Anatomy of Language

The gossip around the market place says that there is going to be another educational change, with a national curriculum for specific subjects. One of these will be Grammar which will be taught right up to Year 12. If this should come to pass and is not subverted by the Troglodyte Party, I shall immediately start petitioning the Pope for early canonisation for Saint Julia.

It is a sad fact that for many, many years, the understanding of our language and all the bells and whistles that make it work has not received adequate emphasis in Primary School and has disappeared into the ether at Secondary Level. Too many of our existing teachers have passed through their own school years with only a casual acquaintance with Grammar and are really ill equipped to teach the subject even if it had been part of school policy.

It seems strange that if a student undertakes a serious study of a foreign language, not just oral use of social phrases and sentences, they embark on a thorough analysis of the composition of the language, the correct use of its components, and perhaps a history of its development. Yet with their own language, it is often a hopeful matter of osmosis. I am not supporting a climate of competitive learning and regurgitation of definitions and examples. A carefully graded interaction with the components and their use in a stimulating, enjoyable manner should create a love for the excitement of words. Again, it should not mean a slavish adherence to former usage, simply because that was how it was once done. Language will change, and as long as there is a clearly defined understanding of current usage, these differences should themselves be examined and codified so that all children in Australia have a whole-school experience with as many aspects of a living language as possible.

This should not result in disposal of the recent emphasis upon an experiential creative approach to written work and sometimes oral work. The two aspects should complement one another to result in unambiguous creations that give pleasure to the creator and the recipient, now and in the future. I shudder to think that a laissez-faire approach to our language resulted in a future Telephone Text Message Language devoid of Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, etc. and their skilful, exciting use in phrases and sentences of beauty. It's always pleasant to dream !