Quote:
Originally Posted by mackeleven
If you concede that 'he be workin' is acceptable grammar in another dialect of the English language and state that correct is a fine way to describe grammar, my question is - when is grammar incorrect?
Grammar is incorrect when it does not conform to the expectations for the particular language/dialect that is being used in the culture/region where it is being used. A dialect doesn't exist simply because one person speaks in a certain way. Dialects are culturally-bound, so that there must be a culture that accepts this particular way of using language as its norm.
You're welcome to hold that view, but it's probably wrong. Taking an op-ed from a newspaper isn't a particularly strong move. I would accept statements like, "There is no such thing as 'proper English.'" But "correct grammar" exists.
It just doesn't exist in some sort of eternal way that defines the "correct" for all times and places. It's a deeply contextualized aspect of language. But to take it so far as to say that "correct grammar doesn't exist" is to deny that grammar plays a role in language at all.
The op-ed itself is fine once it gets into the meat of it, even if the title of the op-ed is stupid. (It was probably done that way to increase readership and make money.) The section you quoted doesn't actually support the argument that "correct grammar" doesn't exist. All it says is that there's debate over the meaning of grammar and debates as to which manifestations of language that it applies.