COLONIAL GRAMMAR.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 950, 25 July 1878, Page 2

COLONIAL GRAMMAR.

(communicated.) Refined, intelligent, and pleasant conversation can scarcely be indulged in, unless the pronunciation and expressions are based upon sound grammatical rules, this is becoming more generally admitted every day, owing do donbt to the faob that education in the colony is becoming more generally diffused, greater facilities are provided tor acquiring knowledge, and perhaps unre-than all to the system of eqaality which exists, and through which, educated persons mix freely with those, who if ignorant are williug to learn, and are apt imitators, These remarks do not apply to writing, at no period, has bad and illegible writing been so universal, officials, commercial men, and private persons, vie with

each other as to who shall pat upon paper the most extraordinary hieroglyphics, they rely evidently upon being judged by their ideas, not their penmanship. Bat while we acknowledge the many advantages that a general knowledge of gramme? would bring about, such as simplicity of language yet nompte expression and that understanding of many things, of which we would otherwise be ignorant, it has its disadvantages, and perhaps a- slight knowledge of these would be generally useful. Those who understand gramuier, and cau converse without

dropping their lis indiscriminately have rocks ahead, which many of them seem unable to avoid. These rocks may be termed educational selfesteein, with a strong contempt for all who are not equally gif-ed, they place themselves upon a plat, form considerably higher than the ordinary stage of life, and becoming pedantic, judge their fellow creatures solely by their own grammatical measure, in this they often make great mistakes and are no more just than those who judge men by the standard of riches, forgetting that some may be honorable and gifted thong)? unfortunate, >yhile the wealth j of others had probably accumulatad before they were born, the same may be said of illiterate and ungrammatioal people, could we look back to their early days, we should find in the majority of cases, that acquiring a good education was out of the question, no school facilities, or parents so poor that school fees could not be spared, and children's services required at an early age, yet we think it fair to compare these when adults, with others who have had every advautage that wealth and good sense could provide; let us rather look with pitying eye, and listen with sympathising ear, when we notice grammatical errors, and not in haste to despise a check, for there may be that within them that could we know we would honor and respect, and doing this, we will become more worthy of the plaform before alluded to.— Ignoramus.