The Vicious Cycle Continues

I’m in a Business Writing class and it has become apparent over the last week that sometimes there isn’t a right answer. The professor made it clear that language has evolved over time and continues to evolve today. The word text used to be a noun, but its most common usage today is as a verb. He also made it clear that there’s no such thing as the “grammar police”; nobody anywhere in America gets paid to or has authority to decide what is and is not appropriate grammar. Rather, people who correct you for using a word wrong are generally insecure and feel the need to assert their supposed superiority over others. According to my professor, an educated person understands that language is always changing and no rule is set in stone.

And yet I’m in this class. The reason given is that in the business world it’s important to represent yourself appropriately. People will make judgments about you based on the way you speak and write. Those judgments can have effect if you get hired, win the bid on a contract, etc.

This sparks an interesting thought: If nobody in the business world had ever taken Business Writing, or anything like unto it, then hypothetically they’d have no reference by which to make these judgments. Therefore it would appear that the only reason I need to take Business Writing is because other people have taken and are taking it. The only reason the next generation will take it is to avoid the judgments our generation became capable of making when we took it.

Who’s on first? Who. I mean the guy on first base. Who. The guy playing first base for St. Louis. Who is on first! No, I’m asking you who’s on first?!