (sic) with a group of his peers. One of the attendee’s (sic) was Senator Tom Coburn from Oklahoma as well as several other men who are close to the Senator. Senator Ensign’s conduct and relentless pursuit of my wife led to our dismissal in April of 2008.
Notice all of the sic's. By the way, the editor of the letter missed one in the paragraph. It should be "The unethical behavior and immoral choice of Senator Ensign HAVE . . . "
Today, Senator Ensign’s responsibility and stature have increased within the US (sic) Senate. His is currently the head of "Policy" for the Republican Party, the number four position within the Parties (sic) leadership team. We on the other hand are completely ruined and left to deal with the aftermath of very evil and completely unjustifiable acts by one of our countries (sic) top leaders.
I would have put commas around "on the other hand."
As someone who teaches English grammar, I like real examples like this. Here is a document, written by a college graduate I assume, and commented on by an editor in a newspaper in the States.
Given the problem with the apostrophe-s and then the plurals in the second excerpt, I think it shows an appalling lack of knowledge of Standard English.
It is interesting to note the use of the sic. Is the editor being snarky or extra careful? Do you really write US as U.S in a formal letter? I think the editor is trying to be extra careful.
In the end, the moral is clear: Proofread any letter you write to Fox News if you want them to investigate an extra-marital affair your spouse is having with a member of Congress.
In other words, you need to know Standard English grammar.